In the hours of darkness

Last night I went to sleep early but was disturbed four times. First our house alarm was set off by some mysterious force. As far as I know the only way to set it off is to press one of the panic buttons that are placed in each room. My housemate and I were asleep so I'm not sure how that happened.

The next three times I woke up were due to a loud animal in the neighboring reserve. I think it was a lion. (EDIT: Confirmed--It was a lion, and it was very close. Maybe 1km from here.) It's sort of terrifying to wake up to the noise of an unknown but obviously large animal. Each time I opened my eyes I had a fleeting sense of panic. That feeling passes as I remember that the big five are trapped inside an even bigger fence and I'm inside a locked house, and I feel warm and secure in my bed. But as my brain starts working again, I start to process the strangeness of listening to an animal that, for me, only existed on TV. Sleeping in this bed suddenly feels foreign. My distance from home feels more real. It is a feeling that either doesn't exist or that I ignore during the day.

Saturday morning I'm planning to visit Kruger National Park for the first time. The gate is within 20 km from home. I'll go tell the neighbors to keep it down after 10pm. Readers of this blog will probably be seeing many more animal photos beginning Sunday. Maybe even an amazing video?