Monday 30 March Chobe

 Up early again for our 6 am departure. By 6.15 we are in the park with high hopes of finding a big cat! We have barely left the entrance when we pull over to observe a couple of elephants just off the road! After plenty of opportunity to take photos we are on our way. The plan is to head deep into the park in the hope of catching sight of a lion.

We drive past herds of impala, seen so many now they have little impact. Ndata our guide told us yesterday that their rear markings resemble a M so they are known locally as McDonalds because they are everywhere. The lions are not that interested in them as they are more of a snack and not worth the effort as any kill needs to feed the pride. So today as we drove past them and Ndata referred to them as McDonalds I said Junior Burgers. He thought that was very funny.

We see Jackals, Vultures, Warthogs and colourful birds, but no lions. Ndata points out some fresh lion tracks and he is on their trail. We head off on a narrow track deep into the bush. We are dodging the branches as it is that narrow. I am thinking if we find one I hope he or she has had their breakfast as there is no escape route. We stop a couple of times to listen but no luck. The ground cover is very thick and they could resting behind a bush unseen. Ndata did his best and we tried for 2 hours but no luck. We head towards the morning tea break and on our way there we come across a large male giraffe. He is very tall and quite dark in colour, a sign that he is male and old.

At morning tea no one has spotted any lions, but while there is a family of warthogs about 200 metres away. It is now time to head back to our lodge and on the way back we stop for a herd of elephants right beside the road. There are at least half a dozen with a young one and a baby that kept very close to its mother. It was another great experience. We have one more safari this afternoon but I am not really expecting to see any lions.