A typical day so far.

Well, i've roughly ten minutes left on the internet so I figure i'll make another post.

First things first. A single typical day here beats soundly ten at home.

Wake up time is, to my deep despaire, at 6:00 AM. At roughly 6:30 I usually go on a lion walk with either the two S cubs (Sahara and Sahiva) who are a year old or the infinitely more rambunctious Es (Echo and Ektosha) who are 18 months and nearly twice the size of the S's. This walk usually lasts until 7:30-8:15 depending on how energetic they are. Its really alot of fun and actually very relaxing. Relaxing for me, at least. Some folks that come here have a strange fear of these incredibly powerful and potentially deadly beasties. I find that as long as you use common sense you are not in much danger at all.

Breakfast is at 8:30 and we eat VERY well. Very. Very. Well. I think i'm going to come back home weighing more then when I left.

The next activity is at 9:30 and can be anything from cleaning enclosures to feeding the lions (which i'll see five of the fully grown boys fed tomorrow for the first time!) to possibly just joining the handlers on an elephant training session/eating session or walk.

At 1 the activities can again range from cleaning to meat preperation to cleaning the stables.

At 4:30 the afternoon lion walk takes place. This again usually ranges from an hour to two hours. The cubs are very affectionet which is both good and bad. Its fun to have them cuddle with you but if they get too playful you could get a nasty scratch. Injurys dont happen often at all though thanks to the very stern guides/handlers. I have found them to be both a help and a hidrence. They keep the lions in line but dont really seem to feel overly compassionate for them and are very buisness like. Not surprising I suppose as they ARE payed to do it. Some are better then others in this respect.

At 7 is dinner and we again eat exceptionally well thanks to the efforts of a top notch group of cooks.

Our nights are free and for me they have typically been spent relaxing by the fire pit, getting on the internet quickly to update, reading, and going to bed VERY early. This will change, I am told, when the younger volunteers get back from Victoria Falls. They range from 20-28 and the two with me currently are in their upper 40s. While very nice, Jo and her friend are not prone to staying up late or having a very good time.

One annoyance I have noted is that we are seemingly baby-sat at all times by some sort of guide or staff member. Honestly, do we really need supervision while picking up poo and bones or preparing meat?

Enough rambling for now. I'll have pictures of the lion feeding tomorrow up soon hopefully.