17 July 2014-
Today we're packing up from our friend's house and heading toward Pilanesberg. You'll just have to wait and see what's in Pilanesberg!!!!
Here's Debbie's lovely welcoming garden (she's a big time gardener):
On the way out we stopped at a post office to mail post cards and a meat shop to pick up some beef jerky for the ride….check out this shop I spotted next to the meat shop:
Here's the meat market. From what Debbie tells me, South Africans really LOVE their meat!
On the open highway…I spotted several people standing along side the road. They're waiting for a taxi. These taxis aren't what the kind of taxi we usually think of – they're minivans- and they apparently rule the road!
Well, this sign definitely caught my attention: it's a warning sign that the next 4km are a highjacking hotspot.
Croydon is riding is beautiful Harley motorcycle:
Views from the road:
We stopped in Hartbeespoort for lunch at the Upperdeck Restaurant:
Next to the restaurant there was this little shopping market:
Lunch! Yummy but too much food for me!
Upperdeck Restaurant:
Back on the road; here's a little boy standing next to these piles of firewood for sale:
Here is a stand of oranges and avocados for sale:
We made a quick stop at Croydon's sister's house. I'm sorry but I didn't take any photos there. We dropped off Croydon's motorcyle and we picked up Croydon's parents who will be joining us on our trip to Pilanesberg.
After our brief stop we did a quick shopping trip for a BBQ dinner…after all, we're in South Africa – so we should do a braai dinner, right???
Ostrich meat selection at the local grocery store:
We made it to our destination, MakinkyManzi, and here's inside our cabin:
Pretty awesome, isn't it? Very rustic and utilitarian…I do love it!
Debbie tells us that we should load back up into the vehicle…there's some place very special we have to go to tonight.
The location is extremely close to our lodgings- it's a…let's see, what to call it? A breeding facility for animals to be sent overseas (as in zoos). What kinds of animals???
Lions for starters:
He's gorgeous, isn't he?
Our hostess here, Yolande, helps to raise the animals (I think only big cats). She's more like the cats' mother. She took us around so that we could get a closer view of some of the animals they have here at this facility.
Here's a caracal:
I think this kitty really likes Ava:
Awwwww…how sweet! (and so soft and cuddly!)
This is, I think, a serval. Friendly but a little bit timid too:
Yolande inside the cage with juvenile lions she has raised. Now, if we tried to go inside this cage we would be goners but they view Yolande as their mother so they won't intentionally hurt her.
Here she is hugging a Siberian tiger she's raised since it arrived as a cub (same deal here …she's viewed as a mother by the tigers):
We got to meet and pet toddler lions. They're fiestier than what I'd expected! They're exactly like a toddler – they like to bite and play (they don't mean to hurt or harm). However, they play a little harsher than what we're comfortable with. They like to jump, bite, and claw (and hence we're holding tight on to the kids):
Those are Croydon's parents in the photo above.
Croydon helped by holding on to Ava. Thank you, Croydon!
Lion fur, by the way, was quite rough and course. I was expecting it to be softer (like the caracal's soft fur). Will it get softer with time??? Don't know. I'm not about to pet an adult lion to find out!!!!
We've heard that a new addition to the facility is about to arrive…we're anxiously awaiting its arrival:
What arrived? A truck carrying two cheetahs! They were released into this cage and Yolande went in to greet them. She does have a way with these big cats! She quickly calmed them down.
I'm on the right side of the fence! LOL! Yolande calming a new cheetah:
The funny thing is….Yolande is apparently allergic to cats! That doesn't seem to stop her from caring for these animals.
The sun is starting to set and it's cooling down. Seeing the cats was an amazing experience!
Ava getting a closer look at one of the newly arrived cheetahs:
Back at our lodging we're getting dinner:
And, it turns out it's Croydon's 40th birthday…so the ladies at the lodging, at Debbie's request, baked up this treat for him:
Happy birthday, Croydon! Thanks for allowing us to share this special day with you and your family. What an amazing journey…and what a fantastic day we had today!!!!
Ava ate her yummy piece of cake. Yes, it was good.
It was a glorious day filled with all sorts of new adventures. South Africa does not fail to impress!