Snakes and as always in Africa, a few lions too.

Traveling to the Hartbeespoort Dam Snake and Animal Park is not something I would normally look forward to as snakes are not my favorite but a departure from the normal animal scene was nice.  Although I have realized that no matter what type of attraction you are going to in South Africa, there are always the staples of lions, tigers, etc...  Luckily Mark is up for anything so the enclosures where giant spiders, lizards and snakes that made my skin crawl were, I had him lead the way to tell me if I should look in the particular glass enclosure or not.

We enjoyed a scenic drive by the dam and through a one way tunnel to reach the Hartbeespoort Dam park.
This attraction was the most like one we would see in the US and since it was on a hillside the paths wondering through the park made it more interesting.

Upon entering we saw a nice variety of turtles, crocodiles, chimps and meerkats before you reached the snakes.  Most of the animals were in enclosures or water area below eye level so Adalyn got a nice view from Mark's arms.

The chimps were very vocal and they were being fed while we were there, which was quite interesting to see.  The animal keeper had a bucket with a long spoon full of some maize type meal which he would spoon feed through the fence to the chimps.  The chimps would be communicating with each other and ones would get out of the way for the others like they had worked out a plan of sorts.  It was cute to see the little ones squeeze their way in between the bigger ones.

After viewing some of the animals we made our way up into the snake enclosures.  When they said they had a large selection of snakes they were not kidding.  Snakes mixed with lizards and some spiders all in a dark enclosure made me a little squeamish but I tried to act calm so Adalyn would not be scared.  I know the snakes are not going to come through the glass but just the sight of them slithering along is enough.

We were even able to see an albino cobra which the park states they have the only one in the world.

Right under the big log in the back behind the green plant

Each snake had a nice information board next to it's enclosure telling you where they are located, how poisonous they are and other interesting facts. After making our way through the next area they had listed as "Giant Snakes" we headed into another part of the park where the wild animals were housed.

A large cage of vultures met us at the entrance followed by a couple lions, tigers, hyenas, African dogs, and different types of monkeys.

 They even had a large group of giant turtles next to the water.

We were able to get a family photo which does not happen often, but then neither does getting Adalyn to look at the camera.

Next we passed by the seals and otters who were playing around in the water so no good shots were captured.  I was pretty surprised to see brown bears as I have yet to see any bears in all of our animal adventures.

 With no options for animal interactions it felt the most like a US zoo but kept our attention very well.

It took about 1.5 hours to see all the animals and then we went on a ferry boat ride.  The dam is quite beautiful lined with hills and homes nestled in between.  The 30 ride was relaxing and made me feel like I was back home in MO at the Lake of the Ozarks perhaps.  Adalyn enjoyed the boat ride and was up for taking some pics so we got a couple.

It was a fun morning and the area is a large tourist attraction so we were able to eat some lunch and do a little shopping before heading back home.  I look forward to visiting the dam again, maybe renting a house for a long weekend as it is only an hour away.