As our adventure is about to come to an end, we realize that we need more time to discover this beautiful country. Unfortunately the flight home is upon us and we will eventually have to say goodbye. With little more then two days left, our next adventure is to a safari in one of the beautiful national parks of Africa.
Pilansbergh National Park is located two hours away from Johannesburg. Pilansbergh Park is 55,000 hectors in diameter and it’s located inside of a 1,200 million year old Volcano. There are only three parks like that in the world. It is populated with more then 6,000 animal species and 300 bird species. It’s also home to Africa’s “Big Five.” This is a reference to five animals, which are considered dangerous to humans. They are Rhino’s, Elephant’s, Lion’s, Leopard’s, and Buffalo’s. We embarked on a lookout to find all five of them.
The safari took place inside of open Jeeps. Because of the large group, we were divided into two Jeeps, which made more room for everyone to move around. Our safari started off slowly with no significant animals in sight. After about 15 minutes, the Jeep stops and we see a herd of Zebra running on a base of a mountain. The feeling of fulfillment was evident because we were all anxious to see something we never saw before. After about seven minutes of watching the Zebra’s we are going forward. We only drove about 200 yards and we are all in awe as we see a pair of Giraffes snacking on a tree. It was beautiful to see and we all knew it would be a while before any of us will ever get a chance to witness something like that up close in the wild.
In the middle of the safari we stopped for a quick lunch. Africa never fails us as we witness something amazing. There was a group of monkeys sitting on trees waiting for us. We quickly found out that they were waiting for our lunch. As we all exited the Jeeps, one of the monkey’s snuck inside and stole a bag of chips. This was another wild encounter for the CUNY tour and another story to tell to our friends and families. Before we can eat we heard that the menacing monkeys actually tipped over our lunch and we would have to wait an extra hour. We took a drive around and we saw some of the most amazing things. At first we caught a family of Zebra’s crossing the road in front of us, then we ran in to a little family of hippopotamus’s and a baby hippo’s. They treated us to a show with their big yawns. We also saw a few crocodiles and imparlers.
Our lunch consisted of a barbeque that in Pilansburgh Park. With monkeys not too far away, we enjoyed a nice mixture or salads, chicken, pork, and steak. All of us had a good meal and took pictures with our new friends (the monkeys). The lunch also meant the end of our tour. None of us wanted to leave but it was time to say goodbye. As we drive back we see all of our friends for the last time. Giraffes, Imparlers, and of course Zebra’s. But we haven’t seen any of the “big five.” But Africa never fails us, as we spot a Rhino about 70 yards away. All of us stair in awe. One out of five is not bad! Wwe leave the park satisfied and fulfilled with our experience. Another day goes by and we are counting down to the end. Tomorrow will be our last full day in beautiful South Africa.
“The safari was an amazing experience. It was interesting to search out the big five. Although we didn’t find all of them I was still impressed with Pilansberg Park and the animals that make it their home.”
Caner Yilmaz- Baruch College