Safari



Went on a 10-day Safari in Kenya.  It was probably our best vacation ever. It seemed like we were on another planet. The animals were huge, close and very numerous.

There were so many zebras.

The giraffes are huge up close. We probably saw hundreds if not a thousand of them

These are cape buffalo. They attack you if you bother them

The hyenas are odd looking creatures. Their front legs are a lot longer than their back legs. They are pretty serious hunters.

The leopards were beautiful. Their big problem is not getting eaten by the lions.

These are the wilderbeasts. They hang around in large herds which gives them lots of protection. Still, because there are so many of them they are a significant source of food for the predators.


The lions were so big. Some came within about seven or eight feet of our safari truck. Our guide seem not to care but I was worried because the truck is so open.


The Rhinos like the hippos and the lions have no predators except for man.  A lot of effort goes into protecting them from the poachers. They're horn is worth tens of thousands of dollars. To fight off the poachers the rangers all have semi-automatic weapons. Poaching is serious business here. Lots of poachers and rangers get killed in gun battles.


This is the Dunns who we went on the Safari with. They are humanitarian missionaries out of Ghana. This was a typical meal. Even though most of the lodges that we stayed at were very remote the meals were incredibly good.


The lodging was incredible. This is actually a tent with a separate bedroom and a luxurious bathroom including a bathtub with a view. We were overlooking lake Nakuru. Most of the Safari lodges had a very serious electric fence surrounding them to keep the animals out. The ones that didn't had armed patrollers to escort us to our rooms at night after dinner.


This is Mount Kilimanjaro in the background. After we finished eating hors d'oeuvres we viewed the sunset. On one of our other stops we visited Mount Kenya. We did about a 3-hour hike partially up the mountain.

Cheryl and I are so glad we went on a safari while we are in Africa. We saw part of the Earth that we didn't know existed. Overall we saw 34 different types of mammals and 79 different types of birds.  We visited five different game preserves. Twice we traveled by airplane between the two preserves.  Overall it was a great, great experience and we now  have a wonderful friendship with the Dunns.  For our next trip we're planning to go to Victoria falls. Senior missions don't have to be all work.

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