This morning we will be going on a riding safari - we will take horses out for a ride in the park. The advantage of going game viewing on horses is that the animals do not see us as humans, but rather part of the horse and we can get much closer. In addition, the smell of the horse is much greater than our smell, so they do not spook as easy.
After a quick breakfast, we head over to the stables to get organised. They assign horses based on experience. After a short while we are all sorted and are ready to head out.
We spend about 2½ hours on the horses and have quite a good time. While on our game ride, we see quite a few things. First are the Kudu (and we have been waiting quite a while to see them), followed by a group of giraffe (whom we get quite close to), topi, impala, a tortoise, some wilde beest and a blesbok.
We also come across a number of birds of prey (vultures and maribu stork) hanging out in a couple of trees and soaring on the thermals. Laying there is the carcass of a cow that has been cleaned up by them. The vultures will rip apart the carcass and the maribu stork will try to steal what they can (they do not have the right beak to rip out the flesh).
We get back to the campsite just in time for lunch. We spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing. Jacqui goes up to see some of the big lions while Lars works on his journal. Before dinner, we have some drinks around the fire and watch the resident elephants having a bath and playing in the river. They are having a great time. They would push one another under water and would breath through their trunk.
We also run over to the cub cage for the feeding of the lion cubs. It is a great experience to be able to see the cubs being fed and to have the chance to play with them.
We all get a chance to get up close with them. Every once in a while one of them might try to take a small bite, but we would just say no and give them a smack on the nose. It worked every time, but we would get a few scratches.
The afternoon is rounded off with a very nice sunset. We then head over for dinner, which is a feast that is prepared by the campsite. It is a huge spread which includes butternut soup, impala stew, beef stew, rice and a local maize dish. It is also Cecilia's birthday, so the party starts over dinner and moves to the huge fire after dinner is finished.