The initial briefing for guests is one of the most important aspects of a safari in Botswana as the camps are not fenced and the potential for danger is always around if certain rules are broken.

Guests reacted in a number of ways to the briefings, especially the part about the dangers of wildlife around the camp. Most would listen and take the warnings to heart but there were those who would snort in derision at the idea of wild animals coming close, let alone into camp.

There are always the Few

Through my years of mobile safari guiding in Botswana I was privileged to have experienced many sightings but some of the most fascinating behaviour I experienced was of the human kind. The majority of guests came on safari to enjoy what the African Wilderness had to offer but there were the few who took the safari as a place to show their machismo. I generally ignored the behaviour, unless it affected the other guests, as I believed that nature would take its course.
On one particularly memorable occasion there was a guest, who had snorted derision when I was explaining the dangers during the briefing, who insisted on walking away from the camp site in the evenings and stand just out of the circle of light.
During the game drives he would cluck and chortle whenever I explained something. There was a single lady in the group that he was trying to impress so I ignored his behaviour, save for keeping an eye on him when he was doing his evening ritual.
On the third evening of the safari we had arrived at Moremi North Gate quite late and by the time we had the tents set up the light was fading. The wanderer headed out on his usual routine, but this time I asked him to come back as I had not had time to scout the area. With a dismissive gesture he walked further out. 'Oh for a lion to walk through camp', I thought to myself. Hardly had the thought passed through my mind when I heard the low rumble of a lioness calling her pride.

There is a Lion Heading in Your Direction

'Umm there is a lion heading in your direction', I said to him. I was still not sure how far the lioness was from where we were. The gentleman was about 30 yards from me, and still making his derisive sounds, when a full-throated roar split the evening.
With the roar I saw the lioness coming out of the bushes - about twenty meters from where the guest had been standing. She was moving away from camp but the roar had indicated something more - it had shown me that nature deals with attitudes in its own unique way.
I walked slowly back to camp, where all the guests were now standing around watching the lioness move off roaring as she went. All the guests that is, save for the wanderer who was nowhere to be found.
He later eased over to the fire, sat down without saying a word - and was very reserved for the rest of the safari.
By Leigh Kemp