on endless plains...

We have had wonderful days on the endless plains of the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara. As I sit here at my tent in the Mara reflecting on my days spent here, I can't help to feel a oneness with his place. As giraffe and zebra stroll past my view, I feel at home and serene.


The circle of life is so wonderous and is evident everywhere you look. You see birth and young across the land; you see death and vultures too. It takes both to sustain life and life is dear. On departing the Mara, David gave us the following verse:

I love all waste, solitary places

where we taste the pleasure of believing what we see

as timeless as we wish our souls to be.

Mara Private Tented Camp | Sneak Peak Photos



David setting up lunch in the Bush

Delicious food!

Kip with a full bar for lunch

My Mara Tented Camp and a fabulous dining room table.

Two gorgeous views of the Mara River from my tent

Kenya

           We have had three days of amazing lodges, camps, and animals as well as new friends. Solio Lodge with its thriving rhino reserve, having started with 16 black and white rhino and now having over 200, was the first of our stops.



White rhino of Solio

            Enasoit Camp managed by Peter and Karen Grubber was our second stop and is located on its own airstrip one hour by car from Nanyuki. The camp is (heaving) with wildlife, so much so that you sit in the camp and all of the elephant, zebra, giraffe, lions and antelopes come to you. They have a pet cheetah named Aarage whose best friend is Aekwa the Samburu dog.



Aarage and Aekwa

Our new friend at Enasoit Camp

Elephants at the salt pond at Enasoit Camp

           Last there is Sirikoi, the newest of the Lewa Conservancy properties. It has been many years since I last visited the Lewa Conservancy and stayed at Wilderness Trails with Will and Emma Craig. This time I'm hosted by Sue Roberts at her property called Sirikoi. What a treat I had in store in this little oasis in the bush -- the love Willie and Sue have poured into this property is obvious at every turn. The flowers from Sue's garden are everywhere and every meal is a treat. I especially enjoyed watching their animal orphans which include cheetah, giraffe and water buffalo. Here too the rhino and giraffe are thriving. 

Celebrating my birthday at Sirikoi

           These people are passionate about their country of Kenya, its abundant resources, wildlife and cultures. The last few days I've met up with old friends and made new ones, and I have found that I too am very passionate about the people and this land of Kenya.







Warriors

Today we are headed to the Sirikoi Lodge in Lewa Downs with morning and afternoon game drives. Last weekend we spent time in the fabulous Serengeti Mara Tented Camp! 

"Vibrant Warriors"

natural simplicity...



our treehouse in the Baobub tree

washstand



outdoor shower!

tent in the kigelia camp

Kigelia Camp

“If you get the dust of Tanzania on your shoes, you will always want to come back”  

               -our guide Philip states as we begin our morning game drive in Ruaha National Park

It is dry season here so not much water and the baobub tree branches are bare and stand out against the deep blue sky. Although the largest park in Tanzania, you do not see many people…just lots and lots of animals…Masai giraffe, elephants, lion, leopard, hippo and ostrich are all spotted this morning on our game drive. We listen to folk tales of why the wart hogs’ tails go up when they run, and what baboons do to trick the impalas when they birth their young.



Twende the Elephant

Chef James

Barbeque Dinner

We have taken over the Kigelia camp. It is a time of much laughter and celebration. We are all so fortunate to have made it to this place, and the camp staff are our conduit to the magic of Ruaha.

The golden grass savannah dotted with baobub and acacia trees, the barbeque dinner on the sandy river bottom, the men filling the warm water in my outdoor bucket shower, and Amos’s prayer for a blessed day will always come to mind as I remember Kigelia. Then some day when I’m dreaming and Tanzania is so far away...then I will remember the things I did here today.  M



...and away we fly!

When pigs fly it is something special... it is not as much about where they go or how they get there, but what they do when they land.

                       

It is an attitude. A life-altering experience. An overwhelming emotion.

It is a sense of place, sense of self, a sense of peace that only happens in a rare moment...the moment when pigs fly. oink!

Join me as I fly to the other side of the world...

Africa!