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!