Travelling from Maputo to Marracuenne

And this is what I saw....

News of Today

#1. I hit a hole in one!

#2. I bought my giraffe. She is taller than me!

Visiting The Lion Park

I have had this on my "to Do List" the past couple of times when I have visited Johannesburg. This time, I intended to do it! I went with a friend of mine who lives in Johannesburg. I jokingly said I was going to smuggle a lion cub out of the park in my handbag, but I found that the cute five month old cubs were not as friendly as I had hoped or expected. I guess they get a bit sick and tired of people touching them. One in particular kept trying to take a swipe and/or  bite of me. Still, I enjoyed the experience. They have such enormous paws. It was strange when we went for a drive around the park, it was the humans that were in the cage and the animals were outside roaming free! One lioness actually jumped up at the security door of the safari truck.

The park also had giraffes which you could hand feed. I bought a bag of "giraffe food" to entice them, but they were non-compliant that day! I was hesitant around the ostriches as they looked and acted quite mean. One kick from their legs would cause serious damage! I saw a leopard sleeping, but he was in a caged area which made viewing difficult. There were meerkats, too. They are always funny to watch. The big daddy lions were so majestic looking with their big manes. Again it was a hot day, so they were just lazing about in the shade.

Another adventure had by Mrs. O.!

This lion cub was more sedate.

Napping cubs during the heat of the day

What do think this meerkat would be saying if he could talk?

Beware of cranky ostriches!

What do they say about sleeping lions?

Isn't he majestic?

Time for a quick drink and a snooze.

Daddy lion with his cubs

The rascally lion cub who tried to scratch me! you can tell by his ears he was not happy or up to mischief!

Leopards like to hang about during the heat of the day.

It's tough being a lion! Did you know that in the wild, the lionesses make the kill for the pride. Then they allow the male the first feed, followed by the lionesses and then the cubs. 

The Famous SUN CITY

On leaving Pilansberg National Park, we drove to SUN CITY. It is a huge resort, casino and golf course nestled in amongst mining areas and shiny townships. There are a host of sports and adventures to do. Entertainment galore. The game arcade is a teenager's idea of heaven! A real "family friendly" holiday resort with its own little zoo. They have the biggest "kids club" I have ever seen. Google search it for a better look! You will be amazed at what is on offer there.

We had a few hours to look around. Mr. O. wanted to have a surf in the mechanically enhanced waves.   A warning bell signals the imminent release and arrival of the waves. lifeguards are on duty. The bottom is rough concrete. You wouldn't want to be knocked down by these waves, or ouch! I remember seeing it on a holiday show and it featured as a task on the reality show "The Amazing Race".

SAFARI #2

Mr. O. and I had a weekend in the PILANSBERG NATIONAL PARK. We stayed at a small, but lovely place called "Ivory Tree Resort" which was situated right beside the entrance to the national park. We went on two morning safaris which left at 5:30 and returned us back in time for breakfast at 9am. We also went on two evening safaris from 4:30- 8:30, with dinner served when we returned.

Now which is the best viewing seat in the safari truck?

The beautiful and inquisitive kudos

The wildebeest  or gnu

Sundowners!

Another romantic dinner in Africa

Stay out mossies!

Mummy rhino with her baby. It is so sad and deplorable that poachers kill these  beautiful creatures for their horns!

Where in the world are you, Mrs. O.?

"Right here!"

The Ivory Tree Lodge

Our bungalow

Mummy and baby

Mummy warthog with five babies!

Curious kudos

Guineafowl or "bush chicken"

Beware, giraffes crossing!

A group of giraffes is called a "journey of giraffes".

Now it's a zebra crossing!

A herd of elephants at the waterhole

It's like Noah's ark!

The collective noun for a group of zebras is "a dazzle of zebras". 

On the day safaris, we saw zebras, giraffes, elephants, wildebeests, rhinos, impala, springbok, warthogs and my favourite...the kudos. It was too hot for the lions and leopards to be out. They must have been hiding under some shady trees or at a cave entrance somewhere in the park. We went in search of them at night, but alas, no sightings by us ;0(  Others managed to catch a glimpse! We did hear some male lions calling to each other at night. We weren't far from them as they were in the thicket nearby. Oh well, we will just have to go on another safari to find them! We thoroughly enjoyed observing the amazing creatures that we did  see. Funny thing is that alot of  the "bush" is very much like Australia. There were times when we half expected to see a mob of kangaroos bounding across our path! Instead the giraffes would remind us that we were in Africa as they  gracefully checked for traffic and lopped across the road to the other side.