As a freelance writer, and a brave warrior-like queen, crafting my own personal history along the journey of life and all its awesome adventures, one of my most memorable ones was made in South Africa, in July 2005.

It was a beautiful, calm, sunny, winter day, and I was taken on a date to a local nature reserve in Johannesburg, South Africa. At one point during the date, we were approaching the lion enclosure and the young man in question turned to tell me that I could go in and hold, or play, with the lion cubs. I felt excited, nervous, and filled with awe at the same time, wondering how I was going to ‘play’ with something deemed so dangerous.

Appearing brave and curious, I asked the game reserve keeper what happens if people get bitten, and if they ever administer tetanus injections, and other precautions that I thought should be in place…

Soon enough, there I was, trying to hold a, what seemed like a feisty, 10-week-old lion cub in a nature reserve realising all too rapidly that the expectation of it feeling like stroking a puppy, or any normal canine, was far from reality… I was quick in yelping to please hurry and take the picture, quickly! I recall sustaining a scratch on the tummy from the cub.

Lions, and most of the ‘big 5’ in Africa, are indeed spectacular to see, and being in an enclosure with a lion cub was one of the scariest yet coolest memories I have collected. To this day it remains a special experience.

Growing up in Zimbabwe was in many respects awesome, in that I was able to go and stay in chalets with family, among the wildlife, and go on hiking trails and visit nature and game reserves, and even a huge elephant camp in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.

So, here’s to having more awe-struck adventures and experiences watching animals in their natural habitats.