Bumping into big cats on a walking safari in Zambia

“Lion! Two of them!” Bryan grabbed my arm and pulled me down the bank. He had spotted the tawny backsides of two young male lions, darting off from the shade of a tree as they heard us approach.

We headed in the direction they had taken along a dried-up river bed. Paul, the armed scout, and guide Bryan Jackson searched the gully and banks for tracks but were baffled. Eventually, Bryan suggested that we head up the left side. At the top was a narrow track running through some elephant grass that was almost as tall as us. “Don’t forget, if a lion does charge, stand still and don’t run,” he whispered. My heart pounded as we set off down the track, I consoled myself with the fact that Bryan had been in South Luangwa for 15 years and had never been charged.

After a few steps, we heard some loud rustling. The lion were just feet from us, but ran off through the grass. We cautiously carried on down the track and out into a clearing, only to find our way blocked by three elephants; a mother and two offspring. We skirted back to the river bank, as far away from them as we could, until it was safe to cut back through the long grass again.

The adrenalin was still pumping through us as we came out into a large open area, scattered with antelope, zebra and elephant. “Time for a cup of tea, I think,” said Bryan. We settled ourselves on a log, as our tea-bearer Moffat made a fire and smoothed out a tablecloth on the dry grass, meticulously laying it with cups, sugar and milk. Meanwhile, Bryan had his binoculars to his eyes and was slowly scouring the area. “I think there may be a leopard up there,” he said quietly, pointing at a winter thorn tree. “Let’s take a look.”