Until recently my chief encounter with giraffes was reading an obituary for Leo, a resident of the Central Park Zoo who died suddenly in 1946 at age 16.
Last Tuesday we visited a private game reserve about 20 minutes drive from Hilton. Zebras, giraffes, rhinos, Cape Buffalo, hippos, monkeys, ostriches and more roam freely there. Acacia trees dot the rolling plain.
The rhinos seemed to be as curious about us as we were about them.