March 29, 2023
After 7 days at sea it was exciting to see the coastline of Mauritius as the sun started to rise. I had been walking the deck since 3:00am with nervous energy for the day I had planned. I was going to walk with the lions!!!
There were beautiful dancers on the dock as we headed out for the day.
Finally at 8:15 we headed to Casela World of Adventures, which includes an animal reserve about 25 miles from the port. The beautifully landscaped 11,000 acres reserve is home to a diverse range of animals including lions, rhinos, giraffes and ostriches.
The animals are roaming throughout the reserve and you have an option to take the safari truck or to take a quad bike. I would of done the quad bike but that had to be booked in advance and I didn’t want to take a chance of it conflicting with the lion walk.
The safari truck was a rough ride on a very bumpy road what reminded me of being on safari in Africa!! It was different seeing African animals in a lush green landscape since in Africa you see only a little green!!
I had an ostrich come right up to my camera so I just kept shooting hoping I was capturing some of his expressions. I was lucky and the photos make me laugh at his antics. He was so intent on getting his picture taken!!!
They also had a luge like coaster that I had to ride. It was a blast but I did not buy the picture so you will have to image me laughing!
The day seemed to be 1000 hours long but finally it was 1:30 and time to check in for my lion walk!! When I walked up to check in the ranger greeted me with “Is this the day you want to die?” with a big smile on his face.
We went though a orientation on the walk including the fact that the lion’s were in control and they were never forced to do anything they did not want to. If they wanted to sit we wait, if they don’t want to be touched we don’t touch.
We started our walk through several locked gates and then stood in a line as the final gate was opened and the lion’s got to choose who wanted to go for a walk. We were blessed that twin sisters chose to come with us on our walk though the reserve. I have no words for how incredible it was to be so close to these magnificent lionesses. To walk with them by my side with the song Hallelujah playing in my head was spiritual!! I was brought to tears several times as I interacted with them. The walk lasted about a 1 ½! It was suppose to be an hour but the lions liked us and wanted to pose for extra pictures!! The walk with the lions was everything that I dreamed of and so much more!!!
And now for the rest of the adventure:
About a month before I had found and booked this unique adventure that was an “extra” to my ship purchased excursion to Casela World of Adventures but they don’t assign your lion walk time slot until the day of the event so I was not sure if I was going to be assigned a time that would work with the return time of the excursion and if not how I was going to get back to the ship in time. I was obsessed with the possibility of walking with the lions (just ask my shipmates who had to listen to me talk about it everyday) so not completing the walk was not an option.. Those of you who know me that once I become obsessed with something there is nothing that is going to stop me. I had downloaded two apps for local taxi companies just incase I needed them and had researched options to get to our next port if that failed. I took my passport with me knowing that I would need it if I did not make it back in time but I was willing to take the risk because I was going to walk with the lions!!!
When we got to the park I found out that my time slot was 2:00pm and that my excursion was leaving the park at 2:00pm so I was going to have to make my way back to the ship (a 70 minute drive) on my own and if I didn’t they would not hold the ship. I had pre-booked and paid for a taxi for 4:30 so I was confident that I would be OK. I completed the walk and was back at the welcome center at 4:00pm and then the stress began. I turned on my phone (it has been on airplane mode for 3 months) only to find out that I had no roaming service! No way to connect with my pre-booked taxi. There were taxis in the lot but they were all pre-booked. 4:30 came and no taxi!!! The center closes at 5:00pm and I need to be onboard at 6:30 and it is rush hour. I will admit I started to stress a bit but then I approached a taxi drivers who told me to walk to the next light and turn right and there was a market where I would find a taxi. This walk was about a mile in the heat of the day and when I got there no taxis. I walked back to the park and found three taxi drivers waiting on passengers and one spoke broken English. I did my best damsel in distress routine and he called one of their friends who picked me up 10 minutes later and I had the most spectacular ride back to the port with an incredible local who took back roads and talked about the county and it’s people. Better than any tour guide. We got close to the port and he was unsure where to go and we spotted a empty Cunard shuttle bus and followed it to the ship. I arrived with less than 5 minutes to spare.
Yes, even with all of the crazy this was a fricken Best Day Ever.
Learning of the day…..Lions are not king of the jungle (Disney lied to us) tigers are! Lions don’t live in the jungle!
The stick must have a purpose…lol
Oh God reading your adventures made my heart beat fast. I was so worried that you were going to miss the ship. Have faith Mary is here.
Wow! Just WOW!!
Your words paint vivid visual pictures . 🥰. You are truly a photo journalist with a positive attitude enjoying the magic of every moment and sharing it like a gift. 🌊🛳️💜