south africa's rhino & lion nature reserve

... the rhino & lion nature reserve ...

this place is a must-see in south africa.

i think this was my favorite day of the 

trip in terms of animal interaction.

between two different safaris and

a drive through kruger, we saw a lot

of animals this trip -- but nothing

was better than interacting with them

at this nature reserve! best day ever.

we drove into the reserve and went straight to the

animal crèche {cradle} with baby lions and tigers!

i was so excited i couldn't even stand it. seeing the

little guys made me giddy! it is amazing. you can 

choose which ones to pay and go in to pet and play

with, so we chose the one with a baby lion and tiger.

^^ here kitty kitty!

how cute can he be? ^^ look at those eyes.

^^ pure happiness

HIS PAWS!!! ^^ he is going to be huge one day.

i clearly could not contain my excitement ^^

after lots of playing we checked out the pretty

cheetah and other animals in the crèche...

then we drove out into the reserve hoping to see

some animals...and came upon the best thing ever.

is this real life?! these lions were BY FAR my 

favorite animal sighting in south africa. by far.

^^ this one passed in front of our car countless

times, protecting his pack. we rolled up the windows

as he walked by because he was SO CLOSE TO US!

we could not believe mufasa and his pals were

RIGHT outside our window in our own car.

we were screaming of excitement and a little fright!!

^^ lioness showing off for the camera

i think this is my favorite picture i took on the trip...

pretty amazing to see the female lioness right in

front of us and the male lion in the rearview mirror!

objects in mirror are definitely closer than they appear :)

^^ blue blue african skies

oh hiii! ^^

most beautiful animal ^^ 

it is unbelievable how huge they are.

^^  we loved seeing him licking and cleaning her!

then they were bored with us and 

snoozing by the time we left. love them!!

^^ spotted another snoozing hippo as we drove on..

^^ along with these pretty ostriches,

^^ and a cheetah + the coolest long-tailed bird 

we ended our day by making new 

giraffe friends at the neck deck :)

^^ giraffe selfie, ha!

i took ten million pictures of them. cutest animal!

i think this one wanted to kiss my mom for rubbing its neck!

^^^ do you think i was excited? :)

///

the best part about this reserve is that it's right

by an amazing bike loop and the cradle of humankind.

it was so fun to bike this loop with my mom & dad

and do breakfast along with visiting the reserve!

a pretty unbeatable day in my book...

now i just need to bring chase back here!!

daddy-daughter bike ride. he is the best {and most fit} dad.

loveliest brunch after biking ^^

the rhino & lion reserve has a 140 rand 

entrance fee, which is about $12 USD to get in.

definitely worth it if you ask me!!!

we spent hours here and i already cannot 

wait to return with chase next year.

more to come from SA!! 

xx