A day in the life of a tour guide

Africa, the name conjures up vivid pictures of dark mystery, desolate landscapes, and blazing sunsets. A world of colour and excitement, where those of us who are privileged to live there, find peace and tranquility.

The sun creeps over the low hills like a ball of orange fire. To the courier, it is a day of new beginnings, and new experiences. No two days are the same, each one a full exciting twenty-four hours. The excitement is contagious and instead of a groan at being woken up at 4:30am, everyone is bright-eyed and hastily consumes the coffee and biscuits laid out for them, for who knows what today will bring?

Even when starting out, one is reminded of the peaceful surroundings. Birds twitter in the trees, impala jump around in sheer delight at the cool morning air which will turn to hot humidity before the sun rises much further.
In a hushed voice, I say “Look over there at the bottom of that thorn tree.” All eyes swivel in the direction I am pointing. The same eyes open wide in wonder as they notice a pair of young lions lying in the shade. Everyone is quiet, all hands automatically reach for cameras and binoculars.

“Notice,” I say “how the mane of the male protects his neck so that if he gets into a fight, he will not be harmed so easily. These two lions are probably a mating pair and will stay together, mating approximately every twenty minutes, for the next two or three days.”

The lions lay watching us lazily, the black-tipped tail shooing away flies. Not even the clicking of the camera shutters disturbs them.
After a while, the female gets up and slowly walks towards the male.
Gently she begins to nibble his ear. Playfully she puts her paw on his front leg and then lays down next to him with her paws waving around in the air.

She rolls half on top of him and he growls at her without taking much further notice.
He looks away and she lightly scratches his side in order to attract his attention. He stands up and while they mate, he gently bites the thick skin at the back of her neck and when she has enough, warns him off with a roar. So enthralled are the passengers in the vehicle that they forget to take the all-important pictures. Only when the male lies down again, do they remember, but by then the action has passed and all sigh with pent-up breath at the sight of seeing their first lions which are not in the zoo, but in their natural habitat.- Joan Young

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