Sunset Expectations

I don't know why, perhaps I am just lucky - one guide said it was because I don't have any expectations - that so many and such a wide variety of animals cross my path during my trips to Africa.

From under a group of trees where we had cleared the land enough to pitch our tents for our stay in the Okavango Delta, my guide and I boarded our vehicle and set out a dirt path for a sunset drive; destination unknown. I only wanted to get a nice sunset photo. I had no other expectations of the drive especially since my guide had already stated that the last tourist he had taken into the Delta saw very little wildlife but by then, just on the way to the camp, we had seen a breeding herd of elephant and three lumbering giraffe along with impala and baboons.

The temperature cooled quickly as the sun raced for the horizon. A welcome breeze was in my face as I stood with my head out of the opening of the top of the vehicle. Disney's imagineers might have created the perfect scenery in front of me as a vision of what Africa was supposed to look like; dirt paths leading around clumps of acacia thorn trees with five feet tall termite mounts dotting the landscape. We rounded a corner with a bank on our right leading down to a river where a pod of hippos grunted; one opened his mouth wide to show me all of his long sharp teeth. Then into view came a pride of lion - we counted seven - just waking from their day long nap.

We couldn't meandor long as we needed to be back at camp before the black of night brought out the evenings predators. So we stayed only a minute at the lions then drove on around a curve only to be astonished by a herd of over five hundred cape buffalo that blocked the path. And among the buffalo were several giraffe with a baby in tow.

My guide too was speachless. Sitting around the fire later I smiled in complete joy and thrill of the excellent sunset shot I managed to get. All of the animal sightings were my bonus. Luck, maybe. Or was I just meant to be exactly where I was that day? Or did they show because their were no expectations for them to do so?