After a valiant effort by the USA last night, we left the stadium witnessing the last match of the 2010 USA World Cup team (though many of us quickly started to plan for 2014 in Brazil - anyone?).
Our late night turned into a an even earlier morning, as we woke up around 5am to tour the incredibly expansive game park that Pilanesburg has to offer. Most of us were skeptical at the odds of us seeing live game walking and feeding near our cars, but we were wrong.
The first 20 minutes of the self-guided tour provided us with some shots of the sun rising and the moon setting over the mountains. How often do we get to see that back home?
Seemingly out of nowhere, the first car, driven by the one and only Mike Taylor (or currently known as Zimbabwe Bob / Zimmy B), slammed on its brakes and told us to continue to back up. The second car couldn't see much, but of course we had to trust Zimmy B's native instincts (you'd be stupid not to).
Sure enough, there they were -- two full-grown male lions walking down the middle of our road. These creatures are impressive enough in textbooks and when leading a chorus in animated movies, but this was far better than what we had expected.*
The remaining portion of the game park tour (one of possibly three) had us wind through some pretty scenic topography. We also saw a handful of zebras, warthogs and other African animals that our free pamphlet failed to identify.*
So, as I'm sure you have read, we will be at Pilanesburg until tomorrow morning. We will then drive back to Jo'burg and leave for Victoria Falls (in Zimbabwe, by the way) on Tuesday. There we will enjoying some whitewater rafting, walking with the lions and a booze cruise. Sadly, our two-week escapade in Africa will come to a close on July 3, when we depart from Jo'burg for Atlanta and finally home in Chicago.
Cheers.
*Due to these lovely computers at our place of stay (circa early '90s), we are unable to post photos. We will have a separate site set up for all of our photos following our arrival on July 4.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
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Words will never do justice to a game park visit. Photos and better yet video get the picture across to we the awaiting public. So we wait! Meanwhile please continue to write about these once in a lifetime experiences. You have never said, did you guy have any pick-up games with the soccer ball with each other or the locals? Stay in those cars and trucks in the game parks and then go ahead and get wet and fall out of the rafts on the river just keep the life jacket on. Don't worry about the paddle. Enjoy
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