Tastes like feet!

In September this year, we joined some friends on a tour of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Our first camping spot was the Mpayathutlwa wilderness camp on the Botswana side. When we arrived, there were two lions lazing in the road about 40 m from the camp... Exactly halfway between the stands and the ablution block! We carefully drove around them and set up camp. It was clear that the lions had recently had a feast and they weren’t hungry – they glanced in our direction occasionally before snoozing again. After about an hour, they woke up and disappeared into the veld. My wife headed straight for the shower. The runoff from the shower is collected in a small reservoir and she had just returned when a big lioness appeared and drank her shower water! We were in bed before 8 pm that night, safely zipped up in our roof tent. I always put a basin of water on the ground next to the ladder, so we can rinse our feet before we climb up to the tent. Late that night I woke up to the sound of a lion drinking the water! I was too scared to move, not to mention grab my camera. When the lions roared only metres away, sleep was out of the question. The other campers were silent – not a single snore could be heard. Was I scared? Absolutely! But the main feeling was one of amazement. What a privilege to share the wilderness with these mighty animals. DIAN LOUW, Kleinmond