Somewhere in my childhood I must have done something good

Sometimes I have absolutely no idea what I possibly could have done to deserve all the amazing things that happen in my life. I am a truly blessed girl and am tremendously grateful for all the wonderful experiences I have had during my first month here in South Africa.

Yesterday was another one of those times when I had to sit back and wonder why I am so lucky. I woke up, got ready, and was out the door with Christine before the sun was up. We were heading out on my first ever game drive. I was specially invited to join a group of older people from the church for this activity. This may seem a little bit lame to some people, but I adore older people. They’re cute, kind, and always have the best stories. This group was no exception.

As we got to the park we were promptly greeted by a scavenging warthog. Then we boarded a huge safari truck and were off. Now don’t get too excited, this wasn’t the true wild, it was a game park. The animals all had their specific areas, and though each area and the park itself was vast we could still see the electric fences. But that doesn’t change the fact that it was exciting.

We saw ostriches, wild dogs, lions, cheetahs, white rhino, buffalo (which are nothing like bison), and then some zebra were in the backgrounds in some of the areas we drove through.

DID YOU KNOW?

- Female ostriches are grey and male black, this serves as camouflage for their shifts to guard the eggs (females during the day and males during the night).

- Wild dogs are led by a bitch (not my word, the safari man’s), the alpha female. She is the only female of the pack who is allowed to mate and her pups are the primary concern of the entire pack. Everything they do is to cater to the pups.

- White lions are the result of a recessive gene, they are not albino. They only differ from brown lions in their fur and eye color; and because of the different eye coloring they do not have night vision. There are also no white lions in the wild. Brown lions kill them almost immediately after birth because their distinct white fur gives away the location of the pride and makes hunting difficult. That’s right ladies and gentleman, lions are racist.

- Cheetahs can run fast, shocker. The fastest recorded time is 117 km/h. However they can only maintain their high speeds for a very short time. Cheetahs are also kind of weak. Apparently you can wrestle one to the ground no problem.

See how fun that was? Now don’t you want to endorse “Jari’s Safari” as a children’s TV show? I would.

Anyway, other highlights of the day included playing in a “den” with lion cubs and watching a cheetah run at top speed. These animals are all so gorgeous it’s a little overwhelming. When you see them up close their eyes are so big it feels like they’re looking into your soul. Their fur is so thick and so matted, but for some reason it feels soft. They’re just majestic, no way around it. So there you have it. I think I can officially say I’ve visited Africa.

(Stay tuned, I may find a way to put my pictures on facebook. This is an exciting day!)