Last day in Serengeti. Close encounters.

The last day on the Serengeti didn’t disappoint us; it just added one more great experience for us.

The previous night we heard the lions roaring all night again. So when we started the safari in the morning we knew where to go. Claudia who is slowly becoming a keen trekker suggested to go behind the camp where she thought the lions would be found. Cyst agreed with the princess and started looking for them, less than half an hour later, there they were.

A pride of 2 males, 1 female and 3 cubs, were relaxing under the morning sun. We positioned our vehicle according to the light direction and started observing the pride. They had killed the previous night and from the leg and the tail that the cubs were playing with you could tell it was a young zebra. (no, it was not the one in the photo below).

Finding a pride can be all that you want in a game drive, and we both have to admit that the big cats and mostly the lions are in the top of our list.

At the time, we had two options, we could either spend the time with the pride or go to look for the cheetahs that didn’t had a meal for two days and looking for a kill, but spotting a cheetah concealed in the endless plains is difficult on its own. Besides, we cannot be sure when they will hunt, so we decided to spend the whole game observing the king’s family.

After a while the big male, which at the time was lying down some 50 meters away, stood up and started coming towards the vehicle. We were so excited by the movement of the king and we framed and started shooting. I was in continuous low mode with 3 frames per sec, plenty for a non-erratic movement like this.

The lion kept coming towards us but I was focused in framing and literally did not take my eye out of the viewfinder. I was shooting with the 600mm and at one point I could not frame anymore. The lion was too close for the 600mm lens. I took my eye out of the camera just to grab my 70-200 to switch. I looked at the lion and oh my god, the king was less than 10 meters away and kept coming, slowly but steady. In order to get the same feeling, it is good to mention that we were in an open vehicle (no windows).

I looked at Claudia who has put her camera down and is almost frozen; by instinct she then started to pull slowly herself away from the window (not that this would make any difference if….). I quickly looked at the driver who nodded to be calm.

Few seconds later, the lion’s head is almost touching the door of the jeep. I think my heart stopped for a second, just before the king sits down between the 2 wheels.

So there we were, Claudia, Cyst, the king and I. He was lying almost in our feet. It was that close that if I was reaching with my hand out of the vehicle I could touch his mane. For the next 10 min, wild life and we all people lived together with no boundaries (certainly the open vehicle was not one) and I can tell you that this was one of the strongest most memorable experiences we ever had. These are feelings one can never forget.

The lion did not come for us. He came for the shadow that the car was throwing to the open savanna. He felt we were no threat to him or to his pride, and he approached us. It was such an honor, your highness.

We did not want anything more. We were overwhelmed. After a while, we started the engine hoping that he will drag his body out of the in between the wheels area under the car. Admirably he did so and he sat a few meters away looking at us as we were pulling off and drove away. I felt he was saying thank you for the shade and see you soon.

A bientot, king!

next will come the ngorongoro crater safari