Garden Route Game Lodge

On Thursday, November 13th Karla from WSP took all the volunteers for an overnight stay in Mossel Bay.  Thurday and Friday were "no sea" days due to inclement weather.  Mossel Bay is a harbour town of about 60,000 people on the Southern Cape (aka Garden Route) of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region.  Mossel Bay lies about 250 miles east of Cape Town. 

On our drive to Mossel Bay we stopped at the Garden Route Game Lodge for lunch and a game drive which is like a mini safari.   The lodge was amazingly beautiful and it would have been awesome to stay there for the night! 

The Lodge

Weaver bird nests in tree

Cape Aloe

Before lunch we explored their Reptile House which is home to eight Nile Crocodiles, many different species of snake, and some fully assembled skeletons of different native African species.

Me and the corn snake

Nile Crocodile

White Rhino: 

The white rhinoceros or square-lipped rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is the largest species of rhinoceros that exists. It has a wide mouth used for grazing.  After more than a century of protection, they currently number about 20,140. Now they are classified as Near 
Threatened.  They are the only non-endangered rhinos.  The majority (98.8%) of white rhinos occur in just four countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya.

Springbok:

The springbok is a medium-sized brown and white antelope-gazelle of southwestern Africa.  It is extremely fast and can reach speeds of 62 mph and can leap 13 feet through the air. The common name "springbok" comes from the Afrikaans and Dutch words spring = jump and bok = male antelope or goat.

Springbok

African Lions:

The lion is Africa's largest carnivore. Weighing in at a hefty 400 pounds, the male African lion is larger than the female African lion and also has a beautiful mane of long hair on the head and face that extends down to the shoulders.  They are fast and can sprint up to 37mph!  Unfortunately, there are more lions currently in captivity (in Africa) than there are in the wild.

Lioness

Burchell's Zebra:

The Burchell's zebra (aka Plains Zebra), is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra.  It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Botswana and eastern South Africa. The plains zebra remains common in game reserves but is threatened by human activities such as hunting for its meat and hide, as well as competition with livestock and encroachment by farming on much of its habitat.

African Elephants:

The African elephant is the largest living terrestrial animal, A full-grown female can weigh between 7,000 and 10,000 pounds (three to five tons), reaching heights of 10 feet from the toe to the shoulder while a full-grown male can weigh between 9,000 and 14,000 pounds (four to seven tons) and stand as tall as 14 feet.  The species is classified as "threatened".  Their numbers are dwindling due to illegal hunting for meat and ivory, habitat loss and human-elephant conflict.  If conservation action is not forthcoming, elephants may become locally extinct in some parts of Africa within 50 years.

Elephant ride before he charged out vehicle!

Giraffes:

Giraffes are the tallest living animals on the planet.  A giraffe's neck alone is 6 feet long and weighs about 600 lbs. The animal's legs are also 6 feet long.  In full, females grow up to 14 feet tall and weigh up to 1,500 lbs, while males grow up to 18 feet tall and weigh up to 3,000 lbs.

Eland:

A full-grown eland antelope can weigh close to a ton. Despite their size, they are staggeringly agile, able to leap high fences in a single bound (think Superman here) and yet, eland are as agile as smaller antelope. They can leap over 3m fences (~10 feet) in a single bound, from a standing start.

We saw many other animals too but I don't want to bore you with a million photos!

Tomorrow, Zorgfontein Game Farm for the lion walk :)


"If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of the spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected." - Chief Seathl