A Shot of Adrenalin

(warning - contains snake picture)

We knew that our 12 days in South Africa might find us stuck in the car for long periods of time. In Kruger you are not allowed to leave the vehicle, plus there were a few scenic drives we undertook. Additionally, you don't exactly go on wandering walks from your hotel (for personal safety reasons).

So a day of high-energy activity was just what we all needed - especially the kids. We drove out to Induna Adventures and sampled a few of their offerings, which you can see from the sign above was pretty comprehensive.

We chose ziplining and white water rafting. Owen was campaigning for quad biking too, but it was a bit pricey. As it turned out, the ziplining required a ride up the hill on a quad bike, so I guess that was a bonus. (Note the obvious lack of helmets).

Shirley said there was no way she would go up there. I reminded her that she had jumped off a 6,000 foot mountain in a pragalider, but that made no difference. When you're on, you're on.

Annie went first - the company advertised speeds of up to 100 km/h on this ziplining. In theory, I think this is possible, but you need quite a bit of weight to get you going that quickly. Annie is still a bit of a bean pole (a lovely one) but she still managed to go pretty fast.

Owen went next - I think I heard him before I saw him coming down. In very boyish fashion, he must scream at the top of his lungs during all high-intensity activities. Both of the kids loved it - I've heard a really good ziplining site has opened near Whistler, so we'll definitely need to check that out when we get back.

After a quick changeover we were ready to enter the chilly waters of the Sabie River.

But not before our safety overview. We learned how to steer the raft (which was more like a heavy rubberized canoe), how to avoid branches, and what to do in the event of capsizing.

...but our trusty guide Shane omitted the part on how to deal with water-borne reptiles. Yikes! This was a water python, so there was no risk of any venomous bites.

Owen had his turn with a snake, too. Now I'm actually not too bad around snakes. Even with a few of these things around the boat, we felt safe.

Although this is advertised as white water rafting, the Sabie River is quite low in the winter months (now) so it was quite tame, and it was actually a perfect level for a nice family outing. There were a few moments of excitement in the water....

....and out of the water. The photo above may look like nothing (because there's nothing there), but two seconds before this photo was taken there was a HUUUUGE crocodile sunning himself on the side of the river. At this point in the adventure I am actually quite scared, because crocodiles (at least the big ones) actually can and do eat people. That was not in the brochure!

We calmed down enough to continue the river adventure (and we were frankly happy to get as far away from mr. giant-mouth-full-of-sharp-teeth) and Shirley and Owen took the hardest of the day's rapids perfectly. Just like the pros!

Well we left with a family of four and we finished the same way, so I guess that's the sign of a successful day (at least the bare minimum). The guys at Induna were great, and it was great to finally blow off some steam.

Our last activity was a visit to the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre - a facility dedicated to the rescue and release of cheetahs (and a few other threatened species).

The visit included a two-hour safari ride through the grounds, led by Renier, who explained the background, purpose and achievements of the centre. There is a breeding component to the facility as well, but with the sole objective of releasing the cheetahs into the local game reserves and parks.

If this cheetah looks slightly different, well you're right. It's called a King Cheetah, and while there is no anatomical or physiological difference between it and other more common cheetahs, it has a recessive gene which makes its mane and body darker. And while you might think that this is impressive (because it's rare) you would be mistaken - these cheetahs are not only ostracized and kicked out of their prides, but they rarely survive long due to their unfortunate dark colour. They tend to overheat in the hot African sun and therefore cannot reach or sustain the speeds necessary to take down prey.

Why, hello! This cheetah is Kris, and was particularly inquisitive. I would love to have reached out and given it a little pet, but common sense (and Renier's explicit advice) made me keep my hands to myself.

The centre has a few lions as well, so with all of these big cats, you can imagine the daily meat intake must be huge. This grim spectacle above is called the 'Vulture Restaurant'. It's where they bring and dump the unused leftovers and bones. About 200 birds just hang around waiting, and when the crate gets dumped, an immediate and unbelievable frenzy takes place.

This guy is not the prettiest animal in Africa, but it is very endangered. It's a African wild dog, and we were not able to find any in Kruger (there are just 200 in the 25,000 square kilometers). So it was quite a treat to see them here. After the hyena and lion, these wild dogs have the most powerful jaw strength of the African predators.

And now for the "awwww" moment. This little guy was the victim of poaching - indirectly, since it was his mother that was killed three months ago for her horn. The orphaned rhino was brought to the centre to be looked after. While it is necessary for some human interaction in the first few months (the concept of a surrogate parent), eventually that will end as they ready him for release back into the wild.

I wonder what a rhino feels like.

Well, now you know. His little horn is just starting to grow - I hope he fares better than his mom did.

It's time for one last braai at Nandina before leaving South Africa. Nothing better than leaving a place with the best kind of souvenirs - good meat, great wine and memories of terrific hosts.

We leave knowing that we did not give this country the time it deserves. We only scratched the surface by visiting one small corner of South Africa during their winter. If the hospitality, scenery, food and wildlife are any indication of what we would find in other parts of the country, then we shall be back again soon.

We're off to the Seychelles next!