Inverdoorn Game Reserve & Cheetah Rehabilitation Center

What I love about South Africa is that you can experience all different types of terrain and environments in so little time. Today we saw everything from city life to dry Sahara to country life and mountain ranges. We squeezed every ounce out of this day that we possibly could and my current mood is exhausted, irritable, tired, homesick and I should probably just go to sleep but I am always anxious to write these blog posts as soon as I get back on the ship.

 

Today we (Me, Hannah, Alyssa, Amber, Stephanie) had to be at the circle in town at 6:40 AM where the tour bus would pick us up and drive us to Inverdoorn Game Reserve. At 7 the van finally arrived to pick us up. We were getting worried that we were standing in the wrong place! There were three other ladies in the van, two from Brazil and one from Argentina who are in Cape Town to take English language classes. It is very cheap for them to take the classes here compared to in their home countries or in Europe. So we got to practice some English with them along the way. Our tour guide, Bruce was really cool and knowledgeable about the route that we were taking to get there. He took us on a scenic route which ended up taking about 3 hours to get to. We took the Forgotten Highway which was a route they originally thought would be the main route from Cape Town to Johannesburg. As you drive on this route, you realize why it is called the Forgotten Highway. It is now mostly a scenic route that winds around the most incredible, huge, cloud covered mountains and through wine lands and pear and apple farms. The mountains form a ravine where there is a river at the bottom and many people camp there. Since today was a Sunday summer morning, we saw many people enjoying their breakfasts at the campsites. As we made our way high up into the mountains we saw many troupes of baboons which were everywhere! They were scampering up and down the windy roads looking for foliage to eat. Since it was so early in the morning, it was the perfect time for all of them to come out and we got quite a few good pictures! Bruce was telling us that the scenic viewpoints along the road have to have special trashcans with lids that lock to keep the baboons from getting inside. But the males are still strong and smart enough to rip the lids off. It was quite a contraption...they're VERY smart!

 

As we made our way closer to our destination, the land began to get arid. The trees disappeared and mostly scrubby bushes and thorns grow on the ground. The road turned to a desert brown sandy dirt color at the entrance of the reserve. It was very bumpy but nothing like what we would experience with the safari ride! We piled out of the van at the main building of the reserve. There are many geologists that set up permanent camp there to research. The site was beautiful with canopies and tables and chairs with tea, coffee, and cookies to begin our day. It was funny because we ran into a whole group of SAS kids who stayed the night there -you can do an evening and morning safari with overnight accommodations. We piled into the safari vehicles at 10:30 AM and set out on a 2.5 hour ride to spot the big five (lion, elephant, rhino, leopard, water buffalo...minus elephants since they didn't have them there).

 

First of all....safari vehicles are the most uncomfortable vehicle I have ever ridden in. The safari vehicles in Animal Kingdom at Disney World are spacious and luxurious compared to these!!! I literally had to sit sideways the whole time to give myself enough leg room. The first animal we looked for was a lion. The lions are kept in a separate part of the reserve. our safari guide, Eugene, told us that 10 years ago, farmers would raise lions in an abusive environment where they feed them and make them big as fast as possible with the intention to kill. Then people would come to these places where they would pay 150,000 Rand to kill the lions. The lions would be drugged and placed in a small area where the people would then shoot them. This practice was made illegal 8 years ago. Inverdoorn buys the lions from the farmers and takes care of them, feeding them lean meals and introducing them into the wild where they can learn to hunt on their own. The fence that separates the lions from the other animals was really neat...all the fences are like it...the gate uses solar panels and motion detection to open for the safari vehicles and they have to make sure they close behind the vehicles so the lions don't get out! We were given specific instructions not to stand up in the vehicle as that ruins the outline of the vehicle and the lions pick you out as an individual and could attack. It took quite a while to spot the lion which was hiding in the brush. We only got a glimpse of her.

 

Next we saw zebra and water buffalo which were very impressive...kind of ugly and scary looking. At this point Eugene said we had a bit of a problem. Something about the vehicle overheating. We were literally 20 steps from these water buffalo. He got the vehicle going and stopped a little further to adjust some things. We were off again very quickly. Giraffes were next. We were able to get out of the vehicle and actually walk up close to the giraffes. Of course people walked way too quickly and scared them away but it was neat to get more up close and personal with them. We looked for the Rhino for quite a while but never found him. He was hiding from us the whole time! We also saw some springbok which are kind of like kangaroos. Some kind of gazelle or similar animal were grazing by a pond where the hippos live. We saw them sticking their eyes above the water. Lastly, we went to the Cheetah Reserve where they breed Cheetahs. They are going extinct and apparently some son of a royal Indian man who lived in the Taj Mahal wiped out a whole species of Cheetah. Not sure how he did that..! The cheetahs were gorgeous though and really lazy! We were able to get very close to them. They told us how they exercise mostly the female Cheetahs because it increases their body temperature and ovulation where as when male Cheetahs run, their body temperature increases and burns their sperm. This means that the females are exercised the most to increase breeding.

 

We made our way back to base camp where the most amazing lunch and dessert was waiting for us. We had a mango salad, chicken, pasta, rice, rolls, chocolate pudding and coconut cake. Scrumptious and I most definitely enjoyed seconds! After that we were asked if we brought our "costumes" aka swim suits...and if we wanted to swim in the pool. No one brought theirs of course.

 

We all piled back into Bruce's van along with a guy, Sam, from Australia who had stayed at Inverdoorn overnight for their evening/morning safari. He was really cool! We took the highway back to make the trip a little faster. Bruce asked us if we had been to Table Mountain which is the mountain that Cape Town is known for. We hadn't been there yet so Bruce suggested that we get dropped off at the lower cable cars and ride up to the top. He took everyone home, driving past Bishop Hill where all the really really nice houses are and dropped us and Sam off at the cable cars. These cable cars are AWESOME. They hold about 65 people and take you super fast to the top of the mountain. It was sunset at this point and the clouds (the "tablecloth") were rolling over the mountain. It was the most incredible view I have ever seen overlooking Cape Town, the harbor and you could see Robben Island (Where Nelson Mandela was kept in prison) in the distance. There were so many couples up there sitting and enjoying a picnic dinner with champagne and watching the sunset. The view was absolutely breathtaking and I just can't get over the view. We were up there for about a half hour taking pictures. It was FREEZING. Many people were wearing winter coats and long pants. They were prepared! We looked silly in our shorts, flip flops, and tank tops! Luckily I had a fleece jacket with me!!! We made our way back down the mountain via cable car and took a taxi back to the ship. Home sweet home! It's always an amazing feeling walking back onto the ship.

 

It was a jam packed fun filled day. Tomorrow I am going on a Freedom in Creation trip to Capricorn Primary School where we will do some art projects with township kids. It should be exciting! I just realized that I need to get money out of the ATM.....I guess I'll figure that out bright and early tomorrow. So much to do here in Cape Town and so little time!