We had always wondered when Alastair would get kissed by a giraffe, and January 18th, 2014, was the day. We drove just a few minutes up the road to the Lion Park, which also contained a petting area for some of the smaller and/or more harmless animals, but we sure did get Alastair's dad's money's worth! Not only were we able to see some lions, including two that climbed up a tree, we were also able to chill with some ostriches, play with lion cubs, see meerkats, and kiss giraffes.
It didn't start too well though, as Laleinia wasn't able to summon the giraffe, even though she scrounged a handful of tasty treats to reel it in. No matter what she did, or how much she pouted, the giraffe was not interested.
However, before leaving, we decided to give it one more try. Hey, presto! We finally got the big guy's attention. (This is when Alastair got his smooch.) We fed the giraffe some bread, and were able to stroke its horse-like head, while getting a little feel of his tongue. In case you didn't know, giraffes' tongues are pretty rough, and their breath is pretty wild (Get it? Wild). Lain said it smelt like leaves, but Alastair knows that it is worse. After all, he did have his head in its mouth.
Next, we washed up and went over to the lion cub enclosure. We were able to have a little fun with the cubs and get some great pictures.
They seemed a little more active than usual, which became apparent when one of the cubs started licking Alastair's ear, and then went on to nibble it. Unwilling to trade his ear for a good story, he pulled it out of the lions mouth, only for the lion to lock its jaws onto his shirt. No harm done, he thought, as he tussled with the playful cat.
After rescuing Alastair, literally from the jaws of a lion, we were able to see some zebras. Then we drove around the lion enclosures. It was a fantastic little outing. Who would have thought that Alastair could have added giraffe smooching and lion tussling to his resume in the space of one hour!?
