The wind whispers over the plains, picking up the scent of life and bringing it to your nose. For a moment you remember the secret Lady Nature told you, but understanding becomes too heavy and your mind races ahead, leaving the code you dreamt of behind. The thunder of a lion’s roar breaks through your thoughts like a drunk through a well-cleaned sliding glass door and you remember the long journey ahead.

     You are on a serious safari, exploring the plains of the African wilderness. You are not, however, anywhere near Africa. You are in a place far more exotic — The Lion Country Safari in the far outback of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. That’s right, these photos you see of wild beasts roaming free in the confinements of their very large, fenced-in area comes straight from South Florida. I’m not scared. I hope you’re not.

     This place is seriously great. You pay a fee and get to drive your own whip through all these different areas with these beautiful building blocks of life coming within arm’s reach of your vehicle — totally unrestrained. If that rhino wanted to charge he would, but once again, I’m not scared. The lions actually do have cages now, but I heard in the old days they didn’t. I wonder what happened? At the front gate they give you a CD (they probably have it on cassette too) and from then on you are guided on your journey by the voice of none other then Whitney Houston. The tour is very informative and you really do learn a lot about all the animals.

     I really don’t think I can say enough about this place. I’ve been twice: once with my family and once with my lady, and each time it was incredible. One of the best parts of the place comes after you have finished the safari and parked your car. They have a little, I guess you would call it, entertainment park area. They have gift shops, food, bumper boats, goats and a Ferris wheel. But in my opinion the crown jewel of the place is the giraffe feeding pavilion. You seriously can hand feed one of those crazy things — again I’m not scared. Florida is home to lots of my wakeboarding and wakeskating brothers, so I seriously suggest that you all go to this place. It’s a million times better than any zoo. In fact, it’s not a ZOO, and don’t ever call it that. It’s a safari – a great family day or a nice romantic place for all you lovers. I miss the scent of those plains and the music of the beasts’ roars.