It was a miserable day in the bush, with rain persisting on and off all day long. Our game ranger informed us that despite the fowl weather you never know what you are going to see, and what lies in wait in the cracks of our continent. So with ponchos on we departed on our afternoon game drive; an adventure waiting to be experienced!
Hoping to be lucky and just see some plains game weathering the forces of nature, our ranger headed for the wetlands area.
Before we even got to see any plains game, not even an impala, our tracker stopped our ranger and pointed into the nearby vicinity, not really being able to tell where he was pointing exactly, the guests asked whether he was commenting on the black clouds in the distance; are we going to get wet? The tracker proceeded to jump of his seat and hop onto the back of the vehicle. Our ranger then put the vehicle into gear and we putted forward, slowly.
As we approached the dam, Mvubu Dam, there in the wide open space near the water, a pair of lions mating. Glorious nature! It is right then that the word, Kinako, came to mind…
When mating, the pair will leave the pride for approximately 5-7 days and mate consistently during this period, every 20-30 minutes. As in the picture, the female will always initiate copulation by presenting herself to the male. It’s a rowdy affair and often turns into a squabble with growling and seemingly aggressive behaviour!
It’s all about being at the right place at the right time once again. It might be winter but the bush is alive with activity and full of awesome photographic opportunities around each corner…especially on the wet miserable days. Amakhosi is home to "once in a lifetime experiences"!
