20 Feet From Lions
Our day began as we climbed into an open 4x4 safari vehicle at Shamwari Private Game Reserve in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. The vehicle had raised seating, with the driver in front and three rows behind providing space for six passengers. With no side doors, everyone had an unobstructed view of the surrounding bush. Before we set out, our guide explained the most important rule: the animals were accustomed to the vehicle itself, but we had to remain seated, quiet, and calm at all times.
We were driving slowly along a narrow dirt track through dry grass and shoulder-high brush in an open safari vehicle. The ride was bumpy as the tires followed the uneven path through the bush, the vehicle rocking gently from side to side. Everyone was scanning the landscape, hoping to spot something moving in the grass or the trees. I remember thinking to myself, “This is costing a lot of money. I hope we actually see something.”
A few minutes later we rounded a bend in the track and suddenly came face to face with four lions feeding on a warthog they had just killed. Our guide quietly told us they were all brothers — a small coalition that often hunted together — and they seemed completely unconcerned about the vehicle sitting only a short distance away.
Earlier our guide had explained that the lions in this reserve were accustomed to safari vehicles. As long as everyone remained seated and quiet, the animals paid little attention to us. To them, the vehicle was simply part of their landscape — neither predator nor prey — and they largely ignored it.
One of the lions suddenly grabbed the warthog’s head and ran a short distance away with it, disappearing into the brush. We could hear the low growling as the others followed, each trying to claim a share of the meal.
After finishing the warthog, the two lions settled into the grass and began licking the blood from each other’s faces, calmly cleaning their muzzles after the meal. It looked almost routine, like the quiet end to an ordinary day in the bush. But sitting in an open safari vehicle, the distance between us suddenly felt very real. There was no fence, no barrier, nothing separating us from them except about twenty feet of African grass. In that moment we truly understood what it meant to be twenty feet from lions.
With the warthog meal finished, one of the lions drifted away from the others and walked slowly through the grass. The blood from the hunt was still visible on his legs, a reminder of what had taken place only minutes earlier. But the intensity of the chase was gone now. He moved calmly, almost lazily, as if simply looking for a quiet spot where he could lie down and begin the long process of digesting a very large meal.
Moments like this are the inspiration behind this site. Over the years we have been fortunate to travel to many countries and experience remarkable places, cultures, and wildlife. But sometimes the memories that stay with you most vividly are the ones that happen suddenly — when you realize that the extraordinary is only twenty feet away.
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Watching these powerful animals at such close range was unforgettable. It was only our first morning on safari, yet already we were witnessing something extraordinary. In that moment I realized that experiences like this — unexpected, unscripted, and sometimes only a few yards away — were exactly why we had come to Africa.
