Exploring South Africa

Okay, so it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that we are exploring all of South Africa. Indeed, most of our exploring has been centered around the Cradle of Humankind; specifically the Rhino & Lion Park and the Lesedi Cultural Village.

We visited the Rhino & Lion Park on Wednesday. There are a bunch of stories from that day--but most notably we had to drive away from an approaching Cape Buffalo, a wild dog tried to chew on the bumper of the van, and we got to pet baby lions (10 week old baby lions). We spent an entire day at the park, taking in everything there was to see: from all the wild cats to the excellent kid's play place that they had.

Yesterday, we went to another site within the Cradle of Humankind: the Lesedi Cultural Village. This center was a place to showcase the culture of four of the tribes that lived in Southern Africa: the Zulu, the Pedi, the Xhosa, the Ndebele and the Sotho. I love this stuff. Although I know that it is simplified and adjusted to be made palatable to tourist sensibilities, it was a fun way to gain some exposure to five major tribal groups. Of course, Josh's favorite tribe was the Zulu--'cause he loved their warrior ways. It was fun to explore the Sotho village because it's Mali's tribe (and 'cause we knew a bit about it!)

Today is our last day in South Africa. We are going to explore a museum and an underwater lake. If I get my way, we're also going to a botanical garden with a waterfall.