In January, we returned to Kenya for our third (but hopefully not last) safari. We traveled with the Oakland Zoo, because we were joining a friend on a trip she set up. The trip is lead by members of the zoo Animal Care and Conservation staff, Colleen Kinzley, Vice President Animal Care, Conservation, and Research, and Leslie Storer. Animal Care, Conservation, and Research Zoological Manager. With the zoo, we had special access to meet the zoo's conservation partners like Save the Elephants, the Amboseli Trust For Elephants, the Samburu Elephant Project, Reticulated Giraffe Project, Ewaso Lion Project, the Reteii Elephant Orphanage, Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage and the Mara Hyena Project. We were able to bring supplies for these groups and they gave us insights to the important work they are doing. It was great to travel with this group as our fellow travelers were all like minded and easy travel partners.
We traveled in January and this was our first time traveling in “summer”. It was an unusual summer. It was typically hot and dry in Samburu, but it was cool and rainy in the Mara. We had a couple of short but strong thunder storms and I certainly sang about blessing the rains down in Africa, even though Leonard, our outstanding Wildlife Safari guide, wouldn’t let me out of the land cruiser to dance. Third trip just reaffirmed how much I love Kenya. It is such a beautiful country in the ways that make me love visiting.
The people are beautiful. Each trip, I am amazed at the warmth and friendliness of the Kenyans we meet, both those in the tourism industry and those not. It also holds true in Nairobi and out in the bush. This trip we were able to visit the Ole Mewangi Village, which is a traditional Masai village. Solene is the tribal leader and he welcomed us in to the village where we were able to pray and dance with the village members. The kind ladies decked me out with their bead-work jewelry and held my hand all during the dance. They must have sensed my lack of rhythm and wanted to help me stay on beat.
The land itself is beautiful. We were able to visit Nairobi, Amboseli National Park (in south east Kenya), Samburu National Reserve (in central Kenya) and the Masai Mara National Reserve (in south west Kenya). The landscapes varied from open grasslands to semi-desert rugged hills and plateaus. We also got a day with visibility of Mt Kilimanjaro. We’ve previously visited Amboseli and for elephants, I don’t think it can be topped. We also returned to the Masai Mara, James favorite travel destination. This was our first visit to Samburu
And then there is the beautiful wildlife. The diversity and abundance (though sadly both are dwindling) are awe inspiring. Kenya makes me very grateful to have a God that created such an amazing world. This was our first time seeing rhinos in the wild. We had never visited the Nairobi National Park but had an extra day and made the visit and are so glad we did. We saw 10 rhinos a mix of black and white. What a way to start the trip!