Krugersdorp Game Reserve

I originally booked a tour to the Lions Park, but was coerced to change it to the Krugersdorp Game Reserve because I couldn't pay in cash (none of my cards work in the ATMs here so I have NO cash at all) so I had to book a tour that the hotel would let me put on my room bill. I'm glad I did! The tour was great. Business was slow at the park, so the lead tour guide was available to be our driver, and there were only four of us on the tour. This is the vehicle we rode in:

Note, no windows or doors for us in the back, and we sat up high so we got great views. The tour guide is the tall older guy behind the Land Rover on the left. The three other guys on the tour all knew each other, and were joking around a lot, and that made it that much more fun.

I mostly took video, but did manage to get some photos. The park is huge, and consists of rolling hills with mostly grasslands with periodic bunches of trees. We went to hunt down the lions near the beginning of the tour. They're kept in their own separate, multi-acre part of the park, fenced off from the antelope and wildebeast that would normally be their prey. We had to drive around for about 15 minutes until we spotted them, under some trees next to the road:

These are young but full grown lions, one male and four females. The tour guide called them and waved a towel around, and that drew them very close to the vehicle, almost too close for comfort. Then he pulled forward a bit, grabbed a 2-ft long stick from the ground, backed up to where the lions were, then waved the stick and tossed it into the grass on the other side of the road. Two of the females jumped up and jogged over to get it, and the male followed. I got this photo:

That was scary, to see those big cats come out of the woods to us. We were really unprotected - if they wanted to, they could've jumped up and killed all of us. The park also has another pride of younger lions, and a trio of white lions, in separate smaller cages near the exit of the lions section of the park.

We exited the lions section, and headed back out to the grassy plain. We passed herds of several kinds of antelope, including the springbuck, which is the national symbol of South Africa. I didn't get good photos of most of that, must've been taking video. We drove up to the rhino, which was grazing near some trees, and got a few good shots:

After a while he got irritated, starting snorting at us, so we left him alone.

The next herd was a mix of white-faced antelope and wildebeasts:

Right next to them were zebras:

A little further down the hill, next to a couple trees, were the male and female giraffes:

The male is seated, the female (lighter in color) was much more timid.

The last small herd we saw was this kind that I can't remember the name, but they have very long antlers:

The birds (white egrets?) among them sometimes ride on their backs. The birds eat bugs that are flushed from the grass as the antelope graze.

So, back to reality. I pitch tomorrow for the last time, then head straight to the airport for my flight to Madrid. I need to review my material tonight, and copy it to GSA and/or send it to Mike & Peter for their use in the upcoming weeks.