Central Serengeti, January 2026

2026 started off strong. It was only the second day of the year, and we had already spotted 47 lions on the morning drive - wild but not unheard of in the Serengeti. Fast forward to late afternoon, and I found myself eye-to-eye with a young male lion, who was curiously looking at me, no more than 10 meters away. I felt a tap on my shoulder, “Madam”, it was Dennis, the Camp Manager at Tabi, the lodge where we were staying. “Could I kindly ask you to go up to the dining area? They are hunting.” I quickly regained composure and looked around - the two Spanish tourists who were sitting across the fire were long gone, and it was just me, Dennis and the Maasai warrior who had come to my rescue. The male lion was still cautiously gazing at us, now joined by two females slowly walking up behind him.

I turned around and, escorted by Dennis (who was visibly baffled by my complete lack of self-preservation instinct), moved up to the main area. The young male and the two females slowly approached the fire, now that all of the people were safely gone, and sat down to enjoy the heat. I couldn’t believe my eyes - I thought animals were afraid of the fire? All the things we think we know until we find ourselves in the wild…

There are a few pieces of important background information - before everyone concludes that I had at that moment of shock completely lost my mind and that I must be just another crazy white woman in the bush. Seven years ago, when Gabi and I first came to Serengeti, my feelings about the wild were completely different. I was terrified by every sound, did not manage to sleep on most nights, and was convinced that lions were coming to hunt me in my sleep. I could see my grandparents reading the ads in the (very judgemental) Bulgarian print media: “Spoiled tourists get eaten by lions on safari in Africa.”  I was mortified. And yes, at that point we were sleeping in tiny, unprotected two-person tents, a very different kind of safari. But let me leave that story for another time... 

It is safe to say a lot has changed since. Gabi and I, together with Satya, founded Ethera Travel about three years ago. We saw the business grow and develop - and we were now in Tanzania to launch our local team, explore the Serengeti in depth and experience this magical place so we could tell the tale to everyone who wanted to visit. 

So that moment with the male lion was very special for me. Because I realised that somehow, after seven years of safaris across East Africa, my fear had completely disappeared and instead turned into what I can only describe as a deep reverence and awe. A lot of people who come for their first safari ask me if it is dangerous, and well, yes, it could be. After all, you are in nature, and nature is unpredictable. But at the end of the day, if you approach nature with respect and let it be, it will not try to harm you. So when the lions want to come to the fire, you get up and leave - grateful that you could experience a magical moment like this.

The lion spectacle continued throughout the night, as the full pride came into the camp grounds. They put on a real show for us while we were up at the main tent, having our dinner. They were indeed hunting - we could see them in the dim light stalking prey. They were likely going after a small herd of Thomson’s gazelles who were huddled by the river bank. We counted a total of 15 lions, some adults, some teenagers, some babies. They walked in single file through the camp grounds, approaching slowly and hiding in the shadows of the falling night on their way to the river. They took a few breaks under trees to regroup and plan. A young female stood to the side nibbling on some grass. “Well she is not that different from a house cat,” I thought.

Eventually they were all inside the camp, two groups waiting behind and the three lions I saw earlier - the two females and the young male - taking the lead and quietly approaching the gazelles. It would have all gone impeccably well if it wasn’t for the family of baboons sleeping on a big acacia tree over the river. As soon as they spotted the lions, they started sounding their very loud, screeching alarm calls. Everyone now knew the lions were there, and the hunt was over. So the lions stayed around camp for a little bit longer, probably considering their next move. They walked around and curiously explored the camp grounds, circled the fire pit once more, and scratched a few trees. Until they finally seemed to have a plan and disappeared into the night, single file, looking for the next potential prey.

And what about us you ask? Well a lot of the food got cold as neither me, nor Gabi, nor Satya, could sit down and eat with all this action around - we were up on the edge of the tent, following every movement of the lions and taking some blurry videos - because honestly, nobody would believe this happened to us otherwise. Finally, once the lions left, we could sit down and enjoy our three-course meal, which, under other circumstances, would have been the highlight of that night, because the food was fantastic. After dinner, the Maasai warrior who kept guard at camp along with a few staff members escorted us back to our tents. The lions were long gone - and nobody knows them better than the Maasai, so as long as we followed his instructions, we were in safe hands.