Wrestling with tigers and feeding the lions

While Mark's parents, Gary and Gail, were visiting us in June, we took them up to Zebula Lodge in Bela Bela for a weekend getaway.  Located about 2 hours north of our home, is a lodged situated on it's own game reserve.  One reason I choose this lodge was because of it's possibilities for animal interactions.
On our first full day there, we signed up to play with lion and tiger cubs.

First up, two baby lion cubs, one boy and one girl who were 3 weeks old.  For an hour we got to feed them with a bottle, pet them and play.

Due to their age, we could not pick them up and cuddle them but had to let them come to us and hope they would crawl in our laps.  

They were quite accommodating and loved the attention.  Adalyn really enjoyed her time with them as finding animals to interact with that are actually smaller than her is hard to come by.  

Soft as a baby kitten, I could have spent hours with them cuddling and just watching them prance around.  When our time was up with the lion cubs we headed over to the tigers.

Two tiger cubs, 6 months old each were housed in an enclosure and due to their age and size, Adalyn could not interact with them. 

 We went into the area in pairs with Gary and I first.  

The tigers were ready to play and the tiger handler gave us great information on how to interact with them and we learned alot about their behavior and way of life.  Despite being only 6 months old these tigers were about the size of a large dog, but with huge teeth of course.  

The handler said they would bite and it would hurt so I was apprehensive from the start, I mean who wants to be bit by a tiger.  Already keen to hunting, we were told to watch out for both tigers as one would try to distract you as the other would come from behind and jump on you.  I basically stayed right next to the handler and only petted the tigers when they passed by.  

Before the playing ensued I managed to get a picture
while this tiger saved his energy for the wrestling match with Gary. 

It all started with a friendly handshake

Little did Gary know, he was in for a once in a lifetime experience.  With no fear he played with the tigers as if they were common house cats.  The handler said the tigers liked to play with Gary because of the coat he was wearing.  Loose fitting and with it unzipped it would blow and move as he did, therefore attracting the tigers. I would have removed my coat that instant, but Gary evidentially knew what he was doing.

From all angles Gary was basically attacked with each tiger going after an arm.  Gary just swatted them away and the handler commented on how good Gary was at that, he said he could tell Gary had dogs.  I guess we know what Gary has been doing in retirement, training to wrestle tigers.   

One lucky tiger did manage to sink his teeth into Gary's hand and draw blood, but that did not stop Gary from continuing his wrestling match.  

Tigers circling their prey

What a good sport Gary was as I tried my best to capture it all on camera.  I of course was way too afraid by this point to even pet them as Gary had them all excited to play.  Our time came to a close, I tried to get a nice picture of Gary with his new friends, but they pretty much viewed Gary as a chew toy so the tigers were not about to sit still.

Next up was Gail and Mark into the tiger enclosure.  Gary must have won the wrestling match because by the time Gail and Mark came in the tigers decided to lay down and nap.  The handler brought in some bottles of milk to try and coax the tigers to get up and play, and thankfully it worked otherwise Gail would have missed out on a great animal interaction.  

The tigers spent no time drinking, downing their bottles in minutes, then decided to sun themselves and let Gail and Mark pet them.  Lounging in the grass, Gail and Mark had free reign to basically lay down and cuddle with the tigers.  I was quite jealous that I did not get this experience, next time I will have to send in Mark to wear them out first. 

A true Mizzou fan, meets a real Truman the tiger.

I was glad to get some great photos for Gail and Gary to help remember their African adventure.  I am glad Gary lived to tell the story of being bit by a tiger because not many can say that.  

It all ended with an elephant kiss

While Gary and Gail were visiting us in South Africa we traveled up to Zebula Lodge in Bela Bela to stay a couple nights and enjoy their game drive and animal interactions.  The lodge was located in their own game reserve and comprised of a spa, gym, restaurant, 18 hole golf course, playgrounds, and several homes.  We rented a home that even surprised me with all it's features.  My main goal while Gary and Gail were visiting was to introduce them to as many of Africa's wonderful animals as possible.  This weekend they were able to get up close and personal with some elephants.

At first an elephant handler gave us some great information on their elephants then another handler walked us though all 5 of their large elephants.  With the first elephant, we were able to feed her pellets to her trunk which the elephant then carried up to deposit in her own mouth.  

 Next we fed her straight into her mouth while the handler gave the elephant simple commands.  Each elephant was quite trained to do a variety of things and this own showed us how she could shake her head "yes" and "no" on command, and even pick up a stick with her trunk.

The next elephant laid down for us and showed us just how hard it is to get up when you are carrying around that much weight.  She did a great job of letting us pose for pictures with her as well.

All of the elephants had an ankle bracelet of sorts that was chained to the ground just in case any of them decided to run off.  Of course there were plenty of other animals running around like ostriches, warthogs and meerkats.  One would think the opportunity to interact with an elephant would keep you attention, but evidentially Adalyn has been in Africa too long as she was only interested in a friendly meerkat (though he looks a little scary in this picture).  

Adalyn would not touch nor pose for a picture with our large friends, I guess their size might have been a little intimidating to her.

With each elephant we were able to get some great photos, I made sure Grant got in on the action too as he has slept through most of the other animal interactions thus far.  

The last of the elephants showed us how they could kick a soccer ball, blow water from their nose and without warning Gail lined up for the final trick.  The handlers advised her to take off her glasses and on command, the elephant swung his trunk up and gave her a kiss.  

A kiss of an elephant goes like this: he swings his massive truck towards your face (scary enough) which lands on you with incredible aim and then he begins to suck (felt like a slimy snail stuck on you) followed by a hard blow leaving all sorts of "treats" on your face from food to water and everything in between.  After witnessing this gross display, I of course could not pass it up and lined right up for my kiss.

We were fortunate enough to only have 4 other people join our interaction so it was very personal and we got plenty of time with each elephant.  The gentle creatures felt like rubber with lots of little cracks and the hair on their tail felt like wire.  With our hands we were able to feel their bodies rumble as they "talked" and stroke their soft ears.  Life in Africa never gets old with adventures like this and I am glad we could share them with Gary and Gail.

First a South African, next an American

On July 4th I traveled to Pretoria's business district where the hub of government offices are also located to obtain Grant's South African birth certificate.  Prior to this I was informed from other expat's here about a service that will complete the process for you for a fee.  I contacted the company and one week after Grant's birth met a representative who I of course had to pay in cash, $62 to obtain the birth certificate for us.  We had heard that going through this process yourself as a non-South African can be quite tedious so if there is an easier way for not alot of money, I am all for it.

After completing the paperwork which was only a few pages and paying our fee we waited to hear back form the representative which took about 6 weeks.  She stated the process had now changed and we had to go in person to the Department of Home Affairs office to obtain the birth certificate.  It was nice that only one parent had to go and Grant did not have to either, as it was quite the experience I would not have wanted to bring Grant too.

Despite finding the Department of Home Affairs office online through Google Maps, I still managed to get lost with my GPS.  Of course there was a good supply of helpful unofficial parking attendants waving me down to park in their area and offer directions.  Against my better judgement, I rolled down my window and asked one of them who said he would personally show me the way after I park in his area.  So I turned down a side street, parked my car, paid him the equivalent of $4, and he walked me to the top of the street to give directions.  Before we said our goodbyes he of course asked me if I wanted him to wash my car, which is always a staple question in Africa, and like always I declined (where was this guy going to get car washing supplies in the middle of the street anyways, but they are always resourceful so no doubt people take them up on their offer). Walking down the road I received many stares from others passing by, mostly because of the color of my skin which made me stand out.  I managed to get lost even walking so I called the representative and she helped me find the way.

 Entering the Department of Home Affairs, which was beyond crowded and chaotic, the representative told me that we were meeting a guy who was "not with it this morning, I don't think he has had his caffeine".  Well, I don't think he was with it because quite frankly he kind of looked dead.  I guess he deserves praise for managing to hold down a job, but it was surprising he could even stay seated on his stool.  Which brings me to his office, located in the hallway right outside the bathroom.  He had a TV tray and a stool with a plaque on the wall stating his name and position.  Grocery store ads covered the tray where there was a finger print pad.  The rep handed him a paper, he proceeded to roll my prints but given that his hands suffered from the shakes, I kindly did them myself.  It worked out well that his office was right outside the bathroom as that is where we headed next to clean my hands.

Up next we ventured upstairs to the next office where I sat and waited while the rep did all the work.  She came back within about 20 minutes with a hand written birth certificate, only they spelled Mark's name wrong so it had to be redone.  A little while later, I received another hand written one and we were done.  I asked about the form to which she said all birth certificates are now hand written and I need to treat this one as gold because I can't get another one.  Walking out of the building there was now a line around the corner, with armed guards at the door as the building had now reached it's capacity and was one in one out.

I am not sure what loops I would of had to jump through to get Grant's birth certificate myself so I don't know if my $62 was worth it or not, but given that the process was quick and I arrived back home alive it was all worth it.  I managed to find my car, which the car guard said he had to bribe the police not to tow it so he needed me to pay him more money for watching it, but I have come accustomed to these claims and find them comical whether true or not.  So with a little more "tip" money, I was off and did not get lost on my way home.

Grant is not technically a South African citizen, nor will he gain any citizenship rights or a South African passport, this is just one step in getting him an American birth certificate, American passport, Visa, and Social Security number.  I am interested to see how the American system over here measures up to back home in the states.  You probably can't beat the system of leaving your baby's birth certificate paperwork at the hospital after birth and them processing it for you to receiving the birth certificate in the mail a few weeks later in America.  For now, we have no plans to leave South Africa to travel until next year when Grant is free to move about the world.