South Africa
‘I will touch a lion… I will touch a lion… a real lion… I want this since I worked together with Rebecca who was from South Africa and told me that I can touch lions here. I am on the way to the Rhino and Lion park… I will be together with a real lion. I will touch that lion. I will feel that lion. I will.’
I am nervous and exited at the same time as we park at Rhino and Lion Park near Johannesburg, South Africa.
I was working on a Thomson Cruise Ship as a Photo-studio manager, when I met Rebecca, my manager who was South African. We used to sit in the office and I used to listening her stories of her home country, and when she told me you have the opportunity to interact with lions at a safari near Johannesburg I knew, I will be going there and experience this.
‘How many people do you know who can tell how does a lion feels like and still alive?’ I used to ask my partner and my brother while we were packing for our South African trip.
‘Listen, I don’t care if you guys want to do a road trip from Johannesburg to Durban as long as I got to touch a lion and be still alive, I am happy to go wherever you want’ I answered shortly to any other program suggestion about our ten day holiday.
I am holding and staring at the ticket that the black woman gave me at the cashier. ‘This is the moment’ I tell myself.
I walk up on a road, there is a board. You have to get in a safari car and drive through the safari then enter the area where you can interact with lions.
We take the car and drive. I take photos but my mind is somewhere else. My heart pounds so fast when we finally park at the interaction area. My time has finally come. I am nervous.
‘Is it going to be soft or rough?!’ I ask my companions annoyingly. ‘I don’t know anyone who touched a lion and you don’t either. So now we are going to be the one, the people will say “I know someone who touched a lion” isn’t that cool?’
There is a giraffe looking down at me, from the left, and a huge bird standing on my right. I jump away scared. This bird is as tall as I am and we are not separated, he stands where I walk!
I slowly walk around the huge bird, which stands there steady and emotionless, looking like an old butler in a suit.
I walk to board say ‘lions’, my other half and my brother is closely behind me. They also taken on the opportunity and they are brave, not like me.
We are standing front of the gate. I see them. They are big, even if they are only 6 months old.
‘That is it.’ I think and the gate opens. I step in and they come to me immediately. The guard steps back from us so we can fully enjoy the time with the lions
They are white lions.
As they stand next to me, their head is high as my hips.
I let my hand down, and the top of my finger touches one of them on the head. I close my eyes. The lion does not move; he is like a statue next to me. My fingers slowly start to move left and right, then I bend my knees a little so my full palm can touch his head.
‘It is rough’ I smile and I open my eyes.
He walks away, towards my brother who discovered a young jaguar cub in the arena. My white lion walks around my brother then looks back at me. Another white lion comes up to him and push him playfully.
The two now jumps up on a rock in the middle of the arena and lie down. I walk close to them and let my hand stroke one of them from the belly to the neck and the head.
‘Rough… of course… wild animals… their hair is never soft like my cat’s’
My other-half looks at me with a camera and I smile.
‘I did it’ I touched a lion…not an ordinary lion. I touched a white lion! I play with them now… and I am still alive! As a bonus I can now touch a Jaguar too! I am really special now!’
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