The King is definitely worth waiting for

If you aren't staying in Kruger National Park itself, you'd better get to a Park gate bright and early to ensure you'll get in.

Due to the strict quota, if you don't come early enough, chances are you won't get into the park at all.

We were at Croc River Bridge Gate by 5:30am and already there were dozens of cars lined up.

Well, as they say "pictures speak louder than words", i'll let ours do the talking.

In a nutshell, it was a day of warthogs, buffaloes, hippos, elephants, giraffes, zebras, kudu, springbok, baboons, vervet monkeys, and even bats sleeping upside down in a hut while we had our lunch!

The only thing we hadn't spotted yet (besides the cheetah and leopard, which are very difficult to spot anyways), was the lion.

We drove and drove and drove - all at 50 km/hr, the max speed limit in the park - but no luck.

And just when we had resigned ourselves to the fact that we wouldn't see a lion that day, driving back towards the gate before closing time (6:30pm), we met a big traffic jam of cars, jeeps, and safari vans, all with heads and limbs sticking out.

The woman in the car beside us mouthed the word "LION" and pointed up ahead.

We couldn't believe it! And a few seconds later, we spotted them. An elegant lioness and her stunning male companion.

All the cars were trying to push and nudge their way up to get better shots.

Our luck came through right then and the lions walked right behind us and beside our car window.

The male lion even brushed his tail against the side mirror!

I was so ridiculously happy for the rest of the night; my Kruger safari was complete!