Cheetahs, Elephants, and Ostriches Oh My

So, my last weekend in South Africa consisted of an awesome couple of days.

This past Saturday morning, I was collected at 7:20AM by HotSpot2Capetown tours, where were spent another hour or so collecting all other 12 participants, and then headed out onto the spectacular Garden Route Cape Drive.

I did the tour by myself, partially because I've been so enjoying my own company lately that I thought it would be like a nice wee trip with myself, and also so I could feel less guilty when all I wanted to do was listen to music and lounge across the back seat while watching the glorious mountains and valleys roll by. Which is what I did, for five hours, and it was magical.


After the five hour drive (which included a stop at SPAR for sandwiches and chocolate- Sustenance!) our first stop was the Cango Wildlife centre, which was essentially half a zoo and half research/breeding centre. We did a walkthrough involving everything from Snakes to Lemurs to Meerkats in their small animal area, and once that was done, we headed to the Big Cat area.

This walkthrough took us through Cheetahs, Leopards, two White Bengals, a pair of Lions, and a Tiger. We were lucky enough to be going through very shortly after feeding time, so many of the cats were working enormous bloody haunches of some recently slaughtered creature, and the Lioness in particular was working a ribcage with all the gusto of a poor relation (or College Student) invited to Thanksgiving Dinner.

Afterwards, a few of us were more than willing to sign to waiver to go into the Cheetah area, and hang out and pet them. These ones had been raised by humans and socialized from birth, so, while not entirely tame, they were fine with being stroked and touched. We were told only to stroke from the back, and not touch their faces, necks, or bellies. Not because they didn't like it, but because that implied that we were playing with them, and when Cheetah's want to be playful with you, they can hurt you if you aren't prepared for it like their gloved and neck-covered attendants.

It was amazing, and honestly a little intimidating. They were larger than I expected, not that that makes them less dangerous, and there were also two of them, which I didn't expect.  However... They started purring. And leaning back against my hands and knees. See? She is loving it! I am working my massage magic!

Left.....Lower...More left...Perfect. I shan't slash your jugular today.

After the Cheetah's, we phoned our ride while waiting in the Cango Cafe getting acquainted, and I let everyone try my Savannah (Which I will desperately miss.)

That night, we ate Ostrich and played cards in the Hostel, and I had a pretty decent sleep in a horrible dorm bed with a questionable comforter and squashy pillows. I was tired and over-stimulated enough to be out like a light by 11pm, and so the 7am wake-up wasn't too awful. The Hostel breakfast was also delicious, and I had the added bonus of being able to watch Cartoons because one of the breakfast ladies had her small son in, and he was parked in front of the wide screen. Either Cartoon Lineups haven't changed at all, or South Africa is about a decade behind on their children's shows, because I was surreptitiously watching Sonic Underground followed by Rescue Heroes and feeling like I was single digits old again. I wanted to hang around and see if Jackie Chan Adventures was next like I remembered, but we had to catch the bus out.

We went to the Ostrich Farm first, which was surprisingly enjoyable for all it was just about Ostriches. There was a wee dwarf ostrich, an Ostrich Riding Corral (No, I didn't. I Ostriched out), and I did feed two enthusiastic ostriches, and stand on some eggs, which can hold up to 160 kg.

"I don't care if their boys or girls as long as they have two wings and a beak..."

Following the Ostrich Farm, we headed to the Elephant Reserve, where, after another lovely nature walk, we got to hang out with three elephants, orphaned in Kruger, who were raised at the sanctuary and simply loved being fed by us. We each were given a bucket full of melon slices, and shown by the attendants how to offer them food, let them take it with their trunk, or how to ask them to raise their trunk so we could put the food in their mouths. Oh, and afterward, we go to cuddle with them.

D'aaawwwwwww!

 

After the Elephants was our last and longest stop, the drive through the Game Reserve- Hopefully to see the Big Five. Well, we got four of them. Over the course of two and a half hours, we saw, as well as astounding scenery and a beautiful day, 2 Elephants, 4 Giraffes, 3 Rhinos, 1 Lion, and a small herd of Cape Buffalo, as well as numerous species of Antelope, an African Wildcat, many Zebras, and Wildebeest. Possibly one of the most impressive weekends ever.

Day Seized. Cheers.