The Ultimate Safari

There are safaris, and then there is THE safari experience, where you have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to nuzzle a white lion cub.

While in Zambia on our elephant ride, we were told by an avid animal lover about a stellar park close to Johannesburg where one could not only see lions (our small safari park near our lodge did not have them because they would decimate the population very quickly), and actually handle young lions. 

Since we were going back to Jo'burg, Andrew took us to the Lion and Rhino Park about 45 minutes outside the city. We were in for a delightful surprise. Not only did we find many species we had not previously encountered, but, I did indeed nuzzle a white lion cub, and pet two others. Here's the video to prove it. Towards the end, the cub licked my forehead, and grabbed my bangs and pulled! It reminded me of the way our two cats play, so I wasn't afraid. Maybe I should have been??

Two adorable white lion cubs

                                                                                    Wild Dogs . . .

Ostrich. . .

                                                                Ibex. . .

Zebra. . .

                                                               One of my favorites. . . Warthog. . .and her young!

The Terrain . . .

Andrew's car and the end of the journey. . .his car is black!

A beautiful end to a fabulous journey!