Day three…Safari…Beyond our wildest dreams…The Big Five…Accomplished in our first 10 hours on safari!

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Up close and personal! We were in a Toyota Land Cruiser with open sides, 25 feet from this lion. Much to our surprise we never felt frightened or at risk at close-range to any of these big animals, including this massive male lion who gave us a great show.  Many more lion photos including a graphic kill and mating shots will follow in posts to come.

Anderson, our guide at the Olonana at the Sanctuary Retreat has far surpassed our hopes and expectations in ensuring that we have a memorable safari experience in our short three days at the camp. 

Had the expense, not been $5000 including air, all-inclusive, we surely would have stayed longer.  Maybe someday we’ll return to the Masai Mara and Olonana.

At this point, we don’t flinch over the cost. There is no amount of money that could have provided us with a more life-changing and valuable experience that which we’ve had thus far; 19 hours on safari in the 49 hours since we arrived on Saturday.

Encountering these creatures from close proximity was Anderson’s goal. In most cases, we were within 25 feet of any of the animals in our photo.  Notice, this older elephant resting his trunk on his tusk. Anderson expected this one to be around 60 years old, close to his life expectancy.

With one more safari remaining tonight, we’ll begin to wind down, pack to return to Diani Beach on the tiny plane, with plans to continue to relive this experience over and over for years to come.  Now we know that safaris will be an integral part of our ongoing travels.

The Big Five…we had few expectations.  Now wanting to be the typical traveler, we made no requirements to Anderson that we accomplish this treasured undertaking that most safari attendees get stuck in their heads.

The Big Five may vary by certain standards.  In Africa, it’s listed as follows:

1.  Elephant
2.  Black Rhino
3.  Cape Buffalo
4.  Leopard
5.  Lion (particularly the male lion)

Leopards are nocturnal and seldom seen during daylight hours. We were so excited to see this leopard to round out the Big Five sightings in the first 10 hours we were on safari. 

There’s so much to tell, I almost don’t know where to begin. With limited time and connectivity, we’ll continue as we have over the past few days, as many photos as we can with less dialogue.

But, there’s a story here from beginning to end that we’re anxious to tell, the rich experience of the gift of nature, the local people who regard it with reverence and, our own discovery of that which has remained inside us that is finally let free.  We’ll never be the same, neither of us.

At this point in time, there are only 30 remaining rhinos in Kenya with 10 in the Masai Mara. So far we’ve seen 5 of these elusive and endangered animals.  Lots more photos of rhinos and babies to follow.

When returning to Diani Beach, we’ll begin that story with many more photos as well as our own personal journey of a life-changing adventure we’ll never forget.

We took these photos posted today of The Big Five in our first 10 hours on safari.  That story is but a small portion of the treasures we beheld day by day as we bounced around over winding rocky uneven road without concern or thought to any discomfort.

This old cape buffalo was covered with flies and mud, huddled close in the hot sun with other family members and friends. Most likely he was what Anderson referred to as the Retired Generals, male buffaloes who was been banned from the herd for life, having lost for dominance in battle with other males. The males hang out together in small groups for safety reasons.

We will highlight many additional photos of The Big Five and the many other amazing animals that we discovered each day on safari. 

By the way, as we write this, we’re sitting in the outdoor restaurant at the lodge, soon to go on our second safari of the day. Across the river, we see giraffes and impalas (photos coming soon) and in the river, playful baby hippos. Ah, this is living!

Please come back as this story continues to unfold. Thanks to all of our readers for their comments and email messages and of course, for following along with us.

Day two, safari…Beyond our wildest dreams….

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After a considerable wait this morning we were able to get these shots of a young lion with his head jutting out of a culvert. The mother and babies were living in the culvert for protection. 
The lions, not all visible due to the narrow size of the culvert, came out to look, one at a time. We were less than 25 feet from this breathtaking event.
This lion kept a watchful eye on us. We didn’t feel any danger in watching them, making no quick movements or loud noises, very important in ensuring safety on safari, although the actual risks are minimal.

Suddenly, the young male lion in the above photo jumped out of the culvert, walked across the road to enter the culvert from the other end.  What an experience for the four of us in our safari vehicle watching this event.  With Anderson at the wheel, we were ensured an exquisite safari.
We can only post 12 to 15 photos a day with the slow Internet connection here in the Masai Mara, far from civilization. Over the next 48 hours, we’ll continue to post every photo we can.  

Hippos, happy, homebodies, hanging around together!

We could sit for hours and watch the antics of the hippos. Their lethargic movement and playful personalities are a pleasure to behold.


A lone hippo arises from his nap to check things out.

 We realize that this gruesome photo may be difficult for some to see. But, it’s a part of the food chain which we decided we would accept on our safaris as a reality of the life cycle. This crocodile was consuming either an impala or gazelle.
For now, with limited time to write more details after a 6-hour safari this morning (Sunday), with an additional 3 hours coming up this afternoon, we’ll continue to use the time to take more and more amazing photos.
The Mara River.  Our tent is located on the shore where sounds of hippos fill the air beginning around 4:00 am as they awaken.
 No swimming in this river!
Need I say…we are in safari heaven.  In the past 24 hours, we’ve been on safari for 10 hours, and it’s not quite 2:00 PM. Exhausted, dirty, suffering from lack of sleep (the delightful hippo sounds kept waking us up!), Tom says I can’t wipe the smile off of my face.  Nor can he! 
This is a Topi only found in the Masai Mara.
 “Please pinch me,” I told Tom. “I must be dreaming!”
We’ll share more photos tomorrow and continue upon returning to Diani Beach. Thanks to every single reader out there as you join us in the adventure of a lifetime!
Back soon with more!
Error correction from yesterday’s post. This photo of Mount Kilimanjaro was lost when uploading due to Internet constraints. 
The windows on the plane were scratched and cracked making it difficult to take clear shots. For some reason, these photos wouldn’t didn’t upload yesterday.

Power outage for over six hours yesterday…Thank goodness its back on…One day until safari…

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Our soft sided bags for the tiny plane.  They said no shaped hard bags.

Yesterday, we were imagining what it would be like getting ready to leave for safari with no power after it went out at 9:45 am, not returning until 4:15 pm. We also wondered how we’d shower and get ready to go out to dinner last night if the power remained off. There would be no hot water.

Our laptop batteries were dead. Our smartphones were charging when the power went out and wouldn’t last through the night enabling us to read our books.

We couldn’t watch movies on the laptop. All the food in the freezer and refrigerator would go bad and we’d have no ice. Plus, the danger of home invasions greatly increases when there’s no power.

There’s always monkey families along this stretch of road.

Need I say that we discussed our options if the power didn’t come back on by 5:00 pm:

1.  Go out to dinner, staying out at late as possible.
2.  Return to the house which may possibly still in the dark.
3.  Go to bed, no reading, a habit that hard to break, one we’ve acquired without having a TV.
Or…
1.  Get a cab, stay in a hotel overnight with AC for a night, free WiFi, dinner, and breakfast the next day (All the resorts have generators), returning on Friday, hopefully with power or,
2.  Pack up all of our safari luggage, get a cab to stay overnight both Thursday and Friday nights, leaving for the airport at 7:00 am Saturday morning.
Or…
1.  Tough it out, stay in for dinner making something easy while its still light, tuna salad on a bed of lettuce with a side of coleslaw. Nuts for dessert.
2.  Play Gin by candlelight until bedtime

This one was more interested in picking at the grass than noticing us stop to take a photo.

What did we actually do?  We played Gin for 6 1/2 hours.  Tom slaughtered me!

At 4:15 pm the power returned. We made the tuna salad anyway. And, when the power came back on, we began charging all of our equipment, had dinner in the outdoor living room, watched a few shows we’d saved on the hard drive, headed to bed at 11:00 pm with no bugs in the mosquito netting. Once again, we were content.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll be heading out. You’ll hear from us by the end of the day on Saturday (depending on where you are in the world) when hopefully, we’ll have arrived in one piece and early enough to take a few photos to post, provided we have the promised good Internet connection in the Masai Mara. 

Last night while getting ready for bed in the bathroom, there was a huge lizard sitting atop the light fixture above the mirror. Tom tried to move him along with a too-small dustpan to no avail.  He took off to return a short while later but finally was gone this morning. It was the biggest lizard we’d seen in Kenya thus far. 

Talk about an “outdoor living room.”

We’ve packed everything except our drying laundry. It was on the clothesline overnight and it rained in buckets. Most likely, Hesborn washed it again this morning and again, hung it to dry. With today’s good breeze with slightly less humidity, we might get lucky. 

We printed our e-tickets for the tiny plane on our portable printer. We’re charging all of our equipment and bringing all required cables, chargers, and adapters. Everything on our list is included.

Again, we reminded ourselves that these roadside shops/homes don’t ever have electricity. 

Tonight, we’ll eat in having leftover tuna salad, fillet mignon, and coleslaw; easy, quick, and delicious. I’ll set the alarm on my phone leaving it under my pillow and by 7:00 am tomorrow morning, we’ll be on our way to the tiny airport down the road. 

If we don’t get to see the Great Migration since it moved on, we are totally accepting of this fact and won’t allow ourselves a moment of disappointment. Once we start taking photos, we’ll be on cloud 9.

They say the drive from the tiny airport in Masai Mara in itself is an adventure!

See you soon from “the bush.”   

Dreaming of Africa…

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Diani Beach, Kenya

When I was a young girl, I dreamed of going to Africa, a dream so far removed from my reality, I considered it a fantasy.  As life moved on, time zipping past me at supersonic speed, on occasion, I dreamed of Africa.

Was it the raw, wild of the continent, the mystery of the mix of barren deserts and lush forests or the lure of bearing witness to the wildlife roaming free?  Yes, to all of these.

In my typical American life; 64 years long with many years of love and marriage, family and friends, work and play, I have seldom asked God for more than I have had.  Sure, I asked for answers to difficult questions, relief from an aching heart and guidance during difficult times.  But, I never asked for Africa. It was too much to ask for, selfish, unnecessary.

Now, as I count the months on my fingers every other day the time to visit Africa is coming near. Reflecting on how quickly my life has passed by so far, I know the time is closer than it seems.  

I’m finally going to Africa. I am going to Africa with my love, my best friend, my go-to person whom I run to when the big bird alights on the dock, when the albino squirrel leaps across the picnic table and when the bald eagle swoops into the trees.  That which we love; the water, smooth as glass in the calm, or white capped in the wind, the greenery of the short season, the fluffy blanket of snow in the long season, the blue sky on a clear day or daunting sky in looming storms. We’ve loved it all.
We’ll spend a long time in Africa, three months in Kenya, three months in South Africa in the wild.  We won’t be living in a tent or sleeping in a sleeping bag. We’re not your basic backpacking world travelers nor are we luxury travelers lounging in hotels, dining in gourmet restaurants, waiting to be waited on. We’ve experienced that kind of travel.  We’ve loved that too.

The photos of the house in Kenya are in the post of April 23, 2012.  I can’t get them out of my mind.  This morning at 4 am, after a night of fitful dreams of Africa, I awoke, jumping out of bed to put in my contacts.  I could no longer sleep.  As I do quite often lying in bed, I read the email on my phone.
This morning a message came from my cruise representative, Joaquin at Vacations to Go about Africa’s seasons which reads:

“Wildebeests and zebras typically spend December to April nursing newborn calves in Tanzania. The slow-moving calves lure lions, cheetahs and hyenas, and the resulting mix of predator and prey offers prime viewing opportunities in Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater.
When the rains end, usually in May, the animals head north in search of food. This is the start of the Great Migration, a steady stream of animals in columns that stretch for miles, heading toward the western and northern Serengeti. June and July are the best months for witnessing the migration in Tanzania. In August or September, the herds begin to cross into Kenya to graze amid the lush greenery of the Masai Mara National Reserve. Some naturalists claim that the Masai Mara contains the largest concentration of predators along the migratory route. The animals will stay here until October or November. Most safaris visit the area before fall brings another rainy season to the plains and the herds turn south, back to Tanzania.”
We will be in Kenya from September 1 to November 30, 2013.  We will travel to view the Great Migration based on where the wildebeest will be crossing the river and grazing during the time we are there, all dependent upon the weather at the time; either the Serengeti or the Masai Mara which is much closer to where will will be living in Diani Beach on the coast of Kenya.  

Rather than arrange a costly structured safari, the property owner who lives next door to the house in Kenya, has suggested we hire the experienced locals who will take us when the timing is right.  In a way, this adds to the adventure. We shall see what is best and decide at that time.

With our never ending aches and pains, our variety of prescription medications for age related issues, our multitude of dietary restrictions, our fears unfounded and real, our dislikes of airports, our preconceived notions, my best friend and I are going to Africa. 

A dream comes true…