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Photos and Video from South Africa!
7 years ago
I forgot to post my write-up from Africa here! It was absolutely an adventure of a lifetime and truly a dream come true. So many unforgettable experiences.
Here's nearly 700 photos in 6 different albums up on my Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kijanilion/albums and many videos are up on my YouTube channel - here are some links:
Walking with White Lions
Walking with Cheetahs
Playing with Lion Cubs
Safari Tour and Game Drive Highlights
And here was the journal entry I posted while in the middle of a 26-hour journey home at London-Heathrow airport a few weeks ago:
Sitting here at London-Heathrow airport in the middle of a 26-hour journey home, it's hard to put into words how I feel after the greatest adventure of my life. Yes I miss my own bed, decent internet and my friends... but I can't believe it's over and I feel these 2 weeks went by way too fast.
It wasn't perfect, and being Africa I didn't expect it to be, but all the truly incredible things I got to experience over the last two weeks were beyond my wildest dreams. Some personal highlights:
- The diversity of wildlife we got to see, in all its magnificent forms: A baby hyena snuggling up next to its mother, at complete peace... A pride of lions feeding, with the dominant male stealing his cub's portions for himself... Feeling a full-grown cheetah's soft fur as he purred contentedly... A leopard licking its paws in the late afternoon shade... Being nuzzled by a giraffe while trying to take a selfie... Having a pack of wild dogs run in tandem with our vehicle before splashing around at the waterhole... Being dropped off right in the middle of a herd of wildebeest with their deadly horns, eyes locked onto me, a stranger in their land, as I carefully laid down their supplemental feed... Walking with the largest land mammal, the African Elephant, hand-in-trunk... It was like watching the coolest National Geographic show ever, except we were the directors behind the camera, there in person.
- Surviving the once-in-a-century hail storm, and helping the park staff clean up some of the debris and damage afterwards. Sadly some animals perished, but thus is the Circle of Life.
- Spending time with and caring for the cubs. Over the two weeks we learned their own unique personalities. I honestly felt a little guilty as the park was forced to continue the practice of cub interactions in order to stay open (all our competitors offer it, it's the main tourism draw), but the educational outreach part of it was good, and if we could get some of our guests to care a bit more about lion conservation then it's all worthwhile.
- Getting to interact with Nigel, an 8-month-old lion. When we got there we were disallowed from entering his enclosure, even with a guide, but by the end of the program the staff trusted us enough to go inside on our own. Nigel is that unique age where he's just beginning adolescence, very playful yet starting to show showing his big cat tendencies. In the heat of the day while he was resting he allowed us to touch his paw pads, stroke his newly forming mane and even inspect his teeth! It was amazing to get that close to such a magnificent animal.
- Watching Alex Larenty hug a full-grown lion and making the other lionesses snarl on cue. Animal behaviorism is fascinating work, especially with big cats, and something I would love to learn more about in the future.
- And finally getting to meet and interact with people from all over the world. I probably put in at least 4 hours of work on the weekends greeting guests, answering their questions (my favorite one probably was "If a cub bites me, is it fatal?") and instructing them on how to safely interact with young versions of one of the world's most fearsome predators. We had a great volunteer group as well, only oneI had met in person before, but we were all brought together with a common love for animals and big cats. We shared countless laughs and great memories over dinners, overcoming the language barrier (I was the only native English speaker). Huge thanks to
kitwanalion for inviting me along for this adventure, it wouldn't have happened without him!
I know it won't be my last time on this continent, and while I'm not sure when or where I'll visit next (perhaps Kenya/Tanzania) I'm so fortunate that I've had this opportunity to live out my #1 life dream. Thank you all for following along and I hope it was fun and educational!
Here's nearly 700 photos in 6 different albums up on my Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kijanilion/albums and many videos are up on my YouTube channel - here are some links:
Walking with White Lions
Walking with Cheetahs
Playing with Lion Cubs
Safari Tour and Game Drive Highlights
And here was the journal entry I posted while in the middle of a 26-hour journey home at London-Heathrow airport a few weeks ago:
Sitting here at London-Heathrow airport in the middle of a 26-hour journey home, it's hard to put into words how I feel after the greatest adventure of my life. Yes I miss my own bed, decent internet and my friends... but I can't believe it's over and I feel these 2 weeks went by way too fast.
It wasn't perfect, and being Africa I didn't expect it to be, but all the truly incredible things I got to experience over the last two weeks were beyond my wildest dreams. Some personal highlights:
- The diversity of wildlife we got to see, in all its magnificent forms: A baby hyena snuggling up next to its mother, at complete peace... A pride of lions feeding, with the dominant male stealing his cub's portions for himself... Feeling a full-grown cheetah's soft fur as he purred contentedly... A leopard licking its paws in the late afternoon shade... Being nuzzled by a giraffe while trying to take a selfie... Having a pack of wild dogs run in tandem with our vehicle before splashing around at the waterhole... Being dropped off right in the middle of a herd of wildebeest with their deadly horns, eyes locked onto me, a stranger in their land, as I carefully laid down their supplemental feed... Walking with the largest land mammal, the African Elephant, hand-in-trunk... It was like watching the coolest National Geographic show ever, except we were the directors behind the camera, there in person.
- Surviving the once-in-a-century hail storm, and helping the park staff clean up some of the debris and damage afterwards. Sadly some animals perished, but thus is the Circle of Life.
- Spending time with and caring for the cubs. Over the two weeks we learned their own unique personalities. I honestly felt a little guilty as the park was forced to continue the practice of cub interactions in order to stay open (all our competitors offer it, it's the main tourism draw), but the educational outreach part of it was good, and if we could get some of our guests to care a bit more about lion conservation then it's all worthwhile.
- Getting to interact with Nigel, an 8-month-old lion. When we got there we were disallowed from entering his enclosure, even with a guide, but by the end of the program the staff trusted us enough to go inside on our own. Nigel is that unique age where he's just beginning adolescence, very playful yet starting to show showing his big cat tendencies. In the heat of the day while he was resting he allowed us to touch his paw pads, stroke his newly forming mane and even inspect his teeth! It was amazing to get that close to such a magnificent animal.
- Watching Alex Larenty hug a full-grown lion and making the other lionesses snarl on cue. Animal behaviorism is fascinating work, especially with big cats, and something I would love to learn more about in the future.
- And finally getting to meet and interact with people from all over the world. I probably put in at least 4 hours of work on the weekends greeting guests, answering their questions (my favorite one probably was "If a cub bites me, is it fatal?") and instructing them on how to safely interact with young versions of one of the world's most fearsome predators. We had a great volunteer group as well, only oneI had met in person before, but we were all brought together with a common love for animals and big cats. We shared countless laughs and great memories over dinners, overcoming the language barrier (I was the only native English speaker). Huge thanks to
kitwanalion for inviting me along for this adventure, it wouldn't have happened without him!I know it won't be my last time on this continent, and while I'm not sure when or where I'll visit next (perhaps Kenya/Tanzania) I'm so fortunate that I've had this opportunity to live out my #1 life dream. Thank you all for following along and I hope it was fun and educational!
I would have told them, "No, it's not normally fatal. The cub usually survives it."
I'm glad it was a successful trip, and that you got to live out a dream.
I had to smile when I saw the lion cubs playing with those plastic bottles. They just happen to be my dog's favourite toys, too. I also admired the tour guide you had and giggled when he used that lions tail as a microphone I severely doubt he'd be reading this, but I might as well say it: he's pretty handsome too
Glad you had such a great adventure in South Africa, KJ! And great you got to share it with your other lion buddy!