Sunday, November 25, 2007
The Lion Park - Part 3 - Up Close and Personal
Because it's a reserve game park that looks after endangered or discarded animals (some are left behind by circuses for example), there is an opportunity to get up close and personal to a couple of the animals. The Giraffe is one example. There are volunteers that sell bags of food for a giraffe.
Here is a picture of my sister Jaclyn feeding the giraffe as Sahara looks on and on the right, I am feeding him as well. (Click to enlarge pics)
The last thing we did before leaving was to visit the petting area. They have a few cubs in an area where people can go in and interact with them. There were these French people who just wouldn't leave so I ended up getting near one of the cubs that really had had enough for the day, he was kind of grouchy. He was playing with a little wooden log block. I was sort of putting it back up there when he would knock it off. At some point, something caught his eye...and...he BIT MY SHOULDER!!! It only hurt a little bit--more surprising than anything--but it did leave a couple of welts. I was pretty glad Jackie took Sahara back out after a few seconds.
Here is a picture of my sister Jaclyn feeding the giraffe as Sahara looks on and on the right, I am feeding him as well. (Click to enlarge pics)
The last thing we did before leaving was to visit the petting area. They have a few cubs in an area where people can go in and interact with them. There were these French people who just wouldn't leave so I ended up getting near one of the cubs that really had had enough for the day, he was kind of grouchy. He was playing with a little wooden log block. I was sort of putting it back up there when he would knock it off. At some point, something caught his eye...and...he BIT MY SHOULDER!!! It only hurt a little bit--more surprising than anything--but it did leave a couple of welts. I was pretty glad Jackie took Sahara back out after a few seconds.
The Lion Park - Part 2 - The Cats
Maybe the most interesting part of the day was going through the big cat enclosures. The animals are open and free to roam as they wish. So as you drive through, it's key to keep an eye on things and people in cars are supposed to keep their windows closed. We quickly opened and closed the windows to get a couple of shots. The lions were amazingly close. In fact, at a couple of points, one came up to the game viewing trucks.
And once, one wandered over to stand right next to the front of our car.
And of course there were a lot of lions lazing about, given it was a pretty hot day. Seeing them lying there, you can see why they are called King of the jungle (even though there is no jungle here). They are truly majestic.
Even cooler were the WHITE lions. There were a bunch of them and there were very very interesting.
And of course, the baby lion cubs were adorable...
And once, one wandered over to stand right next to the front of our car.
And of course there were a lot of lions lazing about, given it was a pretty hot day. Seeing them lying there, you can see why they are called King of the jungle (even though there is no jungle here). They are truly majestic.
Even cooler were the WHITE lions. There were a bunch of them and there were very very interesting.
And of course, the baby lion cubs were adorable...
The Lion Park - Part 1
About 20 minutes north of my flat in Sunninghill is an animal reserve. It is a park featuring animals one would normally see in a much larger open animal reserve, but much smaller and in enclosures. Not the ideal way to see the animals but a great way to see them fairly up close and personal. Jac and I grabbed Sahara and went up to the park in mid October and had a fabulous day!
The first thing you really see is a little heard of impala some kind of bok. I have a new camera since I went to Kruger so I can get great closeups.
Then we saw something very surprising. Ostrich farms are quite common in South Africa, and in fact, Oostshoorn, out in the Karoo, was at one time one of the leading producers of Ostrich related goods in the world (meat, feathers, leather etc). As we got going, a large ostrich began crossing the road, stopped in the middle and sat down.
On the other side of the road, there was another large ostrich with a bunch of small little baby birds. Too cute!
The first thing you really see is a little heard of impala some kind of bok. I have a new camera since I went to Kruger so I can get great closeups.
Then we saw something very surprising. Ostrich farms are quite common in South Africa, and in fact, Oostshoorn, out in the Karoo, was at one time one of the leading producers of Ostrich related goods in the world (meat, feathers, leather etc). As we got going, a large ostrich began crossing the road, stopped in the middle and sat down.
On the other side of the road, there was another large ostrich with a bunch of small little baby birds. Too cute!
Time for breakfast!
Sahara is growing like mad and getting prettier every day. Yes, I am a biased aunt, but she really is gorgeous. On October 7, when she was about 5 and half months old, Jac started feeding Sahara rice cereal in the morning. The shots below are of Sahara's first day eating something other than a bottle. It was a little stressful for her I think, but she she got the hang of it pretty quickly.
Off to Harbeesport on a Day Trip...
On September 22 my sister and I took Sahara and Jesse James on a day trip to a little picturesque town called Harbeesport. There is a dam there so there is a bit of a "lake" and there is a little controlled park area for h aving picnics, boating, braaing etc. 
It's only maybe 90 minutes out of Johannesburg and it is another world. The day was brilliant! Sunny, clear and actually bit hot. We just hung out in the park and had a very nice picnic lunch and took a walk through the park.
Here are a few pictures of us after lunch...Sahara is such a beautiful baby.
The last one above is pretty funny. Jac and I always take a self portrait wherever we go. It's supposed to be easier with the new digital camera with the reversible preview screen, but clearly from where Sahara's hat is, we weren't paying attention.
And below, Sahara is clearly unhappy about something I'm doing...
It's only maybe 90 minutes out of Johannesburg and it is another world. The day was brilliant! Sunny, clear and actually bit hot. We just hung out in the park and had a very nice picnic lunch and took a walk through the park.
Here are a few pictures of us after lunch...Sahara is such a beautiful baby.
The last one above is pretty funny. Jac and I always take a self portrait wherever we go. It's supposed to be easier with the new digital camera with the reversible preview screen, but clearly from where Sahara's hat is, we weren't paying attention.
And below, Sahara is clearly unhappy about something I'm doing...
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