Antelope Park

Our last stop on our week long trip was Antelope Park in Gweru. It’s a place that has a big lion conservation program and lots of once-in-a-lifetime experiences to participate in. The first night we got there, Caroline, Emma, and I went on the night encounter. We went on an open truck with a red spot light that took us night hunting with four of their lions that were in stage 1 of the program. There were 2 females and 2 males all about 2 years old. At that stage in the program they take the lions out at night to teach them hunting skills. The spotters help the lions find animals and try to get them interested in stalking and hunting them. Most of the time the lions were lazy and just playing with each other but at one point we got to see them go after a group of impala and we followed them in a high speed chase through the bush that made the trip worth it.

The next morning we all went to watch the elephant training. They have four elephants that have all been orphaned at other parks. There are 3 girls and 1 boy that range in age from 22 to 25 so they are all still fairly young and too young to breed. They have the same training routine every morning that starts with letting the trainers check their feet and includes tricks like sitting down, letting the trainers stand on their backs, and even kicking and throwing a soccer ball. It was so fun to watch. Then immediately after that, Tara and I went on our 30 minute elephant ride. We each went with a trainer but we had our own elephant. It was surprisingly really smooth and comfortable. I didn’t want to get off. Tara rode behind me and her elephant kept handing me presents with her trunk like rocks and grass. It was so cute!

The others did other activities like a carriage game drive and cub feeding but the next thing I did was the lion walk. Before we went on the walk they gave us a safety talk and each of us a stick that they told us would be used as an extension of our hand to point at the lions and say no if they were doing anything that they weren’t supposed to. The walk was amazing though. We were completely out in the open just walking with two female lions that were 15 and 16 months old. There were no fences or collars or leashes, just the lions and us with our sticks. The lions had just been fed so they wanted to be really lazy and just lay around for pictures and the trainers had to make them walk a few times.

The last activity I did at Antelope Park was the lion feeding. They place a pile of meat right in front of you just on the other side of a chain link fence and then they let the lions out at the opposite side of the enclosure and you watch them literally sprint right at you. It’s pretty exhilarating and it’s hard not to just run away when you see them coming. I’m really glad we decided to do the lion feeding because it was so worth it and something I will likely never see again.   

The whole week was absolutely amazing and I did some of the craziest things I’ve ever done in my life. We have been so blessed to get to experience all that we have here.