My African Adventure Part 2: Cheetahs become my new favorite animals...besides elephants, of course

Let us get right into the post, because I'll be honest... there's a LOT to cover. 

So first things first, this hunk of a cheetah's name is Zulu. He's a full-grown ambassador cheetah at Shingwedzi, and obviously, I'm a little partial to him. Most of the volunteers decided early on who their favorite ambassador cheetahs were, and Zulu is without a doubt, my favorite little (or should I say big) man.

On day 3 at Shingwedzi, we went on a morning safari tour/adventure. 

We were able to watch the Wild African Dogs in action, as Peter, one of the Shingwedzi staff members, gave them their morning meal.

 We also got the chance to see a couple of the wild cheetahs in action. To clarify something, there are both wild and humanized cheetahs at Shingwedzi. The wild cheetahs are there for various reasons . . . some are used for breeding, some are older or previously injured and they can't be re-released, and others were born at Shingwedzi and so they'll be kept there. The humanized cheetahs are what I'm referring to as ambassador cheetahs, and their jobs vary from being runners (which I'll explain later) to being Shingwedzi representatives for tours and schools, and above all, they're used to educate people on cheetahs and cheetah centers.

A Zazu bird!!!

Standing in one of the vulture enclosures that we fixed while at Shingwedzi!

A pack of wildebeest on our morning walk to breakfast

Thor, another ambassador cheetah, sitting on his mound.

Then came the cub encounters!!! 

The first encounter my group had was with the three 9-month old cubs: Jordan, Pickles, and Simba. We basically got to spend the morning just hanging out with them, and it was surreal.

Needless to say, this counts as one of the best moments in my 20 years of existence.

With Jordan the cheetah!!! He's the teddy bear of the bunch.

Nancy and I with the cheetahs in the left corner of the picture.

Jordan

Simba

The cheetahs love their mounds!!

Speaking of cheetah mounds, that was one of the first tasks we completed as volunteers. 
We built a brand-spanking-new cheetah mound for Forest, the ambassador-in-training. 

Our mound!

Now, back to the cubs!

Sleepy Pickles...

That one time I charmed the nonexistent pants off of Simba the cheetah cub. Simba tends to be a bit sassy, so I was honored that she accepted, and even more, seemed to enjoy my presence.

Lastly, here are a few short videos of the cubs for you to enjoy.

Cheetah rough-housing

Sleeping cheetahs

Cheetah Purrs

Next post: feeding rounds, runner cheetahs...................

AND BABY CUBBIES!!!! Be prepared! :)

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to share them below!

A Day at the Lake

On Saturday, my family, including my dogs, and I spent the day at Pymatuning Lake. I managed to get some photos of the day and I figured I'd share a quick post with all of you. Feel free to peruse and leave comments below, if you'd like.

Sittin on the dock of the bay...

Gizmo taking a quick swim in the lake.

Pico after his lake swim.

My step-dad Don with Gizmo on the dock.

Pico is practically a water-dog.

My African Adventure Part 1: Cheetah licks

It's been three days since I arrived back in the States and through serious jet lag and a horrible cold, I've managed to bring you my first post 

about my African adventure.

On May 23rd, I flew from Cleveland to NYC and then I boarded a South African Airways flight to embark on my 14 and a half hour plane ride to Johannesburg. 

Arriving in South Africa!!!

On the 24th, I arrived in Joburg around 8am, about 2am Ohio time due to the 6-hour time difference. From there, I exchanged my U.S. dollars for South African Rand, which has a fantastic exchange rate (for my pocket at least) ...nearly 13 Rand to 1 U.S. dollar.

From the airport, my ISV (International Student Volunteer) group of 30 people and I traveled nearly two hours to Bela Bela where we stopped for snacks. It was another hour and a half drive to Shingwedzi, where we'd be staying and volunteering for the next two weeks.

When we arrived, we were filled with lunch and then shown to our chalets...our homes for the next two weeks. There are three chalets: Noko, Thutlwa, and Kolobe. I was put into Noko (pronounced Noku in the Zulu language) with 11 other volunteers. 

My humble abode.

Each chalet has a kitchen, a patio/bonfire area, and a pool!

 

That evening, we had our very first South African Braai, or cookout as we'd call it in the U.S.

Braais consist of a lot of meat and socializing...that's kind of the key to a braai.

At our first braai, we ate ribs, chicken, beet roots, scalloped potatoes, and rolls. 

However, we were all kind of exhausted from more than a day's worth of traveling, so I don't have much else to say about it...because I was practically sleepwalking through it. 

The next day, we toured parts of Shingwedzi.

 We also learned about an interesting tree called the Buffalo Thorn, 

that has branchlets with straight and curved thorns.

It is said that the straight thorns point towards the future 

and the curved thorns curve to the past.

From Google images

A skink

A snakeskin we found in the plains and Tasch, one of our project leaders.

Out in the plains, we played an ice breaker to try to learn everyone's names 

(YAY RA STUFF!) 

Then this is where the cheetahs come in. 

Our first major encounter with a cheetah involved Midget. He's a young-in who is used to show the speed and agility of his breed through the running course. He also loves to lick you through the fence! 

Therefore, we got cheetah licks on only our second day at Shingwedzi! :) 

Needless to say, I was satisfied with life in that moment.

Midget the cheetah!

On our walk back to Noko, we encountered 3 zebras, literally in what felt like our back yard! 

I had a mini heart attack from pure excitement and 

then managed to get an exorbitant amount of photos.

My zebra buddies!

The view from the lookout at one of the other chalets.

We made chalet flags...and since Noko means porcupine in the Zulu language...well, you can see where we got our inspiration. :)

We ended day two with another South African favorite...or maybe just a Shingwedzi favorite... A Sundowner.

You basically take some alcohol (because the drinking age is 18 in South Africa) and your friends out to the plains and watch the sunset while you socialize, take pictures, and have a good time!

The beautiful African sunset

Noko housemates!

Our safari truck and transportation for the two weeks!

My first couple days in South Africa were tiring, exhilarating, and 

I couldn't have asked for anything more. Surprisingly though, the trip got even better. 

I'll make sure to post Part 2 of my African Adventure soon, and be prepared, it will feature much more cheetah love that will be sure to knock your socks off! :)

The sun quickly tucked itself behind the mountains, around 6pm!