Wildlife Park

After Christmas, a bunch of families spent a few days camping at the wildlife park a few hours south of here. A group of people went down the river in canoes and boats to get to the park. We drove to the park and met them there. At the entrance of the park, we picked up a guide. As we drove through the park, he sat on top of the vehicle giving us directions and trying to spot animals. Our kids actually had keener eyes than he did and usually spotted the animals before he found them. Brynn really had eagles eyes those days! This picture is of the paths through the park. There is a lot of tall yellow grass and smaller trees/brush. There are lions in the park. Some others in our group spotted lions, but we never saw any. They could have been laying down in the grass two feet from the road and we never would have seen them.
We saw lots of antelope and other deer-like-creatures.
We also saw some elephants.


Much of Africa has Baobab trees like this one. There were a lot of them in the park. For much of the year they are leafless and look like an upside down tree with it's roots sticking up in the air. The fruit (monkey fruit or monkey bread) is rich in vitamin C. These trees can get very large in diameter so that they can be hollowed out and used for shelter. They also can hold a large amount of water which can be tapped and used. Some of you may remember these trees as the "tree of life" in the Lion King movie.


The girls really liked this bird. I haven't been able to find what type of bird it is yet, but it is pretty.


Here's a Giant African Millipede. They can grow up to 11 inches long. This one was about 8 inches long. Apparently millipedes are herbivores and centipedes are carnivores. No worries, this guy won't hurt you unless you get the liquid from it's glands in your eyes or mouth.

We enjoyed hiking on the rocky hills near the campsite.Here's the view from the top of the hill overlooking the river and campsite.

We also took a ride on the river looking for the elephants that are often near the water. We didn't find any on that ride, but we enjoyed the views along the river.


We also ventured up the river a few miles to an island where a lady has built 10 cabins like this one. If you'd like to spend a few days in a cabin on an island in the river, come on over... we now know where it is.


The kids love camping. It was a good family break before we began the new year.