Aquila | Hello from the Five Star Vagabond

Safari Aquilla Game Park

March 18, 2014 by David Herd

Beauty & the Beast

Safari Aquilla Game Park

Safari Aquilla Game Park Cape Town, a privately owned reserve 3 hours north of Capetown. Although there were not an abundance of animals & species it was still a great experience, our guide was very good and we were able to get very close to the magnificent animals. The lions were in a separate enclosure and contrary to what our guide said, I think they are kept there so they won’t eat the other animals. 😳

Up close & personal

We were only 4 meters away from this beautiful beast in an open truck, however our guide said we were safe because they only ate at night. 😆

This man would not lie to you. 🙄

Reg was an excellent friendly guide, and if he says the lion won’t eat you through the day then I choose to believe him.

My favourites were the rhinos.

I really loved seeing these beautiful animals up close. Living in Thailand means I get to see a lot of elephants, Tigers etc, however the rhino has always fascinated me.

They always sit facing the opposite

It was fantastic to see these powerful beasts up close.

Such a powerful animal

They look absolutely prehistoric.

Another evil eye

I am told hippos kill more people in Africa than any other animal.

Young 18 month old hippos.

These two were quiet shy, as we came closer they slid into the damn.

A great looking Zebra

It almost seemed like he was posing for the cameras.

Zebra & Springbok on Safari near Capetown

There certainly doesn’t seem to be much to eat here.

Our safari truck

As you can see there is not much protection from a wild animal attack. 🙁

Here come the big guys.

As I said earlier, there may not be many animals at Aquila, but the guides do a terrific job getting you close so you can enjoy the experience.

Magnificent beasts at Safari Aquilla Game Park Cape Town

One species of African elephant, the bush elephant, is the largest living terrestrial animal, while the forest elephant is the third largest. Their thickset bodies rest on stocky legs, and they have concave backs. Their large ears enable heat loss. The upper lip and nose form a trunk. The trunk acts as a fifth limb, a sound amplifier, and an important method of touch. African elephants’ trunks end in two opposing lips, whereas the Asian elephant trunk ends in a single lip. Please click on Google + to help my page ranking.

What’s Gnu?

The wildebeest, also called the gnu is an antelope in the genus Connochaetes. It belongs to the family Bovidae, which includes antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep and other even-toed horned ungulates.Connochaetes includes two species, both native to Africa: the black wildebeest, or white-tailed gnu (C. gnou); and the blue wildebeest, or brindled gnu (C. taurinus). Fossil records suggest these two species diverged about one million years ago, resulting in northern and southern species. The blue wildebeest changed very little from the ancestor species, while the black wildebeest took on more morphological changes to adapt to a habitat of open grassland in the south. Today, the blue wildebeest has five subspecies, while the black wildebeest has no named subspecies. In East Africa, the wildebeest is the most abundant big-game species, both in population and biomass.

Ostrich

The ostrich shares the order Struthioniformes with the kiwis, emus, rheas, and cassowaries. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs, and can run at up to about 70 km/h (43 mph), the fastest land speed of any bird. The ostrich is the largest living species of bird and lays the largest eggs of any living bird (extinct elephant birds of Madagascar and the giant moa of New Zealand laid larger eggs).

Aquila private game reserve

The Aquila Private Game Reserve is a game reserve in Western Cape Province, South Africa. Aquila has animals such as the springbok, Lion, Cape Porcupine, Olive baboon, leopard, and African elephant.