In which Jess befriends a lion, TJ fights a Zulu warrior, and the car gets damaged.

[Edit: picture links fixed!  Here, here, and here.]

It's such a pleasure to take my feet off the pedals and prop them up on the desk where they properly belong.  While Jess took most of the off-road driving (including the first "battle damage" that Lefty has sustained thus far), I took most of the freeway driving.  Freeway driving here is intense in its own right as the locals would likely consider the concept of speed limit signs quaint, if they ever noticed them at all.  And with no on-ramps, you go from full stop to OHGODSTHERY'RERIGHTONTOPOFME very quickly.  

Jess and I decided to get out of Jo'burg for the weekend, and explore something beyond the northern suburbs.  (We intend to make a habit of these weekend escapes.)  And really, how can we just lay around all weekend when we're less than an hour's drive from THE CRADLE OF HUMANKIND?


For those of you who didn't feel like following the link, the Cradle is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage site, covering 180 square miles and encompassing some of the most important (and oldest) hominid fossils ever found, some dating 3.5 million years ago.  And with rhino and lion reserves and cultural villages nearby, why not make a weekend of it? 


Saturday we drove up to the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve, set deep within the park.  (Pictures posted here!)  We really could have spent a full day in the reserve -- it was incredible.  Herbivores roamed wild (occasionally visiting feed spots in convenient locations) and the mixture of wildebeast, warthog, and waterbuck (among others) was stunning.  The predators -- wild dogs, cheetahs, lions, panthers, and tigers -- are largely rescued ex-pets and their offspring; they can't really hunt, but we did get there in time to catch some of the feedings.  A childhood of growing up on National Geographic and PBS did not let me down: African Wild Dogs chirp at each other, white lions actually do roar at each other with a voice you can feel in your sternum, and cheetahs when not running look like skinnier, brood-ier versions of your house cat.  

Before visiting the breathtaking limestone caves (actual sign: "The Cave of Wonders: If You Don't Visit, You'll Always Wonder!"), Jess and I ducked in to the nursery to play with the baby lions.  I kicked a ball back and forth with one, while Jess made a friend.  Go ahead and check out the pictures -- see if you can find the baby rhino...

We went from there to Lesedi Cultural Village, where we stayed overnight.  (Check out those pictures here!)  To paraphrase the folks on the backpackers' forums we consulted, as tourist traps go this was a fantastic one.  Not a functioning village by any stretch, the area does include full-scale mock-ups of Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Basotho and Ndebele villages including representatives from the tribes who talk about history, old traditions, and how they live today.  I cringed when I read the description, picturing the Museum of the American Indian, but the people were excellent, the exhibits informative, and the only things cringe-worthy were the other tourists (and wow, were some of them bad).  

A Zulu warrior demonstrates propper technique

You know how some tour guides joke that there will be a test at the end?  Well, had I been paying attention to proper Zulu short-spear fighting technique, there's a chance I would have fared better when "volunteered" to engage in a mock battle as we waited for dinner.  The tour guide was supportive, though, standing behind me screaming "hit him in the head!"

Despite the great educational and cultural value, most impressive were the rooms.  We stayed in a hut in the reconstructed Zulu village and, well, took more pictures of the place than the rest of the park.  Check out the pictures to see more...

Sunday we actually visited the museum at Maropeng -- beating the Getty for most impressive museum buildings I've seen.  (Pictures here.)  No need to continue an already long post, other than to say it was more than worth the trip.  We'll keep you posted when we decide where we're going next weekend!