Cape Town: Winelands Tour - Where The Animals Roam.

The afternoon was getting hotter. And because I was flying solo on this Winelands tour, I was doing all of the tasting myself. So for the fourth vineyard stop, my guide took me to a vineyard where we didn't even do any tastings. 

We were there to see animals! Big game animals!

Okay... Mostly the cats.

This particular vineyard - which I didn't even catch the name of - was on a piece of property done up for all kinds of events. Mostly weddings. But the owner had started a refuge for some of the game cats in South Africa.

The property's animal guide told us that the animals we were about to see are not bred on the property. They are simply taken care of, and the public are allowed to view them on occasion. And we happened to have timed our visit well, as it was one of those occasions...

IT WAS FEEDING TIME!

Yes. In that bucket were three freshly killed chickens. And one of them was going to be for this gorgeous fellow...

He's a white lion, about two years old. (ONLY TWO YEARS OLD!) He was taken out of one of the game reserves for protection. And he was quite hungry, pacing the large pen in which he was housed. But he was ready for the guide to toss the chicken to him...

He politely ate his snack. In the pen next to him was a White Lioness. She was younger than he. And she initially had no interest in the chicken that was tossed to her. She preferred to stay put in her shaded hut. (So I couldn't get a good shot of her.)

One cat who was NOT patient was this fellow...

A tiger? Yes. I know. Tigers are not native to South Africa. This one is from India. He is part of a research project to see if tigers can adapt to living in South Africa. He was growling and pacing at his fence. He wanted his snack.

A ways down, on other side of the animal area, was this guy, hiding in his shade...

A cheetah! It was very hot out. He simply wanted a nap. Who could blame him?

After feeding time, my guide and I headed back to our car. On the way out, we saw other animals on the property... Which included zebras, gnus, ostriches, and these guys...

Water buffalo!

And of course, I saw the rows of grape vines...

Just no wine to taste.