South Africa: Safari 1

Now, on to the main we came early: to see animals! My dad and stepmom arrived in Cape Town, and it is so exciting to have them see South Africa. We took a short flight from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth and were picked up by a van that took us out to a game lodge on the Shamwari Game Reserve. It's a private game reserve that has a few lodges like ours. It's so vast and so beautiful that it's hard to believe that it's a real place. Our guide wasted no time and took us out on an afternoon game drive.

What we saw was incredible. There really aren't words. We are so grateful that my dad and stepmom have done this for us, and we are so glad to be sharing this experience with them.

Our guide is brilliant. He knows so much that it's like riding around with a biologist. It's fabulous. Now I understand why people hire someone to take them out. He's so, so smart.

The highlight of our first game drive: the cheetahs. Seeing a cheetah is rare, to say the least. He found two sleeping near a bush just at dusk. He pulled up about 100 yards away so he wouldn't disturb them. Then - then! - he let us get out of the truck. How could that be safe, you ask? Well, it's because our guide brought his GIANT, GIANT gun. He escorted us in two small groups out to get closer, and oh my goodness, how close we got. Sleeping cheetahs were within five or ten yards. All we could do was whisper a few gasps of awe. It was the moment of a lifetime. The sun was setting, and each of the cheetahs would occasionally pop up his head to remind us that they knew we were there. It was the most beautiful reminder you could ever have that you're not really at the top of the food chain.