Johannesburg: Pilanesberg Nature Reserve

We drove right to Pilanesberg from the airport.  About a two-hour drive.  I can go on and on and on about how awesome that day was.  I'm certainly not an outdoorsy girl (heh), but that day was magical.  The overwhelming joy that I felt seeing the animals up close and personal and the peacefulness of being in the wild...wow.  It was wonderful to have Chris, an experienced safari guide, tell me all there is to know about the nature reserve--animals, plants, terrain, history of reserve, etc.  He would stop the car to show me animal tracks and droppings (yes droppings) and special plants.  He showed me a plant that could be used as soap and a plant that has sap that could blind you.  He told me what wood to use to start a fire but don't use it to sustain the fire because the smoke is toxic.  I guess if I were ever stranded in the wilderness, these things would come in handy.  Or at trivia night.  Hahaha.  I really really lucked out finding him as my local guide! 

I think he was mildly amused by how excited I got each time we saw an animal.  I mean, I was plain giddy.  It was awesome that he had a sunroof.  Because you're not allowed to be outside of your vehicle.  I mean, do I really want to find out if I'm faster than lions, leopards, or elephants?

When we were driving back to Johannesburg (before I completely passed out), I thought to myself, "This is what life should be about.  Having giddy moments."  Yes.  I'm grinning from ear to ear just thinking about that day.  And I always will.  It wasn't like I have never seen giraffes or elephants or zebras before.  I am reminded of how fortunate I am that I was able to go on the trip.  I am reminded of how far I've come from being afraid of traveling by myself (or doing anything by myself really) to taking this trip.  Yay me.  This giddy moment is the result of me allowing myself to live life to the fullest.  I am not going to wait around for someone to do things with me anymore.  Did I wish to be sharing those moments with someone?  Yes.  But I didn't spend the day or the trip being sad or sulking about it.  I had an amazing time.  I saw a rainbow.  I saw a beautiful sunset.  I saw water so still that it was the mirror image of the mountains behind it.  I saw a herd of elephants running across the plain (yes, running).  I saw giraffes crossing the road right in front of our car.  I saw baboons placing themselves in strategic locations for lookout purposes to protect their own. I saw zebras "horsing" around with each other.  The list goes on and on.

For the sake of time, I'm going to post these first (so you can see that I really did see giraffes and elephants) and then upload the other photos later.  I am still in a bit of disbelief that I spent a whole day at Pilanesberg.  Hahahahaha