As I mentioned in the previous posting the ship was at anchor and thus required that we be tendered ashore. Normally this is a reasonably straightforward affair but with a 2 metre swell running this proved to be something of a challenge for passengers and the crew. Problems began almost immediately when one of the mooring lines to a Liberty Boat (Lifeboat) parted and the few passengers who had made it aboard had to be recovered to the ship. Mooring line replaced the cleat around which the line is secured to the lifeboat then snapped! By this time the Captain was at the disembarkation point and having a serious discussion as to whether the tendering operation should proceed. He chose to go ahead and with the help of crew it took over an hour to load the first tender largely because embarkation had to be switched from one side of the ship to the other to achieve some respite from the swell in the lee of the ship.
Once safely ashore we took a short drive to the Botlierskop Game Reserve – see panoramic photo in the previous posting. Upon arrival we were served a much needed coffee and “koeksusters”, spiral shaped doughnuts coated in syrup – Yum Yum!!, before embarking on our game drive.
This private game reserve is situated in the malaria free Western Cape of SA and is blessed with a wide diversity of both habitat and wildlife except it is not wild in the sense of my experience in Etosha as many of the animals are not indigenous to this part of SA and the experience is more like that at Longleat although on a much bigger and more open scale. The benefit of course is that you have a better chance of seeing the animals because their favourite spots are well known and it is a little easier to get good close up photos without grass stems and bushes interfering with the camera focus.
So the game drive today proved to be a different but nevertheless very enjoyable experience with a special treat at the end?!
The photo is of the male lion who has been retired here with two lionesses. Retired from what I hear you say – retired as performing lions but not in a circus but “walking with lions”, an experience I am looking forward to when we call at Port Louis, Mauritius. Only lions under the age of 4 are used for this adventure and the moment they get too big or show any signs of aggression they are retired to game parks since they are by then semi-tame and cannot survive in the wild.
I had the pleasure of seeing the lions being fed – not live game –but cows from local farms or game that has died within the reserve.
In the next series of postings I will bring you some photos of animals that I have not see thus far with a few explanatory comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment