"First we saw the dogs”- Harrison. 

This quote sums up our experience today. The first place we went to was the Ann Van Dyk Cheetah Centre. First, we watched cheetahs run which was exciting! The cheetahs that ran were Jules, Dante, and Amelia. Cheetahs can run up to 75 mph. It was very cool and something we had never seen before. We then got to see honey badgers which can take on lions, blue cranes (which are the national animal), and meer cats (which are just cute). We then got to go on a safari truck and look at cheetahs, vultures, wild dogs, and hyenas. First, we got to see two kinds of cats: serval and caracal. The serval almost looked like a lynx and the caracal was almost like an orange tabby cat. Then we saw a wild cat named Bart. We then drove down the path and got to see vultures which were huge! We went into the wild dog habitat and saw them devour their food. It took maybe a minute for them to eat the meat they received. Then we went into the cheetah habitat and saw cheetahs run behind our truck. The man who fed both animals was named John. John had no fear and fed the animals in their pen. It was amazing to see his control and how much he trusted the animals he worked with. Our tour guide Sam was also amazing. He told us various facts about all the animals that we didn’t know. 

Afterwards, we drove to the cradle of humankind and got to go on a Disney World experience boat ride. We saw the four elements that made humankind: air, fire, water, and land. It was very interesting to see the ancient human remains in the museum. The skulls were all from different time periods, so it was interesting to see the evolution of humans. They had a lot of interactive machines that described how the human race was formed. Our favorite part was the vortex which is supposed to resemble the Big Bang. 

On our way out, we got to see a beautiful view of the countryside. We were supposed to go the Lesedi multicultural village; however, the village was unfortunately closed. Instead we drove back to the hotel and spent time shopping at the mall and eating our delicious food!

Kaitlin Lingbeek and Harrison Wegener







 

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