Friendly Giraffes & Pale Lions

Just around the corner from our balloon launching & landing sites was the 

Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve............

Welcome!

Hello!

Given that we are both animal lovers coupled Carlien's love of photographing them it seemed an obvious place to continue our adventures. Immediately upon entering the park you encounter the "Neck & Deck" Cafe where 3 enqusitive and friendly giraffes welcome you.

Anyone who follows the blog or knows me will recall that the Giraffe is one of my favourite animals and was in fact the reason that I decided to visit Africa in the first place.

So you can imagine I was quite happy and excited to be able to get this close to them and feed them

Carlien seems to enjoy it too!

Moving on from the Giraffes and in to the rest of the park we began to encounter more wildlife

Warthogs (Pumbas) - these are one of Carlien's favourites!

Given the name of the reserve you, like I, may have been  starting to wonder where the Rhinos and Lion were to be found. It appears they are down here

↓ 

The park actually had 2 lion enclosure the common lion and the "White Lion".

White Lions are not technically a different species of Lion but just one with a recessive gene relating to their colouration. They are very pretty though!

The Ladies: 

Of course there were also 'regular' lions, although these guys were harder to photograph as they were hiding under the trees in the shade.

The park also has a breeding programme and in the nursery area you can meet
 and interact with some of the cubs

Carlien & Cub talking to each other

A very sleepy tiger cub.

BIG PAWS!!!!

And not forgetting the smaller of nature's creatures also:

All told some nice animal encounters.

We're getting tired now, after all we've been up since 3.30!
 Time for a lie down and some refreshment at the Homini Hotel......

Food Glorious Food!

 So our final treat for the day and our accommodation for the evening was the exquisite

 Forum Homini Hotel and Roots Restaurant

 

This small boutique hotel is set within a private nature reserve and offers 12 bedrooms. It is deigned to blend in with nature as much as possible and offer an intimate relaxed environment for people to relax, unwind and talk.

These are actually the roofs of 2 rooms at the back of this picture!

As you would imagine the rooms are very tastefully designed with rich earthy colours to give it a natural homely feel.

To the left of the bed here is the cleverly designed bathroom  and indoor / outdoor shower area 

 

Snuggly Bathrobes

The Lounge area was massive and had lots of quirky features

Stalactite Lights

Probably my favourite feature was the enormous bath in the lounge area!

A few pictures of the grounds:

Unfortunately it wasn't the best of weather but you can still see the setting is delightful.

 

Bright, funky reception area

Although the setting is stunning and the rooms tasteful the focus of the

 Hotel is their restaurant "Roots"

Led by Head Chef Adriaan Maree Roots restaurant offers

 "Contemporary modern cuisine with a South African twist"

.....And what an experience it turned out to be!

Dinner was a 6 course affair with a paired wine teaser to accompany each course.

It wasn't really the setting to be snapping shots of the meals presented for dinner but to give

 you an idea the menu was as follows:

Duck Egg

Asparagus, Kalahari Truffle, Sumac, Parmesan

Lightly Smoked Kabeljou

Enoki, Pumpkin, Artichoke, Smoked Oyster Custard, Seafood Jelly

Pork Neck Marron

Dried Tomato, Verjus, Sugar Snap Peas, Marron, Consomme

Beef Fillet

Braised Leeks & Onions, Pomegranate, Walnuts, Pickled Onion, Radicchio

White Chocolate & Almond Semi Fredo

Apple, Lemongrass, Vanilla, Almonds

Smoked Prune Mousse

Fig Ice Cream, Olive Meringue, Liquorice, Date, Vanilla,

 Parsnip, Walnut Crumble

Yes, it was A LOT of food!!

The mixture of tastes and flavours was exquisite, even for a bit of a culinary philistine like myself.

Carlien as you can imagine was in heaven!

We retired to bed very satisfied and full

And in the morning we got to feast again!

Yoghurt Mousse

Granola, Orange, Melon, Chocolate Sauce

Brandade

Mange Tout, Broccoli, Orange, Roast Tomato,

Pepper Puree, Hollondaise, Toast

Fillet & Short Rib

Cauliflower, Crushed Potato, Poached Egg,

Carrots, Mushroom, Miso Honey

Lemon Tart

Almond Ice Cream, Rose Gel, Lemon Crumble,

Toasted Coconut,Peanut Brittle, Honeycomb

 And a nice Espresso on the terrace to round everything off!

And so after a balloon flight, a mini safari, a luxurious hotel and some culinary delights sadly our adventure comes to an end for now........

But not to worry, its off to the Katswink Bar again to celebrate Oom Charlie's Birthday now !