The lioness' growl

It's the day of departure and we made our way to Shingwedzi, the departure camp. There is a total of six adventurers plus two armed guards called Wayne and Matthew.
After a 70km ride we were dropped in the middle of nowhere. It was about 38 degrees Celsius and we were about to commence our hike. First, however, we were briefed on safety and shown the trowel which will be our friendly toilet companion. We were to leave tracks only, no traces.

So off we embark on a 5km walk to the first camp site, which is located in a bend of the river. Not even 30 min in and we saw a lioness watching us from the distance. As we carefully approached, she fled out of the bushes and with her a few other lionesses, a male lion and a couple of cubs. Our guides proceeded to the resting place with us following in single file to show us what type of place they choose. A menacing growl informed us that retreat is wise and so we scuttled behind the next bush from where we got another glimps of the family before continuing our walk.
Our tent, "bless you Stephen the Ranger" was hidden under branches along the way and was happily bagged.

The first camp site was located in a forresty area on the side of the Mphongolo River. We set up camp and made our way between buffalo poo pies down to the river to fetch water. Water collection is serious business and we were using the elephant method. You basically dig a whole into the sandy riverbed until you reach the water. As the river was completely dried out on the surface it did take some digging. With a cup you lift all the grimy water out of the whole until you get to the clean stuff which is filtered by the sand. It took about 30 min. until the water was getting noticeably cleaner. Obviously, to fill buckets, you spend quite some time on your knees beside the hole. Then it was back to the camp to cook dinner and light the camp fire (all naturally by rubbing a stick on another stick and creating a spark).
The last safety advice for the night: Do not leave your tent as you might bump into rhino, lion or buffalo in the dark, do not light your lamp inside the tent as that would attract curious animals and never leave your shoes outside because hyenas love to play with them.