Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve

The Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve is a game reserve on the Cradle of Humankind, about 45 minutes from Johannesburg. It's got tons of animals wandering around, including brown and white lions, gazelles, antelope, zebra, lots of birds, warthogs, etc. and a convenient system of trails to drive around on. There are also rhinos, but we didn't see any when we were there.

The real highlight for me though was the opportunity to play with baby lions and tigers. There were 3 enclosures with them - 6 month old lions, 6 month old tigers, and 2 month old tigers. They also let us in to 'play' with a full-grown cheetah, which I'm not sure is actually a part of the normal set up. It was $2 to spend 5-10 minutes in each enclosure, so we did it 7 times. The second time we play with the baby lion cubs a couple of park workers were walking in with baby bottles full of milk, so we nervously asked if we could help - YES. Top 10 life experience, despite the full complement of scratches and bite marks on my hands and arms and legs. Check out the pics in the slideshow below - click on it to see them full-screen...