Date of Entry: November 29th 2016
Date of Writing: April 25th 2017
After saying goodbye to Renata I spend one more night at once in Joburg before checking out and heading to the nearby central bus station in Johannesburg to catch a us to Bloemfontein, which turns out to be the birthplace of J.R. Tolkien the author of the Lord of the Rings. I wanted to go to Kruger National park, but Africa is quite expensive when compared to South America and South East Asia, so I’ve decided to save it for another trip and head towards something different, the tiny mountainous landlocked country of Lesothu.
There’s not any real tourism in Bloemfontein, but it’s a pleasant midsized south African city and I find a nice little apartment run by a friendly elderly couple for a reasonable price and so decide to stay two days to relax a bit. I’m glad I did because these leads me to finding the Bagamoya wildlife estate, maybe 20 km outside of the city. On the weekends they host parties and do animal interactions with their rescued animals (rescued and also those born there). During the week normally they are closed, but turns out a friendly email or two and they’ll usually open and host you privately, which is what I did and what I highly recommend you do.
I should mention they also run a volunteer program where you help build enclosures but can also go play with the animals anytime your not working. You have to spend at least a few weeks to a month and you do pay something for room and board, but one day I hope to participate with this.
They also have rooms where you can spend the night with a pool and looking back I definitely would have stayed there if I did this again, as they said I could go in with the animals again, since I was kind and truly loving to them. Also the pool there is heaven in the heat of the day.
At any rate my email sees them drive in with a truck to pick me up from my apartment and still fairly in the morning I’m headed to their sprawling and beautiful farm about 20 km from the city with Sharina the manager there. She’s awesome and welcomes me warmly to the restaurant area while I try to decide which interactions I have the budget to pay for. Here they have cheetahs, lion cubs, tiger cubs, and full grown lions you can interact with in different ways. For those interested there’s a price list on their website and while it’s not cheap it’s all worth it, especially during the week as I’m literally the only person there, very different than my two other experiences in Thailand, and Argentina.
Now I haven’t seen any cheetahs yet in Africa, so Sharine and I decide that’s a great place to start. I’m led to the cheetah enclosure which is still fairly new here, and am quickly introduced to Sabi and Sydney, two sisters who are beyond incredible, and quite eager to play. They are incredible, they’re tongues rougher than sandpaper and their big eyes huge in their tiny heads. My heart is racing as they lick me all over, climb around me, and just generally warmly welcome me to their world.
As I grow more comfortable with the incredible animals I start to play with them more like I’d play with Scooby, my old house cat,and they seem to love it, but are quick to remind me that they are a bit different, and Sydney pushes her back legs up against my arms showing me the incredible strength of her muscles and reminding me how cheetahs are so damn fast. Oh and they don’t stop purring the whole time. Purring loudly. I’m in paradise.
We play some soccer together before they discover my backpack and start to investigate, something that will be repeated again and again today. I don’t mind because the bag is old anyways and in need of repair. I just need to find an Osprey dealer in Sao Paulo to get them to repair it. It’s hard but eventually I say goodbye to the cheetahs, it’s time to move on to the lion cubs.
As we enter the lion enclosure Sharine Tells me that if I do dare sit down the one 7 month old male that is staring at me from across the enclosure will almost definitely come pounce on me. Of course I sit down, and in mirror seconds the cub is sprinting and launching at me and then I’ve got a heavier than the looks lion on top of me, licking and pawing at my face. It’s terrifying and wonderful all at once, and a moment I will never ever forget.
You can see the smile on my face, and I will always cherish this single moment, though all my day here is pretty incredible.
I stay with these three little lions a long time, two of them are eager enough to play, but once, who was almost killed by her father just after birth and is missing part of her tail, is terrified of everyone and hides behind her big brother. That’s her sitting alone and roaring at me. It’s a slow process, but slowly I gain her trust and finally she lets me extend a hand and pat her gently, which is an amazing moment and I feel truly loved. Sharine is surprised, apparently I’m the first tourist she’s let touch her. I feel pretty special for that.
Next up is the tigers,right now they just have too tiny cubs that are open for interactions, but what they lack in numbers and size they make up for with enthusiasm, charging me and doing anything they can to attack both me, and my bag which takes some welts from these adorable nippy darlings. They are already learning their hunting skills as one will come to distract me, and the other attacks from behind, leaping at my back. It’s exhausting but super fun, even if it leaves me with bruises and little cuts as they gnaw on me. Once they are done with me one heads to the water tap and does exactly what my cat Scooby doo used to do, sitting under the dripping tap letting the water fall onto the top of its head. We have some fun turning on the water and letting them drink from my hands but sadly the video’s been lost on a faulty sad card. At least the photos survived.
Eventually we leave the tigers behind and Sharine let’s me know I can keep going back to the animals if I like so we head back to the cheetahs who are inside now to avoid the heat but still up to play and gnaw on my bracelets. They really are beautiful creatures and I swear their eyes are bigger than lion’s eyes even if their heads are barely 20 percent as big.
I say goodbye to the cheetahs again as one of the owners of the place comes back with some fresh and un processed cow meat, ready to take me on a game drive in an open golf cart through one of the enclosures which holds an entire family of lions, including the massive male Bongani who started Bagamoya when he turned up ill and dying on the side of the road. After one person tried and failed to raise him, leaving him mostly blind, the owner took him in and started what has become a truly amazing place. Having done three animal interactions in three different continents, this is the only one I didn’t leave with mixed feelings.
As we drive in to the big grassy enclosure mum and dad of the family come to meet us and I remember suddenly just how huge lions are and how quickly they could make a meal of me if they wanted to. The owner tosses them meat but shows no fear drawing close to them. It turns out national geographic has done a special on him with this family of lions, it turns out he is the only human in the world who has been allowed to come to and interact with lion cubs and their mother in the first days of birth. Such is the trust between him and these magnificent cats.
Mum makes sure the kids get some of the meet and then takes a seat with her own hunk of it, sitting protectively in front of them. She might trust him, but she doesn’t know me. Watching those teeth make quick work of the meat makes me think back to the seven month old pawing at my face. I’m glad he didn’t get angry at the wrong time.
Eventually our time with the lions is over and I decide that before I head back to town I should go spend some time with the young lions and tigers again. Honestly I could spend weeks gettingto know these animals, and I hope one day I get the chance to do so. They’re less active now as the heat of the day has truly set in, still it’s fun to be with them a bit more before a take an amazing dip in their pool alongside some awesome dogs, and then take a ride back to town with both owners, who share an incredible cured sweet bacon with me which sadly is only available in some tiny town I’ll never visit, but utterly delicious and a great ending to my truly amazing day at Bagamoya Wildlife estate, a place I highly recommend visiting during any trip to South Africa.
