Lion Bait at Lebala Camp, Linvanti

My day started with the now familiar 5:30 “Good Morning” and I got up and looked at my phone, yup it’s 5:30 alright, now where is my headlamp. I also saw that I had around $4.50 in text messages thanks to Teresa and Jeremy, an amount I would later recover in beer. I could get a slight signal at night when it was cooler as the heat of the day greatly reduced the signal distance. And the signal I was getting was from Namibia and not Botswana as we were that close to the border. I met my tribe and we climbed in to our vehicle. Feeling like seasoned experts having survived an elephant charge, feeling like today would be nice and relaxing, feeling fortunate to see these predators in the wild and seeing the circle of life. What a great way to start by finding more lions.




Another great sighting, I hear you can actually pet them when their eyes are closed.




Dang, they really do open their eyes fast.


This was not the only lion, a couple more were stalking us in the grass. They seemed to be able to smell fear and sense what was coming.


And that’s when our vehicle died, refusing to start. We were dead in the water, we were now lion bait. It was an electrical problem so the radio did not work either. Two thoughts raced through my mind. First, why did I join these people leaving my original safari vehicle? It’s been nothing but trouble, charging elephants and now lions are looking at me for breakfast. Second, there are six of them and only one of me. No matter how we vote I’m clearly going to be the first sacrificed. Fortunately, when we found the lions we radioed the others before shutting off the vehicle and they were not too far away.


While they could not help get us going again they did have a working radio. So they called in and then left us to wait for help to arrive.


Finally help arrived with a new vehicle and they reminded us how important it was not to touch the ground as we transferred vehicles. We all got out our cameras just in case someone slipped and a great kill followed. Plus it would be nice to document this in the event of a future lawsuit.


We seemed to have attracted some attention.


I bet it would not take him too long to get here, accelerating to top speed before I blinked.


Even the lions in the bush were now watching.


They did kind of look hungry.




Don’t touch the ground…. Don’t touch the ground….


Safely in the new, and more importantly running vehicle, I checked to make sure everyone was still in their place. There are two lions in this picture, can you find them?


Here’s a hint.


Disappointed with our vehicle transfer they turned their attention to the elephants in the distance.


Hey that was lots of fun but can we go someplace safe as I need to use nature’s restroom again.


We found a square bird that could rotate it’s head 180 degrees and I felt safe again.




We then headed up along the Namibian border.




This is what happens when you are an elephant on safari, your vehicle breaks down, and you accidently touch the ground when transferring vehicles.


A few more zebras.








A few more elephants.




We returned to camp for lunch, the Portland crew would be flying out and I would finally feel safe again on safari. I’m just kidding, how boring would this blog have been without you guys and the adventures we had. Once again, thanks to Jim, Janet, Dave, Liz, Ken, and Steph for your temporary adoption of me. I had a blast going on safari with you and I look forward to catching up over a beer in the not too distant future.


The common area.




The fire pit where many stories have been shared and many drinks have been had.


The dining area.


And most importantly the “help yourself” bar.


After saying goodbye to the Portland crew and exchanging phone numbers and email addresses I headed back out for the evening with new safari members. While I had no memory for the African birds, our guide Prada not only could identify them at a great distance, but he could also tell you what page in his bird guide book they were on. I was skeptical and double checked him a few times, he was always spot on, very impressive. I’m not Prada, so here are some pretty pictures of African birds.


OK, so maybe this one is not as pretty.






We had our happy hour, watched the sunset and an elephant at a safe distance, and I still saw no sign of any kind of tea. That's a termite mound the elephant is standing next to. It gives you a real appreciation of how big they get.






I was leaving for Namibia tomorrow and hung out with the couple from the U.K. to get any last minute advise on the Namibian experience. I was looking forward to the 3rd leg of my journey, however if it ended here I again would be totally satisfied with the experience.


VIDEO: Botswana - Day 13 - Lebala Camp