Lions, Elephants, and Rhinos--Oh My!

We finally got to go on a real safari! This past weekend has been the
best by far! On Saturday, we went to Schotia, which is a 3,000 acre
game reserve only 45 minutes from PE. We had the owner's son, Justin,
pick us up at our house and be our private tour guide (yes, we are
that important). As we drove into the reserve, we were greeted by
wildebeests, zebras, and some red hartebeests. One of the zebra's
stripes didn't match up on his back thigh, and Justin told us that it
was where a lion had attacked him. We drove on and saw many
springboks, blesboks, vervet monkeys, warthogs, kudu, ostriches, etc.
However, we were mostly excited to see the giraffes, hippos, rhinos,
and LIONS!

They only have seven lions in Schotia, and we got to see four of them.
Unfortunately, they had just eaten so we didn't get to see any
exciting hunt like on the Discovery Channel. The males were so
exhausted from stuffing themselves that they just laid by the road.
Justin let me hop of the top of the vehicle and stand just 20 feet
away from the lion (it's always smart to ask)! It was so exciting! I
can practically say that I was almost attacked by a lion because if he
wanted, he could have had me.

That night, on our way to Bushcamp, we drove around to see some night
animals. We saw a lot of the antelope family, spring hares, zebras,
and the lions. On our drive we saw a spring hare hopping quickly
towards a springbok walking the other direction. They both must have
been blinded by the spotlight because they ran right into each other!
They both seemed quite stunned and walked away a little shaken. It
was pretty hilarious!

Bushcamp is literally that. From the outside it looks like a cluster
of trees, but as you get closer you can see a small gate. Through the
gate, there is a clearing with a couple of sleep cabins and a bathroom
set around a bonfire. Not a lot of people get to stay here, but, as
mentioned earlier, we are special.

In the morning, we drove around the park to visit our animal friends
again before we headed to Addo Elephant Park. We met Ali's
cooperating teacher there so she could give us the grand tour. It
hasn't sufficiently rained here in 8 months so we knew we would
probably see some elephants around the watering holes. However, I was
stunned when I was greeted with about 50 elephants at the first water
holes. There were herds of them! They were playing in the water and
tossing mud on their bodies to protect themselves from the sun. There
were babies nestled closely to their mothers for protection. I nearly
cried at the site. (As you should know, if you know anything about
me, elephants are my absolute favorite animal.)

We continued driving to see more of the watering holes, and we met so
many elephants along the way. Throughout the park, we probably saw a
total of 200 to 300 elephants. It was such an amazing experience.
While we didn't really see any other animals (just some
antelope-family-boks, warthogs, and jackals), we definitely got our
fill of elephants. I am open to falling in love with a safari guide
and moving here—just so you all know.