RafikiKate: October 2010

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Safari Day 2- Picnic Lunch and Afternoon Shoot

We broke for Lunch next to a solitary acacia tree on a random gently sloping hill in the middle of the Mara, and we could see other vans spotting the nearby hillsides doing exactly the same thing. Must be the routine there. Took lots of photos and enjoyed acting silly together, reveling in the beauty of the landscape, and the luck of the morning hunt.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Safari--Day 2--Morning Hunt

Saturday, August 14th was a long, lovely day in the bush. We headed out at sunrise and returned at dark, and our cook pack a picnic lunch for the full day of hunting. The morning was filled with excitement--migrating water buffalo herds, male and female ostriches, and wonder of wonders--a female lioness gnawing the face off of her brunch of baby wildebeest. Top that off with a triplet of sleepy cheetahs snoozing in the shade, and you can see we had quite a morning! Enjoy!

Kenyan Sisters, Kenyan Friends

Friends are treasures from heaven above. Sometimes it seems that God orchestrates the crossing of our path with those of some pretty special people. Although some believe these events are just "luck" or "chance", I don't believe that for a minute. Mercy and Jael, two Kenyan sisters, just showed up in our lives at the Tiwi Beach in Mombasa during Easter holiday in April 2007. Thanks to modern electronic communication tools, we've maintained our friendship over the years. What a joy it was to be reunited with them this summer! They embraced Courtney too, so the four of us set out on an Explore together, to Masai Mara for the Great Wildebeest Migration. Here are some photos of the first day of our 3-day weekend together.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Africa's Amazing Animals

The Animals! I'm so thankful that we are just shooting photos of them, not shooting at them. They are a lovely sight to behold. Here are some favorite shots from Masai Mara, where the lions are abundant, the wildebeests migrate, but the elephants are few...This is day 1, Friday afternoon, August 12, 2010.

Safari Retreat

The second weekend that I was here, four of us went on our Big Safari adventure. It was far more expensive than I had anticipated, but worth it for the safety, convenience, and luxury that we enjoyed. We arose at 5 am on Friday, February 23rd, so that we could catch an early flight on a small plane out of Wilson Airport. The 30-minute flight was quite enjoyable, even though I've never been in a small plane before. The pilot just spoke directly to us, no airline attendant necessary. We flew low, and could see herds of elephants as we approached Amboseli Park in Southern Kenya. There was only a sign and a shack at the "airport". It was pretty cool. We were treated royally upon arrival at Ol Tukai ("Palm Tree") Lodge. Our driver, Isaac, would transport us throughout the weekend in a special Landrover with a convertible roof that he usually opened up for us to stand and take photos. Really cool. Our partners in this adventure were Paul and Maggy, a precious British couple who work for a large company that exports gazillions of roses to European florists. Paul runs the entire Kenyan operation, but Maggy was visiting from company headquarters in London. By the end of the weekend, she had fallen in love with Africa and now plans to move to Nairobi. Since photos speak a thousand words, I will attempt to capture the beauty of African creation with a few photos from our trip. Anna's camera was much better than mine, and she granted me permission to use her zooms of the lions and giraffes. Amboseli is known for its large herds of elephants, so they were always within reach it seemed. They were delightful to watch eat, bathe, and march across the road in front of us. As our director had suggested, safari is a spiritual experience which is hard to describe in words. "Majestic", "awe-inspiring", and "glorious" don't quite capture the emotions we felt. Enjoy the handful of photos displayed in this post...