Tourists wearing face masks as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus get off from an open vehicle during a guided safari tour at the Dinokeng Game Reserve outside Pretoria, on 7 August 2020.PRETORIA - Tourists gasp as two lionesses elegantly pad across the track, barely glancing at the jeep-load of city dwellers escaping lockdown at a game reserve in Gauteng, South Africa's coronavirus epicentre.
As the only park in Gauteng offering sightings of the popular"Big Five" - buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion and rhino - Dinokeng Game Reserve has attracted nature lovers who would normally drive to remote larger parks elsewhere in the country. The lodge is fully booked through August by South Africans eager to holiday after months of confinement.Lindy Jansen Van Vuuren, 42, beamed up at her husband as a pair of nyala antelope sidled past the jeep and trotted lightly towards the sunrise.
"We usually go down to the coast or overseas for our holiday but obviously we can't do that," said Zachariades, who came from Pretoria after finishing her exams. After the morning drives, guests rubbing sanitiser over their hands trickled into the restaurant for lunch.