Queen Liz, part 1

En route to Queen Elizabeth National Park, we saw a mini-bus with these words decal'd on the back window:

IF GOD SAY YES

WHO CAN SAY NO?

It made me happy. On the way into the park, we saw a pair of lions lounging in the long grass. (Holy crap, we really are in Africa!)We arrived at Mweya later than anticipated, around nightfall, and some of us (who shall remain nameless) panicked when faced with the prospect of spending the night at a wide open, unguarded campsite. We realized that if the park rangers aren't expecting anyone—or if you don't arrive early enough—there won't be anyone there in the evening to light a fire and keep the animals away. Jill offered to spring for a night at the fancy-pants lodge up the road, but we nixed that idea as soon as we realized how much it would cost. (Take your biggest estimate and double it! Sheesh!) Fortunately there was a good hostel-restaurant nearby, so we had a cute and very reasonably priced little cottage to ourselves for the next two nights. You should have seen the stars.(If you are wondering if I got enough to eat as a vegan, it was all good. I ate so much hearty tasty food in Uganda and Rwanda that I'm devoting an entire post to it!)In the morning we got up before dawn, and saw many beautiful animals and landscapes:Next time: WE WERE THISCLOSE TO A LEOPARD AND IT WAS GORGEOUS!(All Uganda and Rwanda entries here.)