A pride of lions encircles us. Perched in the open back of a 4x4, we are completely exposed — there’s nothing to stop these beautiful but deadly beasts from attacking us. We remember our safari guide’s advice: if we don’t stand up, the predators will see our eight-strong group as one big unit and leave us alone.
We watch, fascinated, as two lionesses tumble across the grassy plains, playfully leaping on and swiping at each other with their huge paws. Nearby, their sister fends off the attentions of a male lion, and their mother takes a rest. It is a rainy, stormy night and all is pitch-black apart from the powerful torches of our game viewing vehicle and the occasional lightning strike illuminating the purple clouds above.
After 20 minutes or so, the big cats start to move on, and our guide drives us back to the well-worn dirt track, disturbing three sleeping rhinos on the way.
We are in the 10,000-hectare, malaria-free Shambala Private Game Reserve in South Africa. An easy two-and-a-half-hour drive from Johannesburg international airport, it is unique for being a big-five reserve that doesn’t share its land with any other. Unlike the country’s sprawling Kruger National Park, where off-roading is
