An experience that I can brag about for a lifetime

🐆Before I went to South Africa, Safari had always been on my bucket list. I just wanted to see animals running freely in the wild. It turned out that a friend of mine is from South Africa and invited us to travel there. Naturally, the national park was on our itinerary. 🔅We visited Pilanesberg National Park, which is the fourth-largest national park in South Africa. It’s much more convenient than Kruger. It’s only a 3-hour drive from Johannesburg. We stayed at Bakubung Bush Lodge, where my friend used to vacation with her family. 🔅I highly recommend this resort! It offers Safari tours and hot air balloon tours. The dining area is located inside the national park, surrounded by a wire fence. It’s common to see elephants and giraffes strolling by while you’re eating. The lodge has its own spa, which is very affordable and has a great environment. There are also evening barbecues and unique local performances. 🐘We stayed for four days. We joined two tours with the park and drove in by ourselves for the other two days. Overall, I’d recommend self-driving. The tour vehicles are larger and noisier, which can scare some animals away. When driving by ourselves, we could explore freely and saw almost all the animals, including elephants, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, antelopes, and even rare sightings like hyenas and a leopard hunting an antelope. If you visit, I suggest experiencing different times of the day. Dusk and dawn are often the best times to see more animals. 🦁The most thrilling moment was one evening when we were about to leave the park. We ran into a family of lions. There were two lionesses with three cubs. We immediately turned off the engine and didn’t dare to move. The lionesses walked up to our car and looked inside. When our eyes met, I truly felt the awe of nature. That wild, predatory gaze shattered any illusion of being at the top of the food chain. We froze for about five minutes. As night fell completely, a male lion emerged from the darkness. His majestic presence truly embodied the title of “King of the Jungle.” We wanted to take photos but didn’t dare to make any big movements. There was no light around, only our headlights. The male lion walked around our car twice, almost reaching for the door, before slowly moving on with his family. It was truly a memory that will last a lifetime. 💙Some tips: 1.Bring a pair of binoculars. You often can’t get too close to hunting scenes. Binoculars will allow you to see everything clearly. 2.When driving, you can roll down the windows, but make sure the doors are locked. There have been news reports of lions opening car doors. If a predator approaches, quickly roll up the windows and turn off the engine. 3.If you see several cars stopped in the park, don’t hesitate—just stop and observe. There’s definitely something interesting to see. #Travel #WildlifeAdventures #Nature #SouthAfrica #SouthAfricaTravel #Safari #AmazingWildlifeMoments