Lions and elephants

March 6

Hi everyone!

The last major activity that I did before I left Livingstone was a day with elephants and lions.

Upon arriving at the lodge, we were greeted with tea and coffee. I was super excited to meet the elephants (and ride them!) so when I saw a big sign with 'what not to do with lions', I was a little surprised. It turned out we were going to meet the lions that morning!

We had a brief information session on how to avoid being eaten by lions and then we set out into the wild. While walking, we came across two 16 month olds that were sisters. I cannot even begin to explain how amazing lions are. They are big huge kitties! Big kitties with giant paws and long sharp teeth. We were invited to crouch behind them and pet them. With lazy interest, they would roll their heads back to look at you. The handlers would then jump around or poke them with sticks to try to take their interest off of us.

We went for a long walk sometimes with the cats in front of us and sometimes with them moseying behind us. It was really amazing - I already love cats and these ones command so much respect because of how dangerous they are.

Once the walk was over, we were taken back to Jolly Boys for lunch and then returned a few hours later.

This time, we were meeting elephants! We went out back and saw a tremendous sight - about ten elephant, some giant, some medium, and a few babies. Each elephant was carrying a guide and we each picked an ele and hopped on. From there, we embarked on an elephant-back safari. It was so incredibly neat! We saw more giraffes, baboons, and all sorts of other animals. After a long walk, we came to the river and actually crossed through part of it.

Prior to leaving that day, I was worried that I had done 'enough' safaris and wouldn't really enjoy this one. Fortunately, it was a fantastic experience. Meeting and touching the lions was a dream come true and riding on elephants was surreal.