Safari Day 8 - More lions

Highlight of the day: Just the two of us playing with the lion cubs

This morning we had another sunrise walk with the lions. It was our last one for this trip to Antelope Park, and we walked with Arthur and Amber again. After seeing all of the others, and being with these two again, we decided that Amber and Arthur are our favorites. Towards the end of the walk, we watched them stalk a herd of zebras. One of them snuck up on the dominant male zebra. The zebra took on the lion, breaking away from the herd to put himself between them and the lion. As the rest of the herd slowly moved away, the male zebra stood his ground against Amber. Meanwhile, Arthur was sneaking around the back of the herd, so that the two cats had them surrounded. It was really exciting to watch, and since they are still cubs, it almost looked as if the lions were just playing a fun game.

After we said goodbye to them, we headed straight off to see the breeding lions. They keep these ones separate, and only a few of them have any human contact. These lions are absolutely massive. The biggest one, Max,is a Cape Lion with a huge mane of dark fur that runs all the way under his stomach. Seeing him you can tell how they got the name 'King of the Jungle.' And the lionesses are huge as well, their heads easily twice the size of the cubs we were walking with. They were all so beautiful, and we couldn't help but sneak a pat in through the fence.

Our last activity for the day was another visit with the small cubs. First we spent some time with the 5 a's. One even climbed up a small tree while we were playing with a stick. There were only a few of us there, so we had plenty of 'cuddles.' Then Nigel and I got to go in with the 3 K's by ourselves (and with Wean, the guide) for about 30 minutes or so. They had been playing with another group earlier, so they were all tuckered out. Which was fine with us, as we just sat there patting them on their bellies and under their chins. They were in heaven. It was nice to chat with Wean about the park and all the work they do. We could have easily stayed there the entire day.

After a quick lunch, everyone packed up their things and we said goodbye to Antelope Park. We then headed north to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest 'city' after the capital, Harare. But it's not really a city, just a town really. We set up camp on the lawns of a homestyle hotel (some people upgraded to a room with a bed) and relaxed with an excellent dinner and beer.