Once again, we get a late start on the day. Our plan was to drive to a couple wineries for wine tasting, dinner at the Spier, and petting the cheetahs (or "chetting the peetahs" as Rey mistakenly called it the night before). Our first stop was the Goats Do Roam winery and tasted eight different wines and sampled a few pieces of cheese. We liked a couple of the wines and ended up ordering several bottles to have shipped home. They did have a distributor in California that could ship the wines to us directly. Unfortunately, the distributor did not carry the Riesling, so I purchased two bottles there and decided I'd figure out how I'd get them home later.
Afterwards, we drove to the Spier restaurant, which was quite unique. It was an out door restaurant with dining areas built in the trees. It was a buffet style, but the authentic South African food was good. At the time, it was one of those meals I was concerned about after reading all of the health warnings before the trip. But we all survived without any side effects.
The last stop was the cheetah petting. We had the chose between petting the adult or younger cheetahs. We all agreed on the younger cheetahs. Before they let us in, they fed the cheetahs. I joked to myself, is that good or bad idea? Was it a good idea good making them full so they wouldn't eat us? Or was it a bad idea, wet their appetite; a starter before the main course. Seeing as we all walked out of there with all our limbs, I concluded it was good idea.
We were giving specific instructions on what to do and what not to do. We could only approach them from the back, and could only lightly pet their back and sides. I was surprised how easily they purred. They also have very little smell. This is natural for them, as it helps them hunting. When asked who wanted to pet Elroy, I could not pass up on the opportunity to pet Elroy and make him purr. And I didn't have to feed him beer! (Okay, that's an inside joke. I have a good friend named LeRoy whose nickname is Elroy.) About 5 minutes after petting Elroy, I discovered I was allergic to him. (Sorry LeRoy.) I know I'm allergic to some cats, and now I know I'm allergic to cheetahs as well.
After petting the cheetahs, we walk through the bird exhibit, where rescued birds are displayed.
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