The King of the jungle

Sometimes we just need to rid ourselves of the hustle and bustle of city life for some QT and downtime. I always enjoy going to the Stoffberg area in Mpumalanga as my parents have a farm there and its close to Middelburg where I spend most of my holidays.

Last Christmas, some close family friends accompanied my family and I to the uBhetyan-O-Africa Lion Park/Game Reserve. It was fantastic!! Ive been to the Lion Park in Magaliesburg and although that one is amazing, it hardly compares to this one. For a recently built park it is beautiful, secluded and a wonderful experience for little children and adults.

The park is equipped with lovely thatch chalets and state of the art showers and Jacuzzis. If you feel like lounging around, there's an entertainment area and bar or you can sit along the pool side sipping through some *good stuff* in the fancy glasses they have.

Throughout the park there are educational signs that you can read on the fauna and flora found in the park and the insects indigenous to the area. This was my second visit to the park and I am pleased to say that Deon (the owner of the park) is doing a fantastic job! We were told that the park will be extended and that they are looking at introducing Cheetah to the Reserve and more Leopard. As we walked around the lion enclosure we caught a glimpse of the soon to be home of the Cheetah and Leopard.

The park also houses spotted and striped Hyena, I think about 8-10 spotted Hyena and 4 striped Hyena. On our tour of the park, guide Johannes (who was an exchange student from Finland) told us that the Hyena jaws are extremely strong as they crush bones and as a result they also have a high level of stomach acidity to digest the bones.(soo scary, if they ate you there would be no evidence left.. eeeek!)

The animals in the park love humans, walking alongside the fence a carical joined us as we searched for the lions. There are 2 camps alongside each other. One camp with one male and 2 females and the other camp also with 1 male and 2 females as well. The lions get fed on Sundays and the females weigh roughly about 200kg's, the males are even heavier!

I was fortunate enough to visit the park twice now. On my 1st visit I saw the males racing up and down the sides of the fence with their deep roaring echoing throughout the park. A lioness was also sharpening her claws on a tree and yawning as the sun set. The experience was truly breathtaking having this animal about 30cm away from me with nothing but an electric fence in between.(just incase they decide to pounce)

Other animals to be spotted in the reserve are Emu, Ostrich, Spring buck, Eland, pigs, goats and donkeys. OH and of course "I like to move it move it" the ring tailed Lemur (famous from the movie Madagascar). As we walked through the park, our eyes feasted on the many colourful birds, the small fuzzy tailed bunnies, monkeys, squirrel and adorable lil cute bat-eared fox.that roam the park. While we were there we heard the amazing news that the one female was pregnant! I literally stood about 15-20 meters away from them in the veld and felt absolutely absorbed in nature. I look foward to visiting the park soon to see the baby rhino.

The park is currently also under construction of a putt-putt course, and new picnic area. I thouroughly enjoyed walking all the way around the lion enclosure, the lions are so well camoflaged the the grass.

The park also has a very aesthetic appeal and adds to the beauty of the nature of the park itself. Creative pieces like this mask and hand made tire chairs add a unique touch and feel to the park itself.

If you enjoy the outdoors and nature as much as I do then visiting u-Bhetyan-o-Africa is definitely a must do! Even if you don't enjoy the outdoors, have a visit, you won't be disappointed. Just take the time to relax, stretch your feet and absorb all that mother nature has to