Frissons en safari à pied à Lower Zambezi

That morning, in Lower Zambezi, we set out on foot with our guide from Sausage Tree Camp, in a small group of seven. The light was soft, the air still cool, and we walked in silence, focused on every step, every sound, every scent. There was something primal about the atmosphere, as if we were touching an Africa still wild and untouched.

At one point, the guide suddenly stopped us. He signalled for us to crouch behind a rock, then to position ourselves downwind. A lone elephant wasn't far off, and we needed to make sure it caught neither our scent nor our presence. I trusted our guide, his calm and his reading of the terrain, but I couldn't help imagining every scenario. My heart was pounding.
This tension, this real danger, was a first for me on safari. 

Suddenly, a commotion among the birds, shrill, chaotic calls, caught our attention. The guide whispered: “That's an alert call.”
He thinks a big cat is prowling nearby. We'll see nothing on foot… but at sunset, as we drove peacefully in the 4x4, two lions emerged in the golden light. Impressive, magnificent. And I must admit that at that moment, I was quite glad to encounter them under these conditions, comfortably seated and perfectly safe!