One of the more  famous prides inthe lower Kruger National Park is the Lubyelubye Pride.  Over several years and many visits to the park I have been lucky to see them several times lying on the rocks near the bridge and river that gives the pride its name but I have never had a really close viewing of these magnificent creatures.  All this changed on Thursday June 8, 2017.  I was driving north on H 4-1 and had just left Sunset Dam when there was a road block of cars that usually denotes a lion or other big 5 animal has been sited.  Sure enough everyone was trying to get a view of a pair of male lions on the riverbank but, there was only one or two spots where the lions could be seen clearly.  I realized that I would probably not get a chance at a good view and decided to move on.

About two hundred meters up the road I spot a lioness coming up from the river and coming towards the road.  I quickly stopped and backed up a few feet to view at least 7 maybe 8 lionesses roaming around in the tall grasses next to the road.  One or two came up onto the road when babies began to appear in the grass just to the north of where the lionesses were coming out onto the road.  One baby of about 7 came out onto the road.  He was crying for his mom but the two lioness
es crossed the road in front of my car and went into the bush…after a few minutes four more lionesses crossed in front of my car.  The baby returned to the grasses next to the road and joined the other young lions that ranged from a couple months old to maybe six to seven months old.

This needless to say was my best viewing of this wonderful pride and one of the best lion sightings I have had in Kruger National Park.  I am thankful that I decided not to wait to see the two males because I was rewarded with a much better viewing of the rest of the family.