Nudging. That too the tallest animal on earth. Giraffe. Giraffe’s legs alone are estimated at around 6 ft tall. Well that could be taller than many humans around. Then add his body and neck length, that comes at 20 ft approximately, for adult Giraffe. Wow. So how come I even thought of nudging very tall handsome Giraffe. And me a tiny person in front of him. Even I have no idea what prompted me to do it. Perhaps I got crazy watching lots of Giraffes lazing around and chewing leaves all the time. They were so snazzy that anyone would have fallen for them.
This all happened when I took a tour to Pilanesberg National Park, one of the largest wildlife parks in South Africa. Pilanesberg National Park is around two hours drive from Johannesburg. Though there was good accommodation available within National Park but I was staying in Sun City resort. Sun City resort is adjacent to Pilanesberg. So my game drive to the park departed from Sun City.
Spread over 55,000 hec Pilanesberg National Park is one of the largest wildlife parks in South Africa. Pilanesberg offers spectacular geological formations as park covers vast area of an extinct volcano. I explored around 200 km of the Pilanesberg National Park area as permitted for visitors.
Though famous for big five, there are Zebra, Hippo, Giraffe, Cheetah in huge numbers and many other animals, also. I saw hordes of elephants, Hippos, Leopards and Rhinos. But I was fascinated by Giraffes more. Had an urge to touch him, nudge him. I expressed my desire to game drive guide. Guide did not assure me on this, just told me that he will try. And my wish got fulfilled when my guide quietly took the safari near herd of Giraffes busy in plucking leaves. I stood in safari and lovingly nudged Giraffe. To my amazement, he shook his head as if showing his approval. That look of Giraffe made my day.
My safari quietly passed through rocky patches, open grasslands and thickets. There was one unforgettable moment. At one crossing, road was blocked by magnificent elephants just sitting in middle of the road. It took a long time when elephants got up at their will and left the road. I didn’t mind waiting as I got the opportunity to observe mighty wild elephants closely.
What an experience! Recalling the sweet memories of me, being up close giant Giraffe are enough to make me lost in Pilanesberg National Park, again.
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