August 23rd, back to Twee Rivieren

I went through the gate at 6:58h. This time there's no excuse! I rushed to the Marie se draai waterhole to be the first to welcome the lions. Well, it's 8:25h now and they must have slept in today. Can't blame them because supposedly the have 4 cubs and that must be an exhausting mission to accomplish in the bush every day. I guess 6 cars have alread stopped just to take off after only a couple of minutes. Should I be rushing, too? Should I reconsider my strategy? Do I have a strategy at all? If not, is there some way to come up with one?! To be honest: I don't know. I guess all I can do (just like everyone else) is to rely on my luck and appreciate the small animals along the way. Besides I have 7 more nights im the park, so what the hell...ok, so it's 8:31 now, I have spent 1:15h here the sun is blinding me by now, pictures would come out bad anyway, so I guess I just call it quits at this place. Sad but true.

There's, however, hope. :) Maybe I should concentrate on the small animals now and then the predators come as a side dish. Hehe.

***

So now it's evening and I have to admit that this day really had its ups and downs. At a certain point I was quite pissed about having to drive myself all the time because you get to see much less than being at least two people. Except for some beautiful birds of prey I almost saw nothing today. I had to wait until 4:30 to finally see a lioness with 4 cubs at the Houmoed waterhole close to Twee Rivieren camp. Some idiot would park his car right in front of mine. Diagonally. So I decided to close the distance. Well, after I did that I was closer to the lions than everybody else, but 30 seconds later they all took off and went up a hill not to be seen again. Must've been my car again. It could've been my imagination only though it seemed as if everbody around me was a wee bit agitated afterwards. But hey...4 days in the park and there it was...my first big cat sighting! Who cares about the pissed spectators? ;)

I went to the camp right after to get my tire fixed (the tube, remember?) so I stopped at the reception to ask whether the tube has arrived. They told "yes, it has, someone is on his way to bring it to your chalet!". Good job, but why would someone bring it over? That alone doesn't fix, does it? The lady at the reception just looked at me blankly. Despite the fact that the guys in the workshop had told me they'd fix the tire on Saturday, the lady at the reception now told me that the workshop's staff is on "stand-by" over the weekend. Which means: nobody's there. But I can have the tire fixed on Monday morning right before I go on the eco trail starts. Good afternoon, South Africa! :)

Now, after some delicious braai (very creative this time: lamb&baked potatoes) I'll watch a movie and will see, what tomorrow brings. But I'll upload a few more photos for you.

Cheers and sleep tight!

Stefan