Have you ever had an inexplicable moment with a particular animal? I have witnessed guests having them and have been fortunate to experience this moment myself. It is particularly difficult to put it into words. It is something that moves you so deeply that it feels like it is touching your soul. The only way that this overwhelming feeling escapes is generally through tears. I was blessed to be able to witness and share this moment with 3 of my guests recently and it makes a safari in my eyes a massive success.
My own moment came on very ordinary day, we were staying up at Tamboti Tented Camp and as you do we were searching for Casper The White Lion. This particular morning we headed out in our vehicle driving with our good friends and fellow guides Yusuf and Tiny from Awesome Safari’s. We had some beautiful Lion sightings on our way to Satara to take a chance and hopefully find The Ghost of Kruger.
We entered the Satara area and turned right planning to head down the H6 to start our search. As we were heading down we got news from Julian Regamey. He had found him, a few kilometers down the S100 and so, with our hearts in our mouths and a whole lot of hope we made our way down the S100.
As we drove I wondered if this was going to be my day, the day I saw the oldest White lion living in the wild.
As we rounded a corner there he was on hill in the most spectacular golden light we had ever seen an animal in. He was soaking up the morning sun. My soul shook as he got up and made his way down towards the road.
As the tears rolled down my cheeks he walked past our vehicle, we then repositioned and had this glorious visual of him walking directly at our car. Our eyes met and it was nothing short of the most memorable moment I have ever experienced with one animal.
A complete anomaly, thriving in the bush with the back up of his beautiful tawny brothers. Often he is seen alone, I wonder what makes him somewhat of a loner and wanderer, does he know he is different?
I could see him multiple times and I would never be able to recreate that morning or that moment where he touched a piece of me that will forever remain in my heart and memory.
We had finally found The Ghost of Kruger.