The Lion Park and a Casino visit

Friday we decided to take a P-day. There are few recreational opportunities in Kinshasa, so we took advantage of our time in Johannesburg and visited the Lion Park.

We were able to go with the Harms, who are just about to return home to Arizona from the PA mission. They were orienting two new PA couples who had arrived days before. The Roberts will serve in S. Africa and the Pugmires will serve in Kenya. We all played hooky and took the day off to visit the Lion Park and MonteCasino.

In this park you drive through in your own car.

The animals are in separate enclosures, not living together as they do in the big game parks, but there are no fences between them and us. So, it was easy to see and enjoy them.

We saw a large herd of Impala with lots of new babies.

giraffes

zebras

foxes and cheetahs

varieties of birds

and meerkats (so cute!)

But the main attraction was lots of lions. There were lions and white lions. White lions come from a recessive gene. It was a hot day and they were all pretty lazy, but we still enjoyed them.

Again we had a chance to interact with the animals. They had a lion cub petting compound.

They were so adorable, but even as cubs they didn't hesitate to make their wishes known.

One little guy got a bit feisty and chewed on my arm. It didn't hurt at all, but made me a little nervous. Another cub stole Elder Robert's BYU hat away from him and he had little tug-a-war to get it back.

After our time at the Lion Park we went to a local casino. Yes, missionaries at a casino! Oh my! It's like a casino in Las Vegas. In JoBurg, however, the casino part is totally separate from the theaters, shops, musical venues, restaurants, etc. etc. We had a nice time walking through the "fake streets" of the MonteCasino and stopping for an Italian lunch at a sidewalk café.

It was a fun P-day. We loved spending time with the great PA couples and appreciate the Harms letting us tag along.