Back from a great getaway!

Well, after many hours of driving, we safely made it to and from Port Elizabeth, South Africa. What is there, you ask? How about elephants, cheetahs, meerkats, cervals, giraffes, kudu, buffalo, red heartbeasts, warthogs, black backed jackals, tigers, zebras, crocodiles, lions, lion cubs, leopards, ostrich, dung beetles, baboons, vervet monkeys, snakes, snails, crabs, various birds, etc. etc. I think you get the point. Anyway, we had three wonderful days (all sunny and windy) in Port Elizabeth. But, we saw more animals than you could imagine.
On the first day there, we went to Daniell's Cheetah Breeding Farm and another place called the Reptile House in Lenmore. At Daniell's Farm, we were able to learn more about cheetahs and even pet a full grown adult cheetah named Ola. We were also treated to being able to hold 1 month old lion cubs as well. At the Reptile House, we were able to hold various snakes (the non-poisonous kind) as well as see other poisonous snakes too. We also had the very rare experience of holding a meerkat. There were also four crocodiles too.
On the second day, we went to Addo Elephant Park. Obviously, we saw some elephants. Early in our car expedition there, we were able to stop and let 5 elephants cross the road right in front of our vehicle. I dare say that we saw over 50 different elephants during our day at the park. Since elephants are Anita's favorite animal, I think it goes without saying that she loved it! We also saw the jackals, zebras, buffalo, kudu, and many other animals there. What a great day!
On the third day, we went to a place called Seaview Lion and Game Park. They had over 10 different full grown lions, 4 lion cubs, 2 tigers, 2 leopards and other various animals. We were also fortunate enough to witness feeding day for the lions. It is really amazing how much power those animals have. They were able to carry off large pieces of food easily, when it took one human a lot of energy to get it off the truck. After seeing those animals, we drove to the Indian Ocean shoreline and did some exploring of rocky outcroppings. We were able to do some "biology" lessons with the kids about snails, crabs and other various sea creatures. The kids also collected some shells.
All in all, it was a wonderful experience and I would highly recommend the Port Elizabeth area for anyone that would like to see many different animals. I am pretty sure that we will be back there again in the future.
Bryan