Africa seems to be getting more interactive. Now you can walk with the Lions at Victoria Falls. Some of my clients have expressed reservation about this activity and I can’t say I blame them having seen these magnificent creatures close up.
I recall being in Sabi Sands game reserve on an evening game drive with my children and nieces when they were quite young. We had come across quite a large pride of lion headed up by a very big male with an impressive mane. We sat quite still in the landrover while the lion walked right around us. My niece was in the jump seat right at the back and was watching the lion walk right under her. There was a lot of whispering, quiet crying and lots of clutching – but what a moment to remember!
There are always those visitors who don’t quite get it that these are wild animals. We would be quite amazed when I lived in South Africa about stories of tourists who would get out of their vehicles for a photo opportunity with a pride of lion. Lion vs Tourist? Lion wins hands down every time – sorry paws down every time. However this incident takes the cake – how a drunken man takes on an elephant. Luckily for him the elephant was confused and backed off. Probably realised that the idiot charging him was “in a drunken stupor”.
Look at this idiot. Poor elephant is quite bewildered. He is probably thinking to himself “Seriously? Doesn’t this guy know he should get back into his vehicle before I really lose it.”
Or here’s another “beaut” as the Ozzies would say – (courtesy of Fox News) A drunk Australian tourist decided to end a night of drinking by trying to ride a crocodile. The tourist, who was visiting Broome Crocodile Park in Western Australia, broke into a reptile park and climbed onto the back of a 16ft-long crocodile called Fatso. Luckily for him, Fatso was nonplussed, until the man tried to sit on his back. That’s when he got annoyed and bit him on his leg. “Saltwater crocodiles … once they get hold of you, are not renowned for letting you go,” Broome Police Sgt. Roger Haynes said. “He’s lucky to have escaped with his life.”
Also worthy of “notable mention” – In a scene out of the movie “The Hangover”, 
two British tourists in Australia though it was a brilliant idea to break into an animal park and steal a penguin. Rhys Owen Jones, 21 and Keri Mules, 20 broke into Sea World on Queensland’s Gold Coast during an alcohol-fueled escapade where they not only stole a fairy penguin, named Dirk, they swam with dolphins and let off a fire extinguisher in a shark enclosure. The two admitted to a court in Queensland that they could not remember much about what had happened the night before. They were ultimately located because they had taken to Facebook to brag about their hijinks before passing out from all the booze.
You have to wonder – who are the animals and who are the humans?
The Travel Lady's Blog 