KULUNGI LODGE --- LIONS TO THE LEFT OF ME ...ELEPHANTS TO THE RIGHT

Lions to the left of me…elephants to the right of me…stuck in the middle with you!

The African bush is by far the most exciting place we have ever experienced in all of our off the road adventures. In fact, we loved it so much that we actually rerouted our last few weeks to return to the bush.

During our over 900+ miles of guided and unguided game drives, we had seen thousands of animals including four of the big five. We saw the Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Rhino and Leopard but no Lion. That’s right; the King of the Jungle had eluded us. It had driven us crazy since we have heard them roaring at night, saw their paw prints and even caught a glimpse of their tails as they ducked into the bush.  

As the final days of our trip approached, we had reluctantly accepted the reality that we would most likely have to wait until future trips to see the King of the Jungle.

So, we moved down the road to our last stop, a fantastic bush lodge called Kulungi that was run by a spunky SA woman named Cheryl. She is one tough cookie since her lodge is in an unprotected area where not only large game run free, but also Black Mamba snakes are occasionally spotted. Top that with she is often there ALONE!

During our five day stay, we had the fortune of being Cheryl’s only guest at Kulungi. We shared a mutual love for the animals and instantly became friends. Cheryl had a passion for elephants and was delighted that on several occasions we were able to see them right from our front porch as we sipped our morning coffee.

During our visit we had told Cheryl that we had not been able to he see a lion and she enthusiastically suggested that we all venture out that evening in the game reserve surrounding her lodge. She explained that she would drive, Roy would be in the back of the pickup with a huge spotlight and that I would ride shot gun (no gun included). I was really excited until the little voice in my head said, “Is this really such a good idea”? I quickly squelched any apprehension by answering the voice with, “nah we’ll be fine… we probably won’t even see any lions.”

So, as night approached the three of us loaded into the truck. Cheryl and I in the cab and Roy standing in the back holding onto the roll bar, flashlight and movie camera. We drove for about an hour seeing very little game as the sun set. In what seemed like no time at all it was pitch black the night being illuminated by the headlights and Roy’s spotlight as it scanned the bush.

The sound of animals lurking around us pierced the silence and I started to wonder again if this was such a great idea. After all, my husband was in the back of a pickup truck as lion bait.

Sitting in the truck bouncing around, I remembered back to when I took my dad on his 80^th birthday for a ride in a blimp. As the blimp lifted gracefully from the ground, my dad with eyes big as saucers, turned to me and said, “if only my dad could see me now”. Coincidentally, at that moment I had that same thought. But it was followed by he would kick my butt!  I couldn’t help but wonder, was this blast from my past or a warning from dad?

We continued on our quest weaving down dirt roads marred by deep holes and big rocks. Dirt and dust all around us at times making visibility nearly impossible.

Then it happened. Cheryl and I both spotted it at the same time, two dark figures standing proudly on the side of the road. We both gasped and in unison said “lions”!  I stuck my head out of my partially broken window and shouted to Roy LIONS! He shouted back “where”? I tried to point but in the dark it was impossible. When Roy said where again, I started to open my car door to direct him. Instantly, Cheryl quickly pulled me back into the car and said, “what are you doing there’s lions out there”? Finally, I heard Roy say I see them… followed by “OH MY GOD”!

There standing about one hundred yard down the road were two lions. I could only make out one and it was clearly a male with a large mane. As Cheryl inched the noisy diesel truck closer, they turned and ran into the bush.

We were all so excited. Finally, we had our prize and we had survived our adventure unscathed. The BIG FIVE is ours!

We drove around for another hour and then returned to the lodge to eat dinner and celebrate. As I lay in bed that night remembering our adventure, I gave thanks that we had survived another day in the bush.

The next day, unanimously we all agreed to go out that night to find the lions again. It seemed our success the previous night had emboldened us.  

Although the time leading up to our next hunt was spent relaxing and packing for our trip home, I did notice Roy checking his watch several times late in the day. I wondered, was he excited or dreading tonight’s big hunt.

When the time finally arrived to get in the truck, I insisted Roy also take the large stick I had found near the lodge. As Roy threw it in the back of the truck he laughed and said that by the time he picked up the stick the lion would be on top of him. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t etch a sketch that vision from my head.

We drove for about thirty minutes when we came across another truck. The man in a khaki hat and shirt pulled up next to us and said, “are you looking for lions”? What? I wondered if that was a standard greeting amongst bush people. After we said yes, he preceded to tell us that they had been spotted just up the road at the four-way crossing.

I looked over at Cheryl only to see the look of a mad hunter in her eye. She said let go and firmly put her foot on the gas pedal. The old diesel truck spat and spit as it maneuvered the dusty dirt road. I yelled up to Roy “did you hear what that guy said”? He said, “yes …I know watch for lions”.

We crept around the corners with our big light rounding trees and illuminating the shadows. About a hundred yards from the four way crossing, we spotted them. Cheryl shouted to Roy to be careful there may be more lions in the area. MORE! I thought this is getting crazy. I suggested that Roy come in the truck, and I could sit on his lap. But he insisted that he was fine. I started to develop my plan should a lion jump in the back of the truck and try to devour Roy. Nothing I imagined had a good ending. The best thing I could do is divert the lion(s) briefly with the option of a dinner of two. Luckily, after staring them down briefly the lions disappeared into the bush.

Again, we all cheered and proclaimed success. Silently, I thought thank God now we can all head back to the comfort and safety of the lodge. 

Several miles down the road we encountered a huge elephant in the road. Cheryl tried to persuade him to move off the road, but he stubbornly held his ground. Nervously Cheryl moved the car several yards in reverse than forward. She yelled to Roy that she had to keep the truck moving just in case the lions were in the area. LIONS??? Oh, hell I forgot about the lions. She scolded Roy again and reminded him to shine the light around him and watch for lions.

Referring to himself, I heard him laugh and say that the lions don’t want to eat some old man.

Minutes seemed like hours, as Cheryl continued to move the truck first back then forward all the time swearing under her breath at the elephant blocking our way.

Several times she expressed her concern for Roy and the LIONS! Reassuring me with comments like, “Did you know that lions can stalk their prey for miles?” I wondered how I was going to explain to Roy’s mom that he was out with two crazy women hunting lions standing in the back of an old diesel truck with NO GUN.

Then the night was pierced with Roy shouting “their behind me!” I said, “What’s behind you?” all the time thinking that there must be more elephants. Then he said, “THE LIONS!” My heart stopped as the darkness became more real and the silence deafening. I turned my head to look behind us and there they stood a huge male with a wide mane and his companion an equally statues lioness.

Realizing the potential gravity of the situation Cheryl tried to keep us somewhat in motion so not to appear to be easy prey.

I shouted to Roy are you okay and he said, in a voice I had only heard once before and that was when we were charged by a crocodile in Belize, “Hell, I would feel better if we were out of here”. I told Cheryl she would have to pick a path now. Either try and inch by the huge elephant or back up by the two lions. As the words echoed in the car it occurred to be how surreal it was that I even just said that.

Finally, the elephant moved off the road and Cheryl maneuvered the car around it. Now the problem was that our lodge was back the other way. Yep, right where we had just seen the lions.

Cheryl slowly turned the truck around and headed back inching her way down the road. Roy said sarcastically, “hey Cheryl can you go any slower?”  My heart beat uncontrollably as we made our way past the area where only minutes before we saw the lions.

Thankfully, minutes later we were cruising up the road leading to the lodge. That’s when I heard Roy singing in the back of the truck…lions to the left of me… elephants to the right… stuck in the middle with two crazy ladies.