Safari Adventure - June 15th

Woke up in the dark at 4:45am. The sun doesn't rise till 7:47am here. I didn't get a good night sleep, just kept tossing and turning, probably because how excited I was about the Safari. We had a man come and pick all 4 of us up to take us to the Safari. There were 2 other Americans and 4 Italians in the van with us. The trip to the Safari took 2 hours, so we all tried sleeping on the way up because you couldn't see anything since it was still dark out and raining. The ride itself was a little scary only because it was wet, he was driving so fast, and I could not see at all. The last 20 minutes of the drive however, it stopped raining and the sun came out & you could start to seeing all the mountains with snow covering the tops and the vineyards that stretch across the land. It was truly an incredible.

We arrived at Aquila Reserve at 8am and were greeted with welcoming drinks - champaign. We didn't realize how cold it was going to be there and oh boy was it cold! We then got to eat at a breakfast buffet where they had the best mango ever. They also had cheeses, eggs, Irish bacon, a ton of different sausages, beans, toast, meats, & more. We all filled up and headed outside to get ready for the safari.

This place was so beautiful, we couldn't wait to see what's in-store.

We then got into our jeep and they handed us blankets. Ali & I were very excited about these, it definitely helped keep our legs warm. Once everyone was seated, our guide & driver, Tammy, was ready for us to start. These jeeps were extremely bumpy & with Tony, Ali, & I in the last row, you seriously had to hold on so you wouldn't fall out!

The first animals we saw were some buffalo grazing on plants, however, the first close encounter was with a mommy Rhino & her 2 year old baby. I think this is when Ali first got a little nervous because how close we actually were to these huge animals! The mommy rhino was sharpening her horn on the tree, so we then kept moving.

Our next exciting encounter were the elephants. We saw 2 and actually had to stop our jeep to let these larger animals cross. A buffalo actually went up to one of the elephants because I think he didn't like them eating in his area. The elephant opened up his ears but then walked away.

We kept on the move and saw Springbok, Wildebeast, & Ostrich (later did we know, we'd be eating all 3 of these animals). The ostrich is a very weird animal:

As we continued through the wild we made our way up a very slippery wet hill where we came in close contact with lions. This is when MY heart seriously started pounding!! I'm not talking about lions off in the distance, I was seriously less than 10 feet away from 3 huge lions (2 female & 1 male). The female lion was starring at me in the eye while walking past our jeep. I tried looking forward to not have eye contact with her, but it was hard. I couldn't move! At any moment, if this lion thought I was a threat, she could have easily got to us. This was however, extremely amazing to see, even though it made me a little nervous.

Once we safely made it through lion territory, we went across another area where we saw zebras, giraffes, more ostrich, but this time with their babies, and hippos relaxing by a pond of water. There were 2 baby hippos as well.

Then we left the area where the animals are at and went over to see more animals that they are helping due to being poorly treated. We saw a leopard that was over fed so they have him on a very strick diet, 2 cheetahs that were trained like a dogs so they couldn't be released back into the wild, Nile crocodiles, warthogs & finally 3 more lions - 2 females & 1 male. When we walked over to see these lions up close, we got more of a show then we asked for. We couldn't believe our eyes:

We were seriously laughing so hard - that's nature for you!

Finally after an amazing experience we headed back to Cape Town. Mostly everyone in the van was sleeping but I couldn't. So I really enjoyed most of the views heading home. There were vineyards after vineyards, mountains so high with amazing waterfalls, a rainbow for a short time, and even a baboon sitting along the side of the road (I couldn't get my camera out fast enough to capture the baboon). However, there were townships that we drove past which was sad to see. I just can't image how hard it must be.

When we arrived back to our apartment we decided to get ready and head to fan fest to cheer on the Ivory Coast who played against Portugal. It wasn't as crowded as when South Africa plays a game, however, there were lots of people there cheering on Ivory Coast. Fan fest is where the Capital Hall building is located with Table mountain right behind it in the City Centre.

After that game, we made our way to Carne for dinner. This was Tony's choice and oh boy was it a good one. We first enjoyed a glass of wine in the lounge area, and then went down stairs to be seated. Our waitress brought out all the meat you can order on a plater & I think Tony wanted to take it all!

What we actually order was Springbok, Wildebeast, & Ostrich as well as meat tartar, which seriously tasted like a uncooked, really good seasoned burger. We also got lamb ravioli, which was my favorite. Then for dessert we got a dark chocolate filled cake with vanilla ice cream, it was unbelievable!

Overall, we really enjoyed our dinner!

Carne was right near Long Street, so we headed there to find a bar to watch the Brazil vs. N. Korea game. Mama Africa had a bar connected to it so we decided to check that out. We went up the stairs & it was jam packed, but I got our drinks and Ali & Tim found seats for us to watch the game. Tony & I were sitting on the edge of a small stage where a band would play and Ali & Tim were right behind us actually on the stage. They had a huge projection screen hanging, vuvuzelas blowing, and everyone cheering. It was a really fun atmosphere to watch a game.

Finally, we headed home where we enjoyed some more wine & decided to make some calls to people back home - it was great to hear from you guys! Then we all slept perfectly after a long, but FUN day!