Inkwenkwezi...Say that three times!

 March 31, 2021
East London, South Africa

Inkwenkwezi ~ "Morning Star" in the Xhosa language.

If you think the name of this game park is daunting, you don't know the half of it. The Xhosa language incorporates three different "click" sounds in place of various consonants. Unless you're raised with it, I can't imagine how long it would take to sound conversant. But it makes for a beautifully unique language. 

I have to be honest. This was not my favorite game park. First, we were subjected to a 30-40 minute bump and meat-grinder of a ride in the 4 X 4 through a dense forest that thumped us up and down hills and dales, after being warned we wouldn't see any animals here. 

Finally, we reached a relatively level savannah type topography. There were herds of antelope, but all were so far away, even with my camera on zoom, I couldn't get an idea what sort of creatures we were seeing. 

However, I was willing to forgive out driver/guide when he drove us into the separately fenced off section where their pride of lions lived. We didn't see the females, but were told they'd killed a giraffe yesterday that had wandered too close and leaned too far into their enclosure. The lionesses had pulled the hapless giraffe over the fence. 

But the two males were on display for us. They are white lions, which means their manes are blonde rather than dark. After viewing the herd animals from such a distance, I was surprised that we were driven so close to the lions. When I asked our guide why they seemed unconcerned about how close we were to them, he explained that as long as we remained in the 4X4, the lion perceives us as one creature and a big one at that. However, we're not considered a threat, so they ignore us.

Please enjoy the DH's montage to see these two big cats!