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Sunday night was a warm, stuffy and restless night. The ceiling fan did nothing to keep us cool infact I reckon it is just there for show! It does give a certain atmosphere to the place.

Monday morning we went to Centurion Mall to spend a few Rand. It doesn’t have the familar brands but it has plenty of quality stores. In fact every where we have been is very well developed not at all like the other African countries we have visited.

There is plenty of money about but perhaps it is not ‘about’ very much. Today we drove past an immense sprawling township which resembled a city of allotments with little sheds. It is hard to comprehend that an entire family is most likely living in each of those sheds. At most road junctions sit men waiting to be offered a days work. Some sit with a sign displaying what they can do, others display their tools of the trade such as the painters who hang their rollers from poles but most point one finger indicating one man ready for work. The struggle for millions of poor is very visible and feels quite uncomfortable to see.

After preparing lunch we drove away from civilisation to a Rhino and Lion reserve near Krugersdorp about an hour from our guest house. Our expert game spotter, Holly, was the first to find some animals. In the general reserve we were able to see large antelop ( we werent sure what type), wildebest, ostrich, zebra, wart hog and enormous rhino with their young. After a while of searching we finally found some lion. The area was huge but there were only 6 lion and when you consider they are expert at camoflage and silently stalking prey the odds were stacked against us. It was a great treat for all of us to watch the lion as they lay lazily in the tail grass.

The reserve had an enclosure with just cheetah and after our lion find we were most confident we would find them. This confidence caused us to think we were some sort of Steve Irwin predator hunter maniacs. Don drove while I stood out on the window ledge looking out over the top of the van. For a while we could spot nothing and we were loosing hope. Suddenly Don shouts as a cheetah comes jogging up the road towards us. My heart explodes as everyone screams at me and I try as fast as I can to get back inside the van. I manage to get back in whilst recking my groin before the cheetah gets to us. He could of had me if he wanted and I probably would have fed his entire family for a week. After this episode there were no more limbs out of the vehicle.

We spent a short while at the animal crèche to see young lions, cheetahs, leopards and even a tiger (now this causes me some issues because for the past month I have been arguing with Nathan that tigers do not live in Africa but now I am no longer his all knowing dad).

We got to play with young lion cubs and all the kids were able to stroke a baby lion. Poor wee Megan was tortured by the cubs who either thought she was the right size of prey or simply took a fancy to her new pink shoes!

In the evening we went to eat at Montecasino a huge indoor casino, mall, food hall complex made to look like a traditional Italian village. No big time gambling tonight so sorry Simon no winnings to share with you.

On the way home in the dark we had to drive through our local hijacking hotspot but after our near death by cheetah episode earlier in the day we weren’t taking any chances and sped through without stopping.

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