Safari Adventures

Safari in Maasai Mara! Truly one of the coolest vacations I have
ever been on. I will attempt to put this
experience into words, but the pictures and images in my head tell the true
story.

            On our
travel day to Maasai Mara, we got a wonderful welcome from our African wildlife
friends, the first we had seen all day. First it was only gazelle and wildebeest which I was excited enough
about, but then we saw a lion chasing down a gazelle. Mind you, we were just driving down the road,
this wasn’t in a reserve or park or zoo, just out in the wild. SO COOL!! We also saw tons of zebras, which were just beautiful, standing right
alongside the dirt road we were traveling down. But my favorites were the giraffes! We only caught a glimpse, but they were so uniquely beautiful. One stood at the road and watched us drive by
while many others grazed on trees. It
was like they were welcoming us to our vacation and giving us a taste of our
coming safari day. I just couldn’t
wait! The scenery on the drive was
amazing also. Miles of open land covered
by trees, green grass and wildlife with Maasai shepherds here and there tending
to their flocks and herds. As much as I
want to put it all into words, I simply can’t. It is beyond anything I have ever seen. It is Africa.

            On safari
day we rose early, loaded into our safari land rovers (we can’t seem to escape
the land rovers here in Kenya!)
and headed down the African plains as the sun began to rise. Though we were cold and tired, nothing could
dampen our spirits or excitement for what our day held. Our Maasai guides asked what we wanted to see
to which we replied EVERYTHING! Well,
everything it was.

            To start
our adventure off on the right foot, the first creature we came upon was the
king of the jungle, our very own simba, none others than a pride of lions! Lying on the field were female lions watching
over their cubs that were playing in the grass. Lying in the middle, watching us, was a young male lion that hadn’t yet
gotten his mane.   They didn’t seem too
bothered by us; they just continued lazing in the morning sun, strolling around
with a majestic and distinguished air. They essentially rule this place and we weren’t even a blimp on their
radar. After a long gaze at one another
the female and male lions rose and ushered the cubs along to an Mzungu free
zone where they could enjoy their morning in peace. After months of being a spectacle to be
stared at, I didn’t much blame them.

            We drove on
and saw topis, wildebeests, antelopes, dik diks and gazelles of all shapes and
sizes, some with horns that were long and straight, some that elaborately
curved, some without horns, and many that I recognized form my Uncle Bob’s
wall. J Don’t worry little antelope,
this Texan left her gun at home. What
was most striking about them all was their detailed coloring and markings. One of the larger ones was tan with dark
brown markings on his legs along the muscles. When he ran, the muscles rippled under his sleek, shiny coat. It was beautiful to watch. The others gracefully leapt across the
plains, allowing the sun to catch the golden hue of their coat. I thought the antelopes and gazelles would be
a bit boring, but they captivated me.

            The next
group of animals that we saw were possibly my favorite. We came across a herd of giraffes grazing on
tall trees. I had no idea the wonder of
this creature, the beauty and majesty, the simple dignity that God created in
them. They are so graceful for such huge
creatures. When they walk it is
beautiful to watch, and I laughed at the sight of them running after each
other, especially the young ones. Once
we got closer, I could make out the elaborate details in their markings, and I
just fell in love with these beautiful creatures! I could have watched them for hours.

            Next up,
hippos, finally!! After all our failed
ventures to see them at the base, our nights camping out only to never see a
single hippo close up, we finally had success!! They were just chilling in the water, dipping their heads in and out,
spinning their ears (loved watching them do this) but finally they decided to
move up river and I was shocked to see how quickly they moved!! Now I see why
we had to be so cautious at night at SEEK. I was a bit scared that they were heading for us. While they look like a funny cross between a
cow and water pig, they are extremely territorial and dangerous, so we booked
it back to the safety of the Land Rover.

            We
continued on spotting African foxes, hyenas, Cape buffalo, grey herons,
crocodiles and wart hogs which they actually call pumbas! Thank you Lion King for all the useful
knowledge you bestowed upon me. The wart
hogs are hilarious, and really much bigger than I imagined. When the run, they stick their tails straight
up in the air, just too cute. Then came the
real treat. Our guides spotted a pair of
cheetahs a ways off, so we sped off to see them. We had been riding on top of the roof of the
land rover in metal seats with our feet inside the sun roof opening, so when we
raced off, we held on for dear life! It
was worth it to see a female cheetah with her cub out in the open. This is very rare since the lions hunt the
cubs. Yet there they were, walking
through the tall grass on the African plains. The female was spectacular, so slender, muscular, and sleek, a beautiful
creature to behold. She would walk a
bit, stop, look back at the adorable cub, and talk to it (a bit like a meow…but
very different at the same time) then continue on their way. Just so fantastic to see! Later that day we
saw an adolescent male cheetah with a bit of a bulging belly with apparently
meant it had just hunted and eaten. Our
guides told us we were very lucky, that it is incredibly rare to see even one
cheetah, much less 3 including a cub. Thank
you Lord!

            More
animals, too many to name, ostriches, storks, grey herrings, swallows, baboons,
the list goes on and on. But the final
exciting one, the animal we had been looking for all day, we finally spotted
elephants! Not just a few elephants
either, there were dozens of them! They were huge, so baggy and wrinkly, but
they had a certain beauty about them, especially the babies. They were magnificent but I certainly wouldn’t
want to come up against one of these guys when they were in an irritable
mood. When we got to a swamp, one of the
elephants was spraying the water and tossing its head and trunk around. Just surreal.

            Near the
end of our day, we came across an elephant carcass surrounded by hyenas,
vultures and jackals. All that remained
was skin and bones, but the sight and smell were a bit overwhelming.

 I’m sure I’m leaving something out, but all
in all it was an incredible day! 11 wind
blown, sun burned, exhausted, yet extremely happy mzungus headed back to the
hotel to dream about the day we had just had taking in God’s spectacular
creation.

My gorgeous teammates on vacation!