After 3 nights four days game driving with Darrel and Paul who booked me privately here in Botswana as their guide, doing camping, we opened a few cold ones for the festive ride back to camp. We were an hour into the fire side celebration when we first heard people singing in the distance.
It was loud happy singing that drowned out the sound of the safari jeep, Landcruiser. As we got closer, I said – they are singing the lion song, then the party started. The staff carried Darrel into camp on their shoulders, the triumphant hero home from slaying simba, the scourge of cattle and goats throughout Africa.
The singing, loud and hypnotic, went on for half an hour, and all the men and women danced in a ring without a trace of self consciousness, and each man, myself included took turns in the center for the next two hours. We laughed and danced telling our stories by the huge round fire place at camp. It was a magical night, and the lion song really cemented the experience of Darrel and Paul staying with us at camp in one of our mobile camping safari tents.