Well, I haven't written for a while so I thought it would be time for an update. Sunday was a pretty relaxed day as we only had to look after the cubs in the afternoon so had a lie in the morning but that did mean forfeiting breakfast :( the cubs are so adorable - it's going to be so hard to leave them now, they just steal your hearts!
On Monday we had a ranger day which was well wanted, I love spending time with the cubs, don't get me wrong but sometimes you need a break from being eaten and scratched all day! As there were so many of us on ranger we split into three teams, my group went with Junior to collect a dead cow which we then, well I say we, I mean the ranger, Alister while we watched, cut up and disemboweled the cow who we then fed to the hyenas and tigers which was pretty gruesome but also amazing to see.
On Tuesday a few of us went to an elephant and a monkey sanctuary and a craft market. It was great to see some other animals, and we each got a lovely wet kiss from the elephants as well as getting to take them for a walk! They were all from the circus or zoos etc.
The monkey sanctuary was just next door and was so big, but it was a little different from ukutula and the elephants in that the monkeys are mainly pets that have been donated so you are not allowed to touch them as they are trying to become wild again. After pizza for lunch we went to the craft market - time for haggling, it was quite fun and I bought a few little pieces.
On Wednesday we went to Pilanesberg national park in the jeep with Alister in order to do a day of safariing. It was amazing as we got to see rhinos and elephants, hippos and crocodiles and Alister knew so much about the animals and the park making it really interesting. We had lunch at this spot on one of the mountains overlooking a lake which was just beautiful, so peaceful and made everyone so philosophical!
Thursday saw us get our lion walk with five of the older lions ranging between 1-2 years old. It was incredible to see the power of some of the lions but also a reminder how wild they are, even after being hand-reared by us. Then we went to Alister's bird rehab centre that he and his mum set up - 'The Patrick Lewis Raptor Foundation' which was the sweetest thing ever, it was their home where they would look after small birds that were injured and would try to help them be released into the wild, as they are not open to the public, and us volunteers are the only visitors they have I just had to donate something. They are so amazingly selfless to set up this centre.
After visiting there, we went to the De Wilt cheetah centre which was cool as we got to see African wild dogs as well as some other animals but petting the cheetah was nowhere as good as our lions! Finally today quite a lot of the others have either gone to Kruger park for the weekend or went to sun city, the water park for the day. I decided to stay here with a few other people and was on ranger duty but we didn't really get to do much apart from picking up the veggies and feeding them to the zebras, ostriches, impala and wilder beasts. We also got to take a peek at the new 3 days old lions cubs but their mum was protecting them very well so we only got to see a glimpse.
Well, that's it for this week, it's been busy but amazing. I cannot believe we only have two and a half days left in South Africa and with the lions. I know it is going to break my heart to come home from the country and the lions so I am already planning a trip for next year and hopefully, I can bring one of my friends along too!
Have a great week my loves!
Lots of Love, Kate xxx