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Last June we saw the lions in their encampment after their 1pm feeding. There were still lots of people taking photos from cars and blocking the roads. We were entertained by a male from one group attempting to eat from the carcass that another group was enjoying. Fur flew for a few seconds. On this visit we found that the lions would be fed the next day and were running wild in the lion encampment. It’s a large area and we would have to drive around to find them. We were game to try but had so little time left before lock-up time that we opted for the cheetah camp instead. Even there the animals were well concealed and we counted ourselves lucky that we had seen the demonstration at the kiosk. The wild dogs are notoriously shy and the road is rocky in their encampment, so we headed back for the main gate and the hippo pools as vultures circled overhead.

I hadn’t noticed the hippo pond while having a snack at the kiosk last year, but this time we enjoyed watching at least three small hippo emerging and submerging in the company of some Egyptian geese and black ducks. We wanted to see some hippo in their natural environment but a storm was threatening. We decided to brave the elements because we thought we had just enough time to go and find the hippo pools on the eco trail just outside the reserve. We parked in the parking area inside the main gate and crossed the public road on foot in search of wild animals. Crossing that road on foot felt like the most dangerous part of the whole trip.

Wide grassy paths headed off between large enclosures bounded by cables and electric fences. This was a sure sign of dangerous animals. I turned to check on my husband and elder grandson and realized that a lioness was standing less than a metre away watching us from behind some bushes. A few steps behind her stood a magnificent male with a freshly scratched face. In the background there was a white lioness watching us from a vantage point. This was clearly their territory and I felt like an object of their speculation! They were in easy reach through the wire fence but a camera or hand wouldn’t have lasted long!

Visit the Rhino and Lion Reserve - part 2

Conscious of the thunder, we moved briskly on, seeing fence signs for a bat-eared fox and Bengalese tigers. A water spray switched on deep inside the bush. ‘They are making a jungle for tigers,’ said David, our smart 6-year old. We pushed on past a foul smelling den area and a couple of tigers graciously draped over a concrete view point. They had their backs to us so we rushed onwards towards the hippo pools. The raised wooden viewpoint offered a great view of a large hippo watching us. Ears flicked and bubbles were blown before it ducked underwater and out of sight. We followed the path towards the next hippo viewpoint but were stopped in our tracks by the sight of an almost white tiger. Siamese? The thunder rolled overhead and we turned tail and headed back towards the car. Lo and behold a magnificent Bengalese tiger emerged from David’s ‘jungle’ and paced along next to us for a while. Only an electric cable and a diamond mesh fence were between us, so we were literally walking with a tiger. What a thrill!

The experience didn’t end there. As we drove away from the Rhino and Lion Reserve entrance we saw several more camps of lion next to the main road. Clearly, the white lion is well at home in the Cradle of Humankind. Our kids’ safari was a great experience and one we shall definitely re-do, but next time we shall allow more time because we are planning to have a safari-themed birthday party with a camp-out picnic in the kiosk area. When the little one is bigger we shall definitely return to visit the Wonder Caves.

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