Day 2

Yesterday we had a great day. The morning started with a morning jeep ride that started with a viewing of our favorite cheetah walking along the fence of the reserve. Within about 10 minutes we found a herd of rhinos (4) walking through the tall grass. We got a great video...which we will try to share via Facebook...of the rhinos checking us out in the jeep, and then continuing on through the grass. I must admit, after the elephant incident, I thought they might charge at us. But they didn't and were truly amazing to see meander through the grass. We continued along, seeing more Nyala, giraffe, zebra, and impala. After breakfast at nine, we met up with our friend, Pen, who took us along with his son to the morning tour at the Cheetah Rehabilitation Center. We were able to interact with African Wild Cats, Caracal Cats, Serval Cats, and of course the Cheetah. Check Facebook for a picture of Allison with Moya, the cheetah. Being able to sit beside a cheetah and pet it has been one of the highlights of our trip so far! Pen then took us to St Lucia, where we took a boat ride to see hippos and crocodiles. Not only did we see both, but we had the rare chance to see some hippos almost fully out of the water during the day. They are absolutely huge! Our guide told us the males can be almost 4 tons in size...basically the size of a sedan. After our boat ride, we had a brief stop at the beach in St Lucia. Not only was the beach long and beautiful, but at the either end of the beach, there were these massive sand dunes that Pen said reached as high as 150 to 180 meters in height...ie huge! I don't think this is a normal occurrence but the wind was very strong and the surf was very high and looked like a strong rip current was out there. Allison did go in up to her calves but did not venture out past that. I of course did not even consider it because any smart person knows this is a hot spot for not only Tiger sharks but the infamous GREAT WHITE shark...who would risk it? We ended the day with a great meal and made plans for another trip with Pen to the Elephant Interaction Center and then on to Mkuze Falls, where Pen is a park ranger.