Zakouma

When we arrived at Tinga camp, we were absolutely filthy. The first thing we did after checking in was shower and take a nap.

After that came lunch, which was excellent. We had paid for 3 meals per day for our time at the park. At home I usually sit on the ground and eat with my hands, so a 3-course meal with a waiter seemed extremely fancy!

We arranged for a guide to come and take us on a drive through the park after lunch. It was INCREDIBLE. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

I’d been asking God in prayer to show us a lion and an elephant. We were kinda skeptical because the last group that went from Béré didn’t see any of either, but I was optimistic. Towards the end of our first drive our guide caught a glimpse of a male lion laying in the bushes. As we got closer, it turned our to be a whole family resting together, which the driver said was incredibly rare to see. There was dad, mom, and three little ones. The little cubs were so cute! We were able to get within about 15 feet of them.

After breakfast the next morning (Sunday) we set out on another drive. The goal this time was to see an elephant. It was getting close to lunch time, and we had seen lots of animals other than elephants. Slightly discouraged, we started heading back to camp for lunch. On the way we got a radio call from the director’s house. He said there was an elephant right by his house! We arrived and stood on his porch, watching a bull elephant about 75 feet away. He was hiding in some bushes, which was not ideal for pictures. But hey, it was an elephant. The director casually mentioned that sometimes the elephants come to the back side of their house for water. As we were about to leave, 8 elephants walked up behind the house! They came right up to the porch and we took the hose and gave them water. SO COOL!

Our final drive was on Sunday afternoon. We had seen most of the main animals already, so this drive was basically just to go see some crocodiles.

Although that drive didn’t bring a lot of new sights, just relaxing in the car and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere was so worth it. We drove all around the park and watched the sun set across the African savanna. It was a wonderful conclusion to our short stay at Zakouma.