Discovering my human heritage

Two weekends ago we got lost on our way to Maropeng which is an exhibit about the evolution of man and all things related in the atmosphere.  It is not uncommon to get lost since the places here will not give their addresses but intersections or just GPS coordinates.  But after a 20 minute detour we finally found the massive center in the middle of nowhere Africa.

Maropeng is a modern museum with lots of interactive stations and even a water ride.  When we entered we read up on some basic history of humankind then loaded into our raft to embark on a journey back in time.  The water ride took us through the highlights of the major events in history which formed the earth.  Complete with snow, rain, shifting rocks and fire it was an interesting 10 minute ride.

After docking our raft we went through a vortex signifying the Big Bang Theory where I became quite dizzy but non the less, made for a fun entrance.  First up was the birth of the cradle with several interactive displays.  All of the info was a little too mature for Adalyn to understand but she does not shy away from pressing buttons and manipulating things, so she enjoyed her time.

Next we were able to see human remains and they had quite the impressive collection.  The displays spoke about the evolution of man from ape and how we now interact with our environment.  There was a short clip at the end that was next to a fossil display.

As we headed out of the exhibit there was a whole wall with info on sustainability and the human impact.  Of course it had to have a large display on power and energy speaking to the horrific use of burning coal for energy that Mark was not so keen about.  And interestingly enough they talked about how Americans are the worst at using energy and how we are polluting the planet more than anyone else in the world.

After the exhibit ended there was a kid's cave that Adalyn and of course Mark and I were able to explore.

We then ventured to the view top for some pictures and off to the playground.  After lunch and a little shopping we headed home.  The excursion took longer than I expected and was interesting but it did not interest me enough to go back again.  At least we got to throw in a little science into our normal animal adventures.

How to feed an elephant

As part of our Sun City vacation over a week ago, we took an excursion to interact with the elephants.  After a short game drive we arrived at their Wallow as it was called.  There were rhinos, elephants and some zebras all wondering about.

Baby on left, mama laying down on right

 Pretty amazing to see a rhino that's only 25 days old, look how big he already is.  He stayed right by his mama the whole time, not too keen on human interaction.  But despite that nice surprise, the main reason we came was to interact with the elephants.  I did not know what all this would entail or for how long, but once the excursion was done Mark and I both thought it was one of the greatest animal interactions we have had yet.

After a small debriefing which Adalyn was running around the entire time so I did not hear any of it and just hoping I could keep myself from getting trampled, we headed over to the feeding circle.  There were 4 adult elephants with the oldest being 28 years old.  The guides stated that elephants in captivity will live well over 70 years as that is the norm in the wild.  There was also 1 teenage elephant who acted as the babysitter to the baby elephant that stood next to his mama.

Baby elephant on left, teenager on the right

 The elephants of course know the drill and that when tourists are around they are going to get fed.  The feed is a mixture of grains, vitamins, minerals, and molasses. I guess the elephants need a little coaxing with some sugar to eat their feed.

There were two options to feed the elephants, either through their trunk which the elephant would suck the feed out of your hand then bring it up to it's mouth to eat.

 Or you can tell the elephant to "trunk up" and he/she will lift their trunk for you to put the food directly into their mouth.

I was beyond impressed that the elephants were so well trained that I could just say "trunk up" and it would lift it's huge trunk straight into the air over it's head to get a handful of food.  I was worried that the elephant would bring it's huge trunk down on top of me, but the guide said he won't until the food is in it's mouth.  So you could hold the food right up to it's mouth without putting it in and get some great pictures.  I still tended to back out quickly as the last thing I want is smacked in the face with a trunk.

We were also able to pet the elephants as we were feeding them.  They felt very rough like car tires and their hair was very prickly like pine needles.

Of course like most animals we have interacted with, they have quite long eye lashes.  The elephant's tongue felt like a cat's, a little rough but it's mouth was soft and squishy like our own.  The suction power that can come from their trunk is similar to a vacuum.  I was able to hold and play with one of the elephant's trunks and it would blow on me through it's trunk, hot and smelly but fantastic none the less.

The elephants were very good to stay behind the 2 foot wall, although the teenager did try to come over a time or two.

 The baby elephant would also stop to get milk from her mama.  We were not allowed to feed the baby elephant as the guides said they do not know when to stop eating and need a more specialized diet.  We could feed the teenager but only though the trunk.  There was a guide with each elephant who held the large pointed stick but I am sure if the elephant really wanted something, there was little to stop them.

The entire experience lasted 2 hours complete with refreshments and snacks offered.  Adalyn fed a few animals but spent the majority of the time playing in the elephant's feed.  I figured if she was at least occupied and not scared then all is well.  Feeding the elephants was an amazing experience and I am once again impressed with the wildlife in this beautiful country.

A long weekend in Sun City

This past weekend we traveled one and a half hours to a resort called Sun City.  This was not a small resort but massive with 4 individual hotels, apartments and time shares.  Buses connected you to all the activities and amenities Sun City had to offer.

One of the 4 hotel's pool

We took off for our vacation Friday through Monday opting to stay in the apartments as a separate bedroom is a must since sharing with Adalyn equals little sleep for me.  Plus the bonus of a full kitchen and living room made it nice and roomy.  Though with all the activities, we spent little time in the apartment.

Each morning we went to the Valley of the Waves which is a water park complete with a wave pool, a little kid's area, and some adult water slides.

I got this pic right before it opened that day.

They had one slide called the Temple of Courage which was one long slide traveling 70 meters down and very few people were even attempting it.  But Mark and I thought that since we are there, why not try it all.

 Quite a beautiful view but scary drop to say the least.  Adalyn loved watching us go down the slides.  We spent the morning enjoying the waves, the long lazy river where we spotted monkeys in the trees and Adalyn loved the kid's area slides.

One afternoon we strolled through the Bird and Tree paths taking us over a large swing bridge and into some caves before embarking on our Elephant Wallow adventure.  More about the interaction and feeding the elephants in the next blog.

 It was a hot 33 degrees Celsius that day, 91 in Fahrenheit and since we are a mile up the heat can get to you.  Luckily we found a nice ice cream shop that we visited each afternoon.  For only $1.50 per cone it was a steal.  After grabbing Adalyn some dinner to go, we headed back to our apartment, got her ready for bed and welcomed the child watch attendant who babysat and put her to bed so Mark and I could enjoy an evening dinner alone.

After another morning at the Valley of the Waves, along with some good naps by all 3 of us, we spent the next afternoon at the Maze of the Lost City.  This is one of the largest permanent mazes in the Southern Hemisphere and you reach it via a 100m long suspension bridge.

 At the end of the maze which thankfully the walls are high enough to offer some shade as you walk through is a microbrewery with spectacular views of the resort.  We let Adalyn lead us through the maze telling us which direction to go and to our surprise it only took us 15 minutes to reach the end.  She must have a keen sense of direction, we must remember this when we are lost next time.

Next we headed inside to the Arcade Center where Adalyn enjoyed hopping from ride on car/bus/train/animal to the next.

 Another night out for Mark and I to have dinner was great and we were able to get the same sitter for Adalyn which she lovingly called "my friend" the next morning wondering why "my friend" did not sleep over too.

Sun City offers so many activities we did not get to experience even half of them.  Mini golf, a whole camp area for kids, Animal World, bumper boats, game drives, a theater, a crocodile farm, an adult adventure camp, the world's fastest zip slide, balloon safaris, golf, parasailing, jet skies, and a tip to a cultural village.  Guess we will just have to go back again so we don't miss out.  We enjoyed our vacation very much and it was nice to have time for just the three of us to relax without having to travel far.  

A little giraffe lovin

I figured while we live in Africa we might as well take in all the tourists attractions we can find.  This past weekend we ventured to the Lion Park right outside of Joburg to do a game drive, play with lion cubs and feed the giraffes.  By far this was the most tourist booming attraction we have been too, hearing accents from all over the world and a little more crowded than we are used to.

When we first arrived we headed right to the cub interaction part as that is what we have enjoyed the most in the past.  6 people at a time were able to go into the cub's area to play and pet the 3 month old cubs.

 Mostly they were just laying around like cats, a few sleeping but were very happy to have you pet them.  They were very friendly and never tried to bit or scratch.  Although, Adalyn was not too keen on petting them.  It did remind her of our cats back home which she misses terribly, often commenting on getting rid of our dog for a cat.  Not going to happen, but at least we can take weekend day trips to see another type of cat for her to play with.

After the cub interaction was over, we wandered over to the game drive area.  Choosing to drive ourselves, we traveled along the beaten paths to see all types of impalas, kudus, springboks, and quite frankly they all are starting to look alike to me so I have a hard time telling some of them apart.  They were used to cars driving right up next to them so they luckily stayed put for a nice photo.  So were the lions, which were housed in 4 large areas.

Upon going through a separate gate, we made our way to the lions.  They were sunning themselves and having a little mid-morning nap right out in the open, so we were able to get very close and some good shots.  You are suppose to keep your windows rolled but, which we did, but the want to roll them down and touch a massive lion is still inside me.  Maybe someday at another park where yet again there is no threat for being sued or insurance for that matter, I might get my fix.


I thought it was funny how this lion hung his tail in the tree.



This picture and the next two are of the white lion

After going through 4 lion enclosures and seeing the While Lion used in a film we made our way into the cheetah area.  Two cheetahs stayed in the shade mostly cleaning themselves and staring at us as we are probably amusing to them.

 By this time Adalyn was done with the animals and had eaten all the snacks I brought so we headed out of the game drive area to grab lunch.  The lion park had a great playground for kids with bounce houses and a restaurant.  It still amazes me how little it costs to go out to eat.  I had a 1/4 a chicken and salad with Sprite, Mark had fish and chips with a Fanta and Adalyn had the kid's fish and chips all for a grand total of $12 at a sit down restaurant.  The food was good and as we were sitting enjoying our lunch we noticed the giraffes being fed as well.

Next we were off to buy giraffe feed which looks like large fish food pellets and headed up the deck stairs to the 2 giraffes who seemed to have bottomless stomachs.  One was quite a bit pushier than the others, going for your feed bag and wrapping his tongue around your hand to get all the bits and pieces he can.

Notice his tongue wrapping around my hand, it stuck out about 8  inches.

The other was much more polite and waited for you to hold out your hand.  Adalyn fed them once and decided that was all she needed to do.  So instead she would hand Mark or I the food and we would feed the giraffes for her.

They were so friendly,
letting you pet them at the same time.  With their long eye lashes and soft coat, it was hard to resist putting your arm around their neck for a hug.  But they did not stand still long enough, or maybe I did not have enough food to entertain them for my hug.


I would say feeding the giraffes was by far my favorite part of the Lion Park.  You just can't beat the animal interaction in Africa!