Versão em português aqui
“No one ever forgets those first early morning journeys into the African bush”. I read this quote in a magazine only a few days before boarding on this adventure through Africa. I imagined for so many years the raw spirit of waking up in the African wild savanna. And we were finally there. It happened to be much more than I ever expected.
The electricity of anticipation frozen in hushed silences as you wait your first big sighting. And there it was. A big and magnificent male elephant. He was a bit nervous, “full of testosterone”, commented our ranger. And suddenly started to run after us. Oh My God! I almost fainted! Our ranger – the safari guide – was super fast immediately putting the Range Rover in the reverse position. Elephants can be dangerous when they are nervous, but usually they are cute creatures.
In another game drive we had the opportunity to witness eight lions – that’s it, eight lions – walking along a tiny road, next to our car. It was already dark, they were moving calmly literally as the Kings of the Savanna. They stared at us, with focused and brave eyes. No animal could fight with them – at all – and they knew it. Majestic!
We had great lucky to see one leopard, which is absolutely rare in that area. He was above a tree, eating a newly catched impala. Poor impala, but it’s the circle of life. And that’s the most amazing thing about doing a safari trip and having the first game drives. You fastly learn that the bush’s life isn’t easy at all. Animals have to be careful always and the best way to avoid an attack is to belong to a group. Together we are stronger, it’s the most imperative thing that I’ve learnt from the savanna.
Can you believe a giraffe sleeps only about an hour per day? They are very stressed animals because they are not as strong as lions or rhynos, so they struggle more to defend themselves. At the same time they are so cute, I wanted to hug them all!!!
Another important thing I’ve learned about the savanna is that there wouldn’t be life without mothers. Seriously! Everytime you see a baby, there is his mami. No male cares about his children, sorry to be that honest boys. And sometimes it can be even dangerous for them. Can you believe baby male hyppos can be killed by their own dads? To avoid that, their moms have to keep them away from the group until they are grown enough to combat their dads. Unbelievable, not!? It’s wild. It’s nature. It’s life. It’s beautiful!
