Safari Day, Part Two: Land

Three hour safari game drive: the group is stoked. A van pulls up at the front of the lodge to pick us up, and the first thing we notice is that there is seating on the roof of the van, which is excellent. Jigna and I climb up to sit on the roof at the front of the vehicle so that we can have the first glimpse of any wildlife.

I spend the next three hours in this spot, holding on tight, feeling the breeze on my face, scanning the horizon for animals, and it feels incredible. Our van is rolling down the grasslands at a decent clip, but our guide slows down if we're approaching animals to give us time to take photos. We get to see a herd of 23 giraffes up close - they are literally surrounding us from all sides. What odd animals - huge, majestic, yet strangely awkward, with such dazzling patterns on their coats.

Later we stop the van amid tons of antelope - beautiful creatures of several different families - many specific to Uganda. Our guide sticks his head out the window and to yell their names out to me, still on the roof. Oribi, Kop, Hartebeest. They are all gorgeous.

We've heard reports of lion sightings from fellow visitors, and we are eager to stumble upon the lion family others have been lucky enough to see. It's getting dark though, and ominous clouds have formed. On the horizon, we can see it is raining. No idea how far away the rain is though. It feels like we can see for miles, and I struggle to judge the actual distance ahead.

Our guide steers us towards a known lion hotspot, and thinks he catches a glimpse of a female, but nobody can be sure. "We're going to try it off-road!" he exclaims, and suddenly our van steers into the brush, into waist high grasses, following what we think is the path of a lionness. The sky gets darker. In the grasses we are blind to obstacles - large rocks, uneven ground. From the roof, I wonder how safe this is. The trail goes cold - we never do find our lionness. Our guide is disappointed, but none of us seem too upset - we are still taking in the beauty around us.

When it starts to rain, we finally get down off the roof and into the van. Visibility is poor due to the weather, and the night sky is taking over. Out in the grasslands, we're not too sure how far we are from the lodge - at least a good hour, and we have only the headlights of the van to guide us back.

We veer around mud puddles and shifted rocks. Inside, we nervously look at each other, and buckle our seat belts. We swerve left and right to avoid obstacles, till finally we hit something hard, and end up in a ditch at the side of the road, the whole van tilted on a 45 degree angle. Everyone leans to the right, afraid we'll tip over completely.

Once we recover from the shock, we all step out of the van in the rain, into the mud, while our guide and driver manage to steady the vehicle and get us back on the road. We all feel like we are in the movie Jurassic Park - wild animals lurking in the darkness around us, rain coming down. What an adventure, though.

Of course, we make it back, safe and sound just like we always do, and we have many great photos to oooh and ahh over, and an amazing story to tell.