Kruger National Park, South Africa

James wakes us at half past five. He is our game ranger and works at the lodge. It is pitch dark. Fifteen minutes later it is dawn and time for coffee and warm muffins. We head for the jeep. And, right there, in the middle of the path, huge round foot prints and broken trees. ”An elephant visited last night," James says matter-of-factly, as he enters the open vehicle. It is six o’clock. We are all set for our morning drive.

We have only been driving for five minutes when we come upon a herd of bleating impalas. They are all gazing in the same direction. Alert. “They are frightened,” James says, “probably a lion or a leopard.” Really? We hope, we wish. Will we get a glimpse of a leopard? But no such luck. Just a lone hyena gracefully crossing the road, not paying any attention to our whereabouts. The impalas spot him and bolt. In an instant they are gone. The hyena meanders back the way he came. Disappointed.

James takes “ a road less traveled by” to increase our chances of seeing a lion on kill. But today only spiders are to be seen here. They have woven their webs across the road. Big spiders anticipating their prey. “This is why I usually do not take this road,” James explains. “I hate these spiders.”

We travel along and soon giraffes appear, along with wart dogs, hippos, kudus, zebras, rhinos, shongololos, bamboos, ostriches and a tortoise. Suddenly, James exclaims: “Wild dogs!” He is gasping. “Awesome." This is the fourth time in my entire life that I have seen wild dogs. They are rare. People would gladly trade 20 lion sightings for a wild dog.” We aim through our lenses and shoot them with our cameras as they run alongside the road. Like wolves. Quickly and quietly, they completely disappear into the bushes. In seconds, it is as if they were never there.

And then the elephants are upon us. Enormous. Magnificent. With some babies too. James asks us to sit still. “You never know about these elephants. One might be bad.” He stops the car and we watch them eat, their trunks centimeters from the car. My heart seems to stop beating as I think "Is this the end?" But the elephants pay no attention to us. They simply keep eating and flopping their trunks. What a noise! “They seem all right,” James whispers.

Listen to James talking about the elephants as they are crossing in front of the vehicle.

We continue down the road. This is where the "Walking Safaris" are usually conducted. However, since we chickened out and canceled the walking part, there are no walking safaris today. Thus we can explore this area with the luxury of wheels. Though even with wheels, we nearly get stuck crossing a muddy creek.

We are searching for lions. Reportedly, nearby there are three lionesses with eight cubs possibly all together, hiding in the bushes. Our eyes are focused. We are concentrating. But only vultures are to be seen. “That is a very good sign,” James says, "I really think I catch a whiff of something. A kill, perhaps.” We want to see a lioness, but there are none to be seen.

Just as we are about to give up, she is right in front of us. A lioness. Just five meters away. She is barely visible in the yellow grass. Resting, but breathing heavily. Showing her teeth. Eyeing us. “Do not get frightened if she attacks the car,” James whispers, “ they sometimes do when they feel pushed.” Getting up slowly, she crosses in front of the vehicle. Maybe she is checking on her cubs.

Listen to the sighting of the lioness.

We continue our drive to ”The Sleep Out” – a camp where tourists like us can sleep under the open sky – at an extra ZAR 2000, of course. James tells us he will sleep here tomorrow night for the first time. He shares with us why he likes working as a game driver in Kruger National Park, a job he has had for just one month. Previously, he worked two years at a private game reserve – “something completely different,” he says.

Returning to the Lodge, three hyenas cross the road in front of us. “Something really must have happened here in the early morning hours,” James explains, “The hyenas are a sure sign. I wonder...”

What really happened, we will never know, but it might have been our leopard devouring his impala kill, while our hungry hyenas watched from a distance, awaiting the scraps.