Note to Self: Don't Ask What Kind of Elephant You're Looking At When You're in Africa (It's African)

The first moment it really hit me that I was indeed in Kenya occurred two weeks after my arrival. While riding a bike much too large for my body through Hell's Gate National Park (I let them know they should really think about catering to people with short legs), a few zebras bolted across the road in front of me. In the whirlwind of dust, all I could say was, "OH MY GOD!" over and over and over. It was an incredible moment, one that really took my breath away.

There have been several other moments of this sort, specifically my entire three day weekend spent on safari. We drove through Kenya on game drives, as the sun rose brilliantly in the sky, keeping our eyes peeled for the "Big Five" (lion, rhino, leopard, water buffalo, elephant). Ultimately, we saw four of the five; we would have had to be very lucky to see a rhino considering there are about thirty left on the Mara. Aside from the main events, we saw so many incredible animals (and some gorgeous Danes). Stopping to admire the majestic views and incredible species, I felt as though I was in a volume of National Geographic. Of course, I was most thrilled to see lions (maybe it's the Leo in me). 

When we neared a tower of giraffes (as I learned is the correct term for a group of giraffes), they were startled and ran away; I realized it seemed to be in slow motion not because my TV was broken but because giraffes are graceful when running, unlike myself. Jackson, our safari guide, successfully approached the following animals to the point that we were so close I wondered if I would experience death by charging elephant: lions (Simba and Nala), giraffes, elephants, cheetahs, leopard, zebras, hippos, alligator, jackals, warthogs (Pumbaa), meerkat (Timon), wildebeest, gazelle, topi, and hundreds of different birds. Hyenas were usually only heard barking throughout the night but on our last morning, we drove up to a lone hyena dragging and gnawing on a large carcass. Fun fact: hyenas can snap just about any bone in the human body except knee caps, so, watch out.

At the Manyatta Safari Camp, where we spent two nights, I was completely disconnected (their WiFi claims turned out to be false). In addition, the camp runs on a generator, therefore electricity was turned on for only a few hours at night. With only limited outlets, those hours were mayhem. Luckily, my battery pulled through somehow, so I was able to admire the beautiful sky. I have always loved the night sky and staring at the stars so I had been looking forward to camping far away from bright lights to do just that. I was definitely not disappointed.  The sky was blacker than my mascara, which is pretty black. It was decorated with so many stars and various constellations were clearly visible. Between the serenity of the night, and the game we saw during the day, I couldn't have been happier. Oh, and did I mention we had running water? It was luxurious.

Driving around the unmarked, and ridiculously rocky roads, of the Mara for hours at a time, on three consecutive days, raised two important questions: 1. Was there a trusted chiropractor in Nairobi? 2. How was Jackson finding his way around without a GPS?  He has been going on safari almost every weekend for five years but I am still impressed and/or suspicious of his directional skills; I could really use some lessons in this department. Overall, I've made an executive decision that safaris are wonderful. And though I totally wanted to witness a kill, I was glad Simba made an appearance, even if it was a lazy one.