Oudtshoorn (continued)
After our nice relaxing lunch we launched into the next item on our to do list: Cango Wildlife Ranch. We actually arrived at the park quite late and took the last guided tour - again to see most of the park you needed to be with a guide - though we did spend the 20 minutes we were waiting playing with the baby goats in the petting zoo area! The guide led us through the different animals; otters, hippos, a big group of lemurs, crocodiles, and then onto the big cats.
On the way across to the crocodiles we walked out on what looked like a rope bridge, with crocodiles swimming around underneath, the guide pushed a button and the whole thing started to shake making a few people squeal! (Not me of course, Australians have crocodiles in their backyards so we aren't afraid of them at all!)
The Lions were impressive, the male seemed almost to be posing for pictures, and the tigers were equally amazing. Then we saw the baby tigers and made an on the spot decision to pay the extra to go into their enclosure and touch them. It is very much a photo opportunity, you don't get to spend real time with them in the way we did with the Cheetah's, but still well worth it to play with baby tigers! They were so cute, coming straight up to the fence when the guides approached knowing they were going to get food and love. There was one guide in particular that they really seemed to have formed a bond with and they would let him pick them up and snuggle them...so cute! They gave us some quick rules about the tiger cubs, which were much the same as for the Cheetah's, and then we were crouched behind them to have our picture taken, one of the other guides snapping away with our camera so that we got some really nice pictures of both us with the tigers and the tigers by themselves.
They were certainly very playful and thought it was all a great game. To get them to look at the camera the guide would give two of the tigers his hands and let them suck on his fingers and then we he pulled his hands away he was shaking his hat so that the fabric made a noise to get their attention. They posed for some absolutely gorgeous photo's and as part of the package we got a large print of one of each of us with them. What an experience! For more information on the Cango Wildlife Ranch click here.
After that it was time to head back to Plettenberg Bay - we decided not to take the same road because we didn't want to face the 100km of dirt road again unfortunately the road we decided to take actually went in the wrong direction so we had to backtrack 54 kilometers to get back to a road that would take us the right way! Oops! We had to come down some fairly evil cliff-side roads in the dark which wasn't a whole lot of fun especially since we were so tired! We did, however, make it in on piece!
*****
Plettenberg Bay (Our last full day)
We decided against a 7am start for our last day in Plettenberg Bay but there was still so much that we wanted to see that we were on the road by 9am First stop was the Knysna Elephant Park which is an elephant sanctuary not too far out of Plettenberg Bay. We strolled in there nice and early and payed a little extra for a bucket of food each, packed with lots of citrus fruit which is apparently an elephants favourite food, and wandered around to look at the exhibits while we waited for our guide. We watched a short safety video and then we jumped into a vehicle with plenty of seating and headed out into the grassland that is the elephants home. It was amazing to drive out into the grass and see the Elephants wandering around, not behind fences, just out in the open like they should be.
Apparently the Elephants knew that when cars arrive they bring people with buckets of oranges because by the time we got to the turn-around point they were lined up along a big metal bar awaiting their treats. As soon as the buckets were emptied they wandered off and we were allowed to walk among them and touch them.
One thing that really surprised me was how soft and warm they were to the touch. I expected a really hard, rubbery, scratchy skin and was stunned when I realized it was like a soft leather. Behind the ears was another surprise, there the skin is even softer, more like suede. They were so gentle and even though their massive size made me a little nervous they moved slowly around the people hat were invading their space. The guide assured me they wouldn't stand on my foot and said that as long as people didn't get in between them there wouldn't be any accidents - the Elephants like to bump into each other and there happens to be a human standing there odds are the Elephant wouldn't even feel it.
The really nice thing about the Knysna Elephant Park is that you can spend as much time there as you want wandering around with, and watching, the Elephants. There is nothing like being able to take pictures of a herd of Elephants basking in the morning sunlight and playing in the water...in Africa. Wow. For more information on Knysna Elephant Park click here.
*****
We planned from this point to go back to our accommodation for a quick coffee and a break to decide what we were going to do next. We had been thinking about going out on a boat to do some whale watching so we thought it might be a good idea to give them a call and see what ties they went and if we needed to make a booking. It was sheer luck that we called when we did! The man on the phone told us he had 2 spots left and the boat left in 15 minutes which gave us just enough time to get there. We skipped the coffee and headed straight for the actual bay in Plettenberg Bay. There we were given a life jacket each and a hot cup off coffee while we waited for a German tour bus to arrive. We had also been with Germans at the Elephant Park and at the Cango Caves the day before so we were beginning to wonder if there was some sort of German convention going on that we didn't know about! To be honest w did talk about the fact that we preferred tour buses full of Germans to a few less savory tour group options!
Once they all arrived we were herded onto the boat, which was sitting on the sand, and then told to hold on tight while the boat was pushed at great speed into the water. The boat traveled along some of the most stunning coastline and before long shut off the engines so that we ould watch a Southern Right Whale and her baby swimming along. At points they were so close to us and we saw them surface a number of times for air as the young one wasn't able to take such a deep breath. Again an amazing experience! For more information on Ocean Blue Adventures click here.
We went back to our accommodation Plettenberg Bay to re-pack our bags and have something to eat...thinking that once again an early night might be in order!
No comments:
Post a Comment