Day 15 part 2 or African Lion porn revisited

Please read part 1 first before reading this entry.

After lounging by the pool and taking a nice hot shower, we were ready for the afternoon Safari. We had the same guide - Mpatengo. We set out for the park and our guide said we were in for an African massage - a very rough ride! The weather was warm but pleasant. We took a similar route but did not go by where we saw the cub earlier - the rangers had warned jeeps not to go there so the mama could retrieve her cub. We were rolling along the river and I spotted a hornbill on the ground but it was too quick to photograph. We saw a couple of jeeps stopped ahead so rolled in. They were looking up in a tree and.....drum roll please....we saw a leopard up in the tree. He was very hard to see and difficult to get a good picture since it was dark and he blended in so well. A couple of our tour mates did get some decent shots. Beth took some pictures but they are difficult to make out. So, to use an ice cream sundae metaphor - we had the rhino first (ice cream); the lion second (hot fudge); the elephant third (whipped cream); the Cape buffalo fourth (nuts); and the leopard fifth, the cherry on the top! We next saw a male and female lion that were walking together and just that quick they mated and a few minutes later mated again.....lots of sex in Africa. We saw giraffes and elephants and 3 more lionesses that seemed to be stalking a monitor lizard, I have video of that as well of the elephants and an old bull giraffe getting a drink. We saw several elephant carcasses during our 2 safaris, they were in various states, from bones to a relatively fresh (2 days). If the rangers suspect disease, like anthrax, they will burn the carcass. Elephants are susceptible to anthrax due to the spread through the soil and standing water.

What a fabulous day!!! We capped it off with cocktails overlooking the river and a farewell dinner. Our tour manager, David, arranged a quick Safari for tomorrow morning and everyone backed out but us - so we are getting our own private Safari, Thank You David. So off to bed.....tomorrow we start our travel home.