Thursday, June 20, 2013

Walking Safari

When I was in Kenya this May, I didn't go on a tourist's safari. I didn’t ride in a Jeep with a bunch of other people, traveling across wide open plains, snapping pictures of dozens of wild African animals. I experienced that seven years ago, and though I would love to do it again sometime, this year there was neither time nor money in the budget.  

This time, I went on what I will call a walking safari. We didn't see much wildlife but we took in the peaceful beauty around us. We got to sense what Africa is really like, feel the earth beneath our feet, breathe in the clear air which has filled this space for millennium.

It was a seven hour walk there and back. I was tired beyond belief by the time we got back to our guest house. But it was that kind of tired that just makes you want to stop and sigh and be thankful for the amazing day.
 It was a beautiful day for a walk.
The animals in the distance are Maasai cattle. Our destination was that little peak in the far right corner. 
 The classic Kenyan Acacia tree. 
 Caught a few zebras
 And a few gazelle. Most of them are Thomson's gazelle, but on the right, the guy without a strip and with larger horns is a Grant's gazelle. 
 The blob in the middle of the picture is an emu. Sorry I couldn't get him in any better focus. 
 Even saw some flora. 
 There's that peak. We are getting close. 
 And we made it! Now we just have to walk all the way back. 

1 comment:

Anna said...

Great post about Kenya. I was in your neighboring country of Uganda. Met several people who were from Kenya. Very warm, sweet people. I will be following your stories, and I hope you might follow mine too!