10 - Lion Sands to Sabi Sabi

We started again this morning by leaving the lodge and heading out to view animals.  There seemed to be a sense of urgency from our Ranger, Sylvester (Sly) and our tracker, Omega.  They drove faster and went off-road more often.  It paid off, we were able to see a Leopard and a male and a female lion.  Both Sly and Omega were very happy that they had taken us to places to see all of the big five.

The lions were amazing.  They walked very confidently and acted as if we were not even there – in fact the female walked right beside the range rover not more than three feet from where we were sitting.  After a while, they laid down under a bush and the male took a nap – not more than 25 feet from us.

We returned to the lodge at 9:00, ate breakfast and transferred by range rover to Sabi Sabi about 45 minutes away.  After the dusty ride, we met for lunch and prepared for our first drive on Sabi Sabi.  Sabi Sabi, which is also located in Kruger National Park, is a private game preserve and looks much different from Lions Sands.  It has better roads and less foliage. 

During our first drive we saw giraffes, cape buffalo, elephants, rhinos and, after stopping for our evening sundowner, encountered two lions coming down the road towards us after dark as we were heading back to the lodge for dinner.