Lions, birds, and train stations. Oh my.

Today was our first group field trip from the A.E. center here in Pietermaritzburg. After breakfast at 8, we put together our lunches for the day trip around the PMB area. Our first stop was a birds of prey sanctuary on the outskirts of town, in cow country (I could tell by the smell). The sanctuary was awesome - a huge exhibit of African falcons, eagles, hawks, owls and vultures, most of them endangered to some degree. After walking around the place a bit, looking at each individual enclosure, we were treated to a show. The lady who ran the place brought out owls, falcons and hawks one at a time to show off their impressive hunting skills. These birds were amazing! At one point in the show, the trainer hid bits of meat around the stage area while one of the hawks couldn't see, and within a minute the bird had found every single piece. After eating lunch (this was good timing for the next part), we got to see the vultures eat lunch. This involved the trainer throwing a fat hunk of red meat in the cage, and about a dozen ugly, squawking scavengers absolutely shredding the meat apart within 2 minutes like it was their last meal. It was nothing short of pure carnage.

Next, we went down the road a few kilometers to the Natal Lion Park. And, oh yes, did we see lions. After a decent wait and a short drive, our bakkie (that's what they call small trucks here) arrived at the gate of the vast lion enclosure. Far from being a zoo, this place had at least a dozen full grown lions in a natural environment, with miles of land to roam. As we approached the fence, one by one, all of the lions form the pride walked toward us to investigate. It was like nothing I've experienced before. Being within an arms length of a full grown lion is something I won't forget soon. We spent about 10 minutes with them, as they paced back and forth, probably looking at us like we were their next meal.

We left the lion park to head back into the heart of the city. We drove through the downtown streets, passing centuries old Victorian buildings, surrounded by Zulu crowds and flea markets all around. We ended up at the train station, where Mohandas Gandhi was kicked off of a train for trying to ride first class as a non-white passenger. Apparently, it was significant enough of a moment in Gandhi's life that many identify the incident as one of the major motivators for Gandhi's peaceful revolution in India.

For the last portion of the day, we drove back toward AE, to a place appropriately called World's View. From the top of a decent-sized hill, World's View looked out across the whole PMB area, as the thick clouds and sunlight combined to make a truly beautiful horizon. A few group photos later, our field trip was finished. It really was a well-rounded day, as I got to see a few more highlights of this beautiful country.