Group photo at the Cheetah Center we visited in the morning
Cheetah truck photo!
Three cheetahs greeting us in the safari truck
Female African dancers showing off their moves at Lesedi!
Male African dancers showing off their moves at Lesedi!
Group photo at Lesedi Cultural Village
Today was our first full day in
South Africa, and it was busy. We started our day at 6:15 am to head to the Ann
Van Dyk Cheetah Centre. The cheetah center is a captive breeding facility for
cheetahs and wild dogs, and they release most of them back into the wild. We
spent a majority of our morning here learning about what they do and all the
different animals they have. We were able to see some of the endangered
cheetahs in captivity, along with a cheetah run. After the cheetah run, we
loaded up on a truck and toured their facility for about two hours. During this
tour we witnessed them feeding wild dogs, cheetahs, zebras, wildebeest, and
also saw hyenas, vultures, and a mongoose! Our tour guide also gave us so many
great facts and information about all the animals we were seeing.
Next, we traveled to the Lesedi Cultural Village. Here we
were able to do a village tour where we saw villages of the Zulu, Xhosa, Lesotho,
and Pedi, and learned some of their traditions along with their language. After
the tour we went to their dance show and saw some of the rituals. This was an
awesome experience, as they were so passionate about their dancing, singing and
music! After the dance show we stayed
for lunch at the village. We all had the opportunity to try some new things and
get out of our comfort zone, such as ostrich, crocodile, pap (porridge made
from maize), and lamb.
Our last stop was the Apartheid Museum. Here we were able to
learn all about the history of apartheid in South Africa. There were many rooms
to go through, including exhibits on the rise and the fall of apartheid, along
with who some of the influential leaders who fought against apartheid. We spent
around an hour here, and when we were done it was pouring rain. Half of us had
to run through the rain to the van and ended up soaked! It made for a wet ride
back to the hotel.
Overall, we had a blast on our first day here and can’t wait
to see what the rest of the week brings!
Alivia Danner and Kacy Goehring
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