MY ADVENTURES IN AFRICA

Here I sit on the veranda of the Amboseli Lodge watching a Masai (local tribe name) chop branches for wood, and baby monkeys galore lingering through the landscape within my reach.

I arrived in Tanzania on August 4Th after a day's worth of travel. Long, but worth the effort and time. Laurie and I stayed at the Arumeru Lodge, on the slopes of Kilimanjaro on our first evening. We were warmly greeted and bunked in a darling cottage, one of many scattered throughout the property. W could hear wild dogs barking in the night, which as you can imagine made me think of home. Woke on the morning of the 5Th to the lush scenery of the view out our cottage door, and to the sounds of the local wild life. A prelude to our adventures to come I'm sure!

Charles, our driver and guide for this journey drove us from Arumeru Lodge to just across the border into Kenya (about a 4-5 hr journey) and on to the Amboseli National Park. The drive, I would describe as a back road expedition on steroids. Only partially paved roads a quarter of the way. Most was dirt roads with all of the bumps, gravel and dust you could imagine.

Amboseli National Park is an amazing preserve of an amazing abundance of African wildlife that I have only viewed in books, and on television. I realize that once you've seen a picture of a zebra or a giraffe a few times you feel you've seen them all. However, nothing compares to being up front and personal with these amazing animals in their habitat. To be able to personally photograph these elegant, yet in some cases awkward creatures is an experience of a lifetime to me. I have been told this by others whom have had the privilege to do a safari, but now know what the feeling is actually like now.

As we drove through the entrance pf the preserve. visions of giraffes and their elegant nature captured my attention. Not but feet away a pack of zebra meandering to the waterhole nearby. The beauty of a pack of zebra is indescribable. Their stripes unique to each, so graceful and charming. The babies by their moms, and just amazing for us to witness while in their element. The water buck just hang out while we drive by clicking our cameras to document our travels. The thompson gisele dance in movement to avoid any interaction.

Once I got over being a total beginner/novice geek, and squealing at each view we had of the glorious scenery, we arrived at the Amboseli Lodge. As mentioned previous, the lodge is beautiful, and so are the views. Wildlife on every side, with a luscious green view out of our room. So cliche, but I feel like one with nature. By the way, while I write this, a monkey not 3 feet from me staring pensively. And, oh my goodness! one just tried to sneak under the table and rummage through my bag!

Now, the not so sugar coated part of the trip to mention. When we arrived in Kilimanjaro airport, as I got checked through , immediately saw my 2 overly stuffed bags (for those who know me well, no surprise there :) ) pass by on the conveyor belt. However, as we waited and waited and waited, Laurie's bags did not show. I know, the worst case scenario when traveling. Well, besides mine, when almost all of my clothes were stolen out of my luggage when I traveled to Germany. But a story for another time.

Unfortunately, 2 days later, and still no bags. :(. We found out that they did not make it to Amsterdam airport from her Atlanta connection. Also unfortunate is that the company we traveled with has not been so proactive in finding them. I won't bore you all with the details that go with this, but to say "still no bags", and leave fro Nirobi tomorrow. Yikes!

Other animals I have been so fortunate to see, include wild boar, wildebeest, lion (from afar), ostriches, bison, giseles, cows, goats and buck horns, oh and a hippo (also from afar). As well a variety of birds. Gorgeous colors and multitude of species. Only the 1st week, more to come, and hopefully good news on Laurie's bags.

P.S. My other entries will probably be a bit more brief, and a little more exciting. :)