Overcast arrival in Mossel Bay, South Africa had us wondering if we were going to be able to tender into port. And Royal kept us guessing as well as tender operations didn't begin on schedule. While these seas look calm, there was a pretty good swell going that made it difficult to get in and out of the tenders. After a two hour delay we were finally able to get off the ship, tendered to the dock, and into our tour van. Our original guide had cancelled at the last minute due to illness but Mark was thankfully able to find a replacement late the night before.
The plan had been to go to the Cango Caves, famous for their fabulous rock formations and caverns, then to the Cango Wildlife Ranch, but with the delay in tendering we opted to just head for Oudtshoorn and the ranch. It was a beautiful hour long drive up and over a pass in the Outeniquo Mountains that parallel the coast at Mossel Bay, then through the valley below . Can you see why the mountain valleys here reminded me of home?
One thing you wouldn't see in the valleys at home are pastures full of ostriches. Farming these big birds is big business in this part of South Africa. This was just one of many farms that we passed along our way. Ostriches are used for their plumes, leather (one of the strongest leathers there is), and meat. We tried a little ostrich later and it was pretty good, more like steak than chicken.
Here at the Cango Wildlife Ranch they work to rehabilitate and care for injured animals
as well as having a cheetah breeding program facility nearby. More on that later.
Sorry, I couldn't resist a weird photo here.
I loved the thought on this sign that was near the entrance.
You can wander the park on your own but we opted for the tour before doing that in order to get a little more info on the animals themselves. There was a huge aquarium full of these colorful Malawian Cichlids as we began. These fish actually have some of the most unique and intensive parenting behaviors for any type of fish. They will circle their young to protect them and the mother will even scoop them up in her mouth to keep them safe.
There were also some flying foxes hanging around again. I much prefer seeing them flying in the wild.
This small creature is a White Spotted Otter named Pickles. Unfortunately she is all on her own here which makes it hard for her since they are social creatures. There is a search underway to find a friend or two for her. These animals are extremely playful and highly intelligent. One thing about Cango, they don't just have the animals lying around all day, they will interact with them and help them get exercise.
In the vulture enclosure we saw the White-backed Vultures (top), a Lappet-faced Vulture (right) and a Cape Vulture (left). All of these birds had been injured in some way and could no longer fly. There was no net above their living space.
The strangest looking bird in this space was the Marabou Stork. If it were mating season this male would fill that pink pouch below its beak with air to try to attract a female. Weird fact about these birds, their legs are naturally black. The reason that they are white is that they poop on them to give them a coating that protects them from the sun. I know, ew.
These two are Black and White Ruffed Lemurs. They are one of the largest lemur species and one that is critically endangered. Jolie is there on the left and Jo is on the right. Apparently last year sometime she didn't appreciate his advances and tore a big chunk of fur from his hide. It's still growing back. Don't mess with lady lemurs!
There's just something about looking at flamingos and the way they stand, curve their long necks, just their shape in general, that fascinates me.
Don't know that I've ever seen a crocodile sleeping with its mouth wide open like this one. This is their lethargic time of year in South Africa as they head into winter.
This one was a rare albino Cape Porcupine. Her name is Penny and she was brought to the ranch by a farmer after he found her caught in a trap with severe injuries to her face. After months of intensive rehabilitation she made a full recovery.
The pretty yellow bird is called a Ploceus. It was hanging around near the porcupines, the larger one there is called Prickles, he's Penny's mate and the little one is their offspring.
If these close up bits of Nile Crocodile don't have you thinking prehistoric I don't know what will. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near those claws or teeth. These giants only eat during the summer and can actually go a whole year without eating. Think of how much time we could save in shopping, food preparation and eating if we did the same! 🤣
We headed next to where the big cats could be found. This one is a caracal, a medium sized cat with great jumping abilities. They also have amazing ears, using them to sense prey and communicate with other caracals.
We got our first view of the cheetahs we'd be having an encounter with a little later on.
The lion was pretty sleepy in the afternoon as well,
although he did get up and move around a bit when tempted with a treat by the trainers.
The lioness pretty much stayed put. Definitely a much better view of them here than we'd had at Addo the day before.
A white tiger is really rare, which is good news for the species because white tigers have absolutely no camouflage, making them easy targets. This one was doing a good bit of pacing.
Obligatory flower photo.
Apparently leopards are elusive even here at Cango. When we first went by the enclosure it was nowhere to be seen and a bit later it was sunning on the roof of a shed there. They are such beautiful creatures.
Meerkats on the other hand, are just funny looking little things. They make you smile. Hi there Timon!
And while snakes will make my Kara smile they don't have quite the same effect on me. The python on top left would be Buddy the Snake's cousin, and the top right is a Black Mamba, one of the world's most lethal snakes. Bottom left is a Red Adder, which are only mildly poisonous, and their color can range from brick red to intricate patterns like you see on this one. Bottom right is a Cape Cobra which is venomous and will flatten its head to look like a cape when ready to attack. It probably had the coolest color of any of the snakes we saw.
I just liked the patterns on this Malagasy Giant Hognose Snake on the left and the Southern African Rock Python on the right.
One last Black Mamba photo just so you can see why they are named that. Rather than being named after the color of their scales they are named after the color of their quickly darting tongue!
And now comes the part where we cheetah'd death! These cheetahs, named Zavier and Zion, were born here at Cango at their breeding center eighteen months ago and are used to being around people. At the same time they are wild animals and you have to be careful how you stand around them, and where you touch them.
It definitely appeared that they loved to have their backs and sides scratched, along with the top of their heads but you had to stay away from the sensitive belly and the face.
If they got up, which Zion did while I was giving him a scratch, you needed to immediately get up and move away as well. There was a trainer and a guard in the enclosure at all times to keep you safe, along with the photographer to take pictures. Before going in we had to wash our hands and step in water to clean the bottoms of our shoes to avoid bringing any germs into the enclosure.
The cheetah gene pool has gotten pretty small over the years as the number of cheetahs in the wild have been reduced. Here at Cango they are working to get rid of the inbreeding by expanding the gene pool as they get more cheetahs back in the wild. Each year's cubs are given a name that starts with the same letter, hence the names Zavier and Zion. Their sister, Zeena was next door. Two more sisters didn't like having interactions with humans so they are at another part of the ranch living their own kind of best life.
This experience was a unique one for me and I absolutely loved it! I never felt unsafe for even a moment in with these gorgeous big cats and it was so amazing to listen to them purr contentedly just like any other cat would. There will be a small stuffed cheetah hanging on our Christmas tree this year to help me remember these moments.
We were then off to the bird enclosure. These lorikeets are Karl's favorite bird, he just loves all the colors.
For some reason this one was fascinated with his shoe and ended up climbing all over it.
You could buy a little glass of nectar to feed the lorikeets so Karl was all over that!
And then they were all over him!
I didn't have quite the success that he did but I got one to drink a little before a loud group came into the bird enclosure and scared everything away.
We had a little late lunch before heading back to Mossel Bay. The green soda is actually cream soda, I wanted a flavor I hadn't had in a while. On the right is my crocodile wrap, that's right, I said crocodile. It had chunks of crocodile meat in it along with vegetables and a sauce. They had toasted it on a grill so it was warm and lovely. The croc had a texture and sort of taste like chicken. It was a really good lunch.
Just a few more views as we headed back. The Black Mountain range was on the other side of the valley Oudtshoorn was in. It seemed a nice town as we drove through.
We just kept saying, "It feels like we are driving to the Uintas." "Are you sure this isn't Kamas?" The mountain range behind Outdshoorn even runs east to west like my beloved Uintas.
Just one more mountain scene, not terribly sharp as we were moving into sunset.
A view of Mossel Bay in the distance.
Part of the lovely pines we saw along the drive. No Pine Beetle here.
I had wanted to get a picture of a sign with the Afrikaans version of Mossel Bay on it and luckily when we were stopped at a red light I was able to get one.
Home sweet home was waiting for us out in the bay itself.
I got just a glimpse of the beautiful sunset as we tendered back to Serenade after another adventure filled day! Next on to Cape Town!
So much to see and do!!!
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