Ballon ride and lions...

IRES students only have a few more days here until they leave for Talek and Julia and two other IRES students take their places. Today went on my first hot air balloon ride! Amazing to see the these great big ripples of cloth start to rise into the air as they inflate the ballon. Even more incredible to feel this very solid and heavy basket just start to wobble and lean and then... miraculously start to float and rise way up into the air. For most of the flight we floated fairly close to the ground close enough to watch the topi and tommies running away beneath us. 

Drifted through south and happy zebra territories and then through the 'chute' created by two inselbergs and into an area we don't ever see while researching hyenas. While drifting overhead we spotted some lions and got a very good sighting with them on the drive back. Two males and four adult females... just stunning. Our driver Moses perfectly parked us in the path of the two male lions who strolled right past the cars. Jackals were on the remains of their kill and they were all fat and happy strolling towards some unknown destination. Great to actually see lions up and about... even at a walk their strength and rippling muscle is impressive. Amazing breakfast (which Wes has been raving about) at which we all stuffed ourselves past oblivion and have only now just started to sleep off (or in my case read off). I think I may be skipping lunch today though ha ha. The food was so good I wished I had a hyena belly that would just keep expanding. Not that the food in camp isn't amazing but it is a little bit repetitive and we don't have banana bread here! Enjoyed a few hours in the hammock watching the dwarf mongooses scurry around while I finished a book. 

All of our missing cubs are alive and well save Dr. Pepper. They been hanging around a culvert near the road to Stankho and Mgorro lugga and I think they've been utilizing the culvert itself and the dense grass near it as a den. Great relief to see Digs nursing Ana and Hooker sacked out with BilJ and Crim along with Uzi chilling in the ditch and Sherman with Lady. There were ten hyenas there yesterday- more graudated cubs now than there are at the den! On the drive back to the lodge after the balloon flight I also saw a head poke at Schipol den, the den they were using when I first got here. Seems like these older cubs are migrating around and using different dens temporarily. 

Also had a second really good lion sighting in the evening in happy zebra territory. Saw a male and female lion sacked out with three tourist vehicles present and though the female looked very relaxed the male was breathing heavily so we waited ten minutes and were not disappointed. When the female got up and started walking the male lion quickly followed and they mated behind our vehicle. We got our ID shots while they were up and walking and then continued on! When we drove back by the same spot we were the only car there though a few minutes later a matatu drove up and joined us. This time the female lioness looked like she was going to walk right between the two vehicles! Abruptly she turned to the side and walked next to our land cruiser only a meter and a half away and the male was close behind. Amazing to have this giant male lion walk about a meter away from my window! He was growling too (as was the female) making it all even more intimidating and beautiful!