SAFARI!

This weekend I got to go on SAFARI!! It was such a fun trip and a nice end to the week…even though I am in Kenya, it was finals week for me here too – lots of paper writing in addition to my daily work here.

On Friday, I set out with 2 other visiting staff from Tenwek for Salt Springs Mara Camp. A little bit about the Maasai Mara:

“The Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) covers some 1,510 km² (583 sq mi)[1] in south-western Kenya. It is the northern-most section of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, which covers some 25,000 km² (9,700 sq mi) in Tanzania and Kenya. It is bounded by the Serengeti Park to the south, the Siria escarpment to the west, and Maasai pastoral ranches to the north, east and west. Rainfall in the ecosystem increases markedly along a southeast–northwest gradient, varies in space and time, and is markedly bimodal. The Sand, Talek River and Mara River are the major rivers draining the reserve. Shrubs and trees fringe most drainage lines and cover hillslopes and hilltops.

The terrain of the reserve is primarily open grassland with seasonal riverlets. In the south-east region are clumps of the distinctive acacia tree. The western border is the Esoit (Siria) Escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, which is a fault line some 5,600 km (3,500 miles) long, from Ethiopia's Red Sea through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and into Mozambique. Wildlife tends to be most concentrated here, as the swampy ground means that access to water is always good, while tourist disruption is minimal. The easternmost border is 224 kilometres (139.2 mi) from Nairobi, and hence it is the eastern regions which are most visited by tourists.”

That was completely copy and pasted from Wikipedia…my ‘finals week’ has exhausted all of my writing ability…I’m even surprising myself that I can write a blog at this point.

We were somewhere around here, I think:

[somewhere around Salt Lick, straight up from the word 'Tanzania' maybe?]

Anyway, the Safari was fantastic. Lots of animals, beautiful weather, amazing food. I even slept in a tent (which was AWESOME, by the way) with hyenas traipsing nearby all night. Don’t worry though, I was safe. The tents were really sturdy and there were Maasai warriors keeping watch through the night.

Throughout the weekend, I had a lot of time to love on God and let Him love on me. My friends, we serve an amazing God. The God that made every animal, the God that gives a beautiful display at sunset, the Creator of the entire universe wants to know us…like REALLY know us – intimately and completely. Wow…that blows my mind.

On another note, with 3 weeks remaining I think it is finally time to break into the candy corn.

Here are some pictures from the weekend…enjoy!

[wildebeests on the run]

[my awesome tent]

[zebras...there were thousands!]

[hungry, hungry hippo]

[Rachel and the lion's den]

[the king of the pride]

[i love the zebras - i wanted to bring one home, but the import tax is too high...]

[buffalo - scary and unpredictable]

[our safari group - our guide is on the far left - also, i want one of these vehicles]

[hippos and crocodiles]

[we visited a Maasai village]

[cheetah]

[lions are lazy...seriously]

[remember the buffalo from earlier?]

[don't judge my form, it still had skin on it and i was falling over because it was so heavy]

[nasty hyena]

[our amazing host team for the weekend]

[as we were leaving the park, we saw an elephant...and got REALLY close]

[i also love giraffes]