We arrived yesterday in time to have lunch before the dinning room closed at 2 pm. This was after a very long six hour drive on mostly unpaved roads to this picturesque mountain lodge. The food is marvelous and the rooms are quality resort style. After lunch we got back into our van with the roof top lifted so we could stand for viewing. We did lots of that and the cameras were clicking often. I had not done my homework very well before I left so I did not realize that this wildlife preserve in Kenya connects to the Serengeti preserve in Tanzania. The land belongs to the Maisi Tribe that lives in the Great Rift Valley. A group of Maisi Men (young Warriors) came to entertain us last evening with one of their dances. It was a competition of sorts to see which one of them could jump the highest. They included some of the audience and one from our group was included. It was a good time.
Today we had a morning drive and spent nearly 4 hours looking for animals. A few of my favorite sightings were first a herd of Zebras we saw near a river. They needed to go down about 20 feet to get to the water. We startled them at first but soon they were comfortable and they went down a ravine one by one and then they started to run down the ravine. The thundering sound was exciting along with the sound of the splashing water as they hit the river full force. Up the river several yards were 4 hippos in a row not moving and acting like logs in the river.
My other favorite sighting was a close encounter with a lion and his two lionesses eating their just caught prey. He was eating what they had recently brought in as they watched. He walked away as nature called and when he returned he ran to growl at the females to leave his food alone. He soon settled down and let them eat and started walking away. We stayed with him for a short time as he when to find his own shade.
We have had our last supper together in Kenya, sort of, and have packed to leave for an early drive out to the range in the morning for one last chance to see any new wild life. After breakfast we head back to Nairobi for the long flight back to the USA and I guess real life. I do hope I remember that I can do with lots less than I have and to be content with what God does gives me. There is simplicity in that way of life for may of the people I have met here. Far too many people have less than what they need in life to sustain health let alone happiness. Some have turned to drugs to escape the horrors of poverty, some to crime, but many seem to have been drawn to a deeper commitment of faith and reliance on God for their needs to be met than any of us have ever felt the need other than in a crisis. I pray I don't forget that.
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