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-   -   Today will be remembered as the day I played with lions :) (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/105136-today-will-remembered-day-i-played-lions.html)

24th July 2011 is the day that will be remembered as the day I played with lions-Upclose and personal with big cats.

2 months ago I was assigned a project in Jo-Burg, SA. I was reluctant to take up that assignment as I was aware that Jo-Burg is considered to be Crime Capital and lots of horror stories too and also I was supposed to go to Netherlands, but the idea of getting closer to big cats and all the programs that I have seen in NatGeo, Animal Planet and Discovery has tempted me and and little me who is spoiled by these amazing channels said yes. This was the first step taken closer to my Childhood dreams( Hope you guyz remember Dinesh or some suiting’s ad where Sunil Gavaskar comes with lion to a restaurant . That ad used to fascinate me ).


Getting back to the topic. This place is Lion Rhino Park, it a game reserve. It has all big cats. It is some where around 45 kms from my place. We started from our place around 11 and reached the park arnd 12. We opted for taking our vehicle into the park. And rest explained by pics. Hope you guyz enjoy.

This guy was around 1.5 yrs old and very friendly. He brushing his back to my body. It was amazing feeling.
Sad part is exactly at this moment my camera battery went dead and i was cursing myself.



This small guy was sleeping while i was rubbing his back.















Big bros in conversations











This bug guy was roaming around our car. Was so lucky to see this close.










Having their lunch.... First males eat than females join... Nature itself is biased...lol:lol:


























Chottu's cuddling each other... cosy !!










Here we had our lunch... local junta have their Braai(some kind of local barbeque) .. since we were veg we had our home made veg biryani.


This place amazes me. Its nothing like people say. Yes, you need to take some precautions and avoid few places and public transport . But people are friendly. Country is very beautiful. Weather is beautiful. Everything is spacious and clean. And roads ..ahhh very spacious and people follow traffic rule without any excuse. Coming to cars... they have amazing pick-up trucks and SUVs(LandRover, Dodge, LC,Jeep, u name it). I think BMW is well accepted here. BMW and Merc dominates the market. I have seen every brand except Lambo and Rolls. Every one has a car here. Car is the primary transport and rare to find a bike, even if find one it will be some branded sports bike or cruiser with min of 500cc.


I am planning my next trip to Kruger and I wish that materializes soon and show you guys more pics.


Hope you guys like.



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Note from Support- Thread moved here from Assembly line section. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for moving the thread to travelogue section anshuman!

@Arun - I think this must be a unique destination on T-BHP TL section. Those snaps are too up close and personal. :D Thanks for sharing.

Oh man, those cats are beautiful!

It is amazing to capture the wild cats in their habitat rather than when they are caged in zoos. And that cub you were playing with is 1.5 yrs old?! I thought it must be a few months - guess they grow up later!

We'd love some details about the place and a lot more snaps!

PS : How are the Swifts and i20s in SA?

Great Travelogue :thumbs up and a different perspective that a T-BHPian chooses to romancing with live lion, this time.

True that my BP slowly shooting up on seeing you caressing the lion.:Shockked:

arun good stuff man, you are so darn lucky to embark on such a journey officially.

err come on man, not everyone gets to go on an official trip and then enjoy a safari with a few animals from the Big Five.

What do you mean :D ?

Good going Arun. Waiting to hear your adventures in Kruger.

Kruger - That's going to be amazing as well. The closest i have been to Kruger is to watch "Battle of Kruger" on "You Tube" :). Look forward to the pics from your Kruger trip Arun.

Is that a Swift and an i20 that one sees in a few of the photographs with the lions close to the car?

Can see the Spark as well in the second last snap.

And those are swifts and i20s. Looks like are the preferred small cars out there.

Arun, Nice TL and thats some good snaps with Lions.

+10 to that. You can really enjoy the country blessed with nature, if you know how to stay safe. Do avoid public transports, night walks on streets/roads.
There are loads of places in SA that could keep you interested for atleast an year, if planned for every weekend.

Jungle safaris are very famous that one should not miss but also do visit Mpumalanga, CapeTown & Durban.
Good thing is if planned properly, you can cover all the places by Road from Joburg (except Capetown - 1600 kms from joburg, which would require atleast one week to enjoy the routes, if you are planning to drive). SA have some excellent highways running throughout the country.

Btw, which area in Joburg are you staying? I had often seen a Lambo Murcielago parked near Rosebank area, in one of the Malls.

BMW & Mercs are clearly favoured brands there. Audis finding their way lately.

Kruger National Park is a different experience all together. Do plan to have a night stay in one of the Jungle resorts. Would require atleast a proper 2/3 days stay there to catch up with all of the BigFive.

Yes, I realize that now. But my main to come here was to go to Kruger. Hoping for good. Its been a month i came so lets c.

Yes, One is Swift and other is i20.

There were age groups of cubs, one couple of months, other group nearly an yr and these were 1yr+ kind of cubs.

I drove i10 for couple of days and changed it Chevy Spark(which is Indian Beat) as i10 didn't had airbags. Build feels lot more sturdy. And i10 here was more peppy than the one in india and felt stiff on suspensions.

Thanks guys, I will keep uploading pics and give you more info. As of now i am at client location so i cant upload. Will keep updating the thread.

Wow, wonderful pictures.

And with the familiar cars around (i20, spark, swift...), i thought for a moment it is a place in India.