Today finds us at the Tembe Elephant Park in Northern KwaZulu Natal just south of the Mozambique border. We’re here with another senior missionary couple, Elder & Sister Wood, enjoying some time together in one of the more remote game reserves in South Africa. We arrived yesterday afternoon in time for a game drive and then spent a wonderful evening together enjoying good food, the peace and quiet of nighttime in the deep bush, and the natural wonders surrounding us.  

We awoke at first light the next day to enjoy a continental breakfast before setting out for an early morning game drive. The temperature was cool as we bounded across the sandy roads, and the first hour and a half of travel was spent tucked under a blanket staying warm while the day slowly unfolded around us. Animals were scarce in number with only a few birds, Nyala, and Impala showing themselves, but the drive was wonderful nonetheless. It’s always good to be out in the wild places, wherever they are.

We continued traveling and then stopped for a short break at a peaceful setting in a vast stretch of open grassland. Our guide, Vusi, told us it was a good time to get out and stretch a bit and then enjoy a mid-morning snack. As is my nature, I took advantage of the time and wandered off to find a bit of solace. Vusi, sensing my intent, called out and cautioned me not to go too far. As quiet and peaceful as the setting appeared, the potential for danger was ever present, and no one could predict what might lie behind a group of trees or within the grasslands that stretched for long distances around us. I heeded Vusi’s counsel and found a level section of open ground to sit on that was closer to the land cruiser and provided a safer vantage point to take in the quiet, the bigness, and the wildness about me. 

I relished some time of quiet reflection and then stood up to begin making my way back to the rest of the group. I took one last look around and was surprised by what I saw. Just moments before, it was just myself and wide open space. Now, I had company. Behind me, up a small hill, a group of cape buffalo had suddenly appeared and were slowly moving toward me. In front of me, three male Impala were grazing at the base of a tree covered slope in the distance. And back behind the land cruiser, a group of elephants we’d observed earlier in the morning were starting to come into view. Buffalo to the right of me! Impala in front of me! And elephant behind me! Instantly, my senses became keenly alert, and the scene of quiet contemplation became charged. Excitedly, I made my way back to the land cruiser and joined the rest of our company to begin preparing for the next part of our drive.

As we settled back into the land cruiser, our guide asked if we wanted to backtrack to take a closer look at the elephant group or move on to new ground. We elected to move on and so off we went - up an incline, around a sandy bend, and then, just as we started to relax and settle into the rhythm of driving again, everything instantly changed. The land cruiser jerked to a halt, and there, stretched out before us in a deep rut of the road, was a large lioness, peering off through the trees in the direction from where we had just had our rest stop. She seemed relaxed, unlike all of us who were sitting wide-eyed, monitoring every breath to make sure we did nothing to disturb the moment. We were definitely in the right place at the right time, and these moments, especially in a game reserve in Africa, can never be predicted. When they occur, they are forever etched in one’s memory.

The lioness gazed at us, and then, sensing no threat, returned her attention to whatever had held it previously. We watched as she peered through the trees, seemingly relaxed and enjoying some restful moments on the cool sand. Then, everything changed again. In one fluid movement, and without the slightest indication, she stood up and began moving off the road with something clearly purposeful in mind. Once in the brush, she immediately dropped into a prone position with muscles taut and her attention completely riveted on something in the distance. She was preparing to hunt! The air was charged, and as we looked off in the direction she was staring, we could see a group of three Impala feeding on the grasses just below us. As I marveled at what was unfolding, it suddenly occurred to me that these were the same three Impala that I had observed during our rest stop moments earlier. And then something much deeper occurred to me, something that made me pause and raised the tension I was already experiencing to a higher level. Like the Impala in the distance, oblivious to the danger so close at hand, had I also been under the same scrutiny as they? While I had been sitting in the open grassland, lost in wonder at the grandeur and immensity of Africa, had the attention of this lioness, ever patiently waiting for the right moment to act, been focused on me as well? It was a sobering thought to consider and to learn from: In the bush of Africa, vigilance must never be an afterthought.