If you know me by now you’ll know that I love animals so much. So when we went to the Lion and Safari Park a couple of months ago here in Joburg, I was very excited. It’s a really beautiful area and it’s a lovely way to spend your day with family and loved ones.
The only problem for me is that I always worry about the animals being kept in enclosures instead of their natural, free habitat. However, I have read a few articles on this with regards to the Lion and Safari Park, and there are a lot of precautions and boundaries set in place to make the animals feel as normal as possible. I’ve also learnt that a lot of the animals were brought in from places of cruelty and harm. Although the animals may never be let out into the wild again, at least they’re looked after here.
ANYWAY! Back to our little day trip. We arrived at about 12:00 and spent the afternoon wondering around. There’s a whole list of things you can do and ways you can interact with the animals. You can go inside the enclosure and stroke them, you can go on a guided tour or even take a self driven tour. The options are available which makes it a different experience.
We just did the petting of the lion cubs, who were absolutely adorable. There were certain places that are not allowed to be touched, such as their ears and paws I think, as it irritates them. But other than that, you get like 10 minutes to just spend time stroking them and observing them. They really are such special animals!
We caught them during their nap time, or something like that 😉 They were pretty lazy and sleepy, and this made for the cutest possible photo’s!
After our little visit with these babies, we walked back towards the restaurant and met friendly Mr. Giraffe. The happiest and cheekiest giraffe ever!
There was a whole crowd standing along the fencing, trying to get a feel of him. This tall Mr. was loving all the attention, and he even started rubbing his bum against the fence to scratch it! It was so funny and such a special sight.
Look at that cutie up there!
This Lion and Safari Park is definitely worth the visit, even if you’re from Joburg. It’s a really lovely experience to be so close to all the animals, and to learn a little bit more about them. If you’ve ever been or are planning on going please let me know! I would love to hear what you think of it 🙂
(I couldn’t leave out how seeing the giraffe scratch his bum made me feel!)
