June 7th, 2017

June 7, 2017

Cub Walk




It was another cold, misty morning. Today we went out for a walk with the lion cubs. After about a 5 minute drive, we saw three adorable cubs in a cage. The cubs looked so excited as they were running around the small cage. We heard the safety instructions and finally the cubs were freed. They rushed outside and started to look around. Marco and (African), the guides, started to guide us and the cubs to a big stone. As the cubs were following the guides, I (Harry) realized that the cubs were just like little 5 year old humans--curious, playful, and little troublemakers. By an hour, it was time and we had to go.  It was so sad to leave them behind. I hope that we would see them again.

Sand Trap

After we finished having a great time with the lion cubs, we went back to our tents to get ready for the sand trap. When we got all of our stuff, we went back to the jeep and drove to get shovels and bags to carry sand. When we got all it, we went to get sand to put in the bag. Then, we drove to a place to make a sand trap. Sam and Bernie wanted us to make it as a group. First, we had to dig out the grass that was in the way. After, we put the sand on the ground, tied a meat to the rock, and threw small pieces of meat around the trap to attract predators. When we were finished, Sam spotted a hyena foot print so we all went and saw it. 



Monkey Sanctuary





After the delicious lunch, we head to the monkey sanctuary. About an hour by car from the campus, we arrived at the monkey sanctuary. First, we looked around the souvenir shop. Then, we listened to the safety instructions. We were told to have nothing in our pockets since the monkeys are very clever and cheeky. While we were listening to the basic information about the monkeys, we could already see a monkey hanging on the top of the fence. We entered into the monkey park, and saw about 20 monkeys playing around a large tree. I (Harry) don't remember what the guide was saying since I only payed attention to the monkeys. The cheeky monkeys were full of curiosity. One of them tried to pick something out of Niko's pocket. After about an hour of walking around the park, it was time to go. Wishing that we would see the monkeys again, we head back to our campus for dinner.

Night Drive

As always, dinner was delicious. After dinner, we had to get ready for the night drive. The evening usually gets cold so we had to get warm clothes like long sleeve shirts, long pants, and a jacket. For the night drive, we had to stay extra quiet so that we won't scare the animals away. If we won't stay quiet, then we won't be able to see any animals. Keeping our mouths shut, we started to drive into the bush. The first thing we saw was sleeping zebras and impalas. I (Harry) didn't think it was that special anymore because I was already immune to seeing zebras and impalas in the wild. As we continued driving on, we heard a movement between the bushes. As Sam looked over and flashed it to the place where the movement was, we saw a porcupine. According to the rangers, seeing a porcupine is a very rare case in a night drive. We also saw jackals across the hill which was rare. As the night got too cold, we head back to our tents.