On with the travelogue...
On the first day it was decided to go and see some cats. Apparently there was someone who kept a couple not far from the camp site and so we loaded the cars up and left. Mrs Stace went with her parents and our niece whilst I went with my sister in law and kept my nephew entertained. Rather than take three cars everywhere we thought it was best just to fill two of them to the brim.
Not long after we arrived at
Le parc des félins, in fact the entrance was quite well concealed so we nearly went straight past it :)
Parked, camera on my back (and nearly falling over! My kit weighs a ton!) we went in. Seeing as the cars sleep around midday we started with a picnic - something that seems very well catered for around that part of France, everywhere we went they provided covered areas to eat your own food. Fresh baguette with brie and ham makes a wonderful lunch. The problem (as with every other lunch over the vacation) was wasps - there were hundreds of the things, and I do not do well with them. Or should I say I panic at wasps almost more than anything else. I can't stand the things!
Still we finished lunch, and started to try and find the cats. Apparently there are over 120 species of them, in a very large park. The first enclosure was for Cheaters, and they did! We scanned the area for 10 minutes, searching for the slightest movement, anything that could look like a living creature.
Hahahahahahahahahaha
Thinking that they were likely to still be sleeping we gave up and move on. Then whilst looking at the Lions we notice these Cheaters relaxing next to the fence on the other side. I managed to get a few shots off and then moved on to the Lions. We walked for the rest of the day, trying to spot the cats in the various enclosures. It was a great day, but at the end of it we were all quite pleased to get back into the cars and get off of our feet!
Here's some shots - sorry, but after a couple I lost track of the names of each of them. I'll number them, if you can give me any names please feel free :)
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| 1 - OK not actually a cat :) |
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| 2 - The Cheater |
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| 3 - No points for this one |
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| 4 - Or this one |
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| 5 - OK This one I have no idea |
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| 6 - Nor this, but isn't it cute? |
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| 7 - Extra points for the sub species |
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| 8 - Spot the cat |
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| 9 - Any ideas? |
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| 10 - Not the same as before |
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| 12 - But this is the same as 11 |
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| 13 - I'm glad I don't have to brush this one! |
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| 14 - Just chilling |
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| 15 - Possibly the same as 2... |
Those are awesome photos! I love pictures of wild cats. Hope to see more!
ReplyDeleteHi Stace,
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures. How can anyone say all of this just manufactured itself out of a puddle of ooooze. You just have to look and see the beauty of God's work.
I found it, I found it. The cat in picture #8.
Beautiful work, Stace.
Still praying for you and Mrs. Stace.
Hugs,
Cynthia XX
Thanks Lori! I really love it when I get into the mood to spend the time looking for the right shots! Over the course of the week in France I fired off 1081 of them :) About 20GB in total. I feel old when I consider that my first laptop 16 years ago came with a "large" built in 80MB drive. That's 6 photo's these days!
ReplyDeleteThere will be more coming over the weekend (though there may be more buildings and scenery than animals for the coming days :)
Thanks Cynthia, he's hiding behind the trees keeping cool - considering the weather we had most of the week it was really hot that day!
Stace