A whole new level of fear...

This was the best part of the trip. We were stopped (off road, which is illegal), and we were getting some good pics of a pride of lions. There were several mamas and lots of cubs. We were only maybe 12 steps away from them. As we were looking, we noticed that there was another lioness about the same distance from us on the other side of the vehicle as well. We were busy oohing and awwing when one of the girls said to the driver, "Could you move forward just a couple of inches so I can get a better picture." He did and "BOOM!" the front tire dropped into a HUGE hole. It swallowed the hole tire. The driver tried to move the vehicle, but to no avail. The guide looked at the driver, the driver looked at the guard and some words that I don't think were nice words were uttered. After a while, it was clear that we weren't getting out of that hole unless someone helped us. The guide very cautiously opened the door and looked at the hole. He told me to watch the lioness on my side and the others to watch the lions on the other side. He said, "If they move at all, tell me quick!" He tried to push as the driver tried to move us again. The vehicle didn't budge, but the lions began to take notice. The guide got back in and more words were exchanged. The guide got back out and told us to watch the lions closely. He began to dig with his hands to make a slope out of the hole. He dug and watched and dug and watched and then told the driver to try again. IT WORKED! We got out of the hole and he jumped back in just as the lions were getting a little restless. We snapped one more pic while the lioness panted heavily. The guide said she was getting upset and we must go. And away we went. How cool is that?! We were almost killed by lions...at least that's how I'm telling it.