Safari Afternoons

I will never forget hearing the first roar from a lion. My entire body filled with adrenaline, fear, anxiety, total alertness. It is a sound that cuts straight to the center of your chest, an emotional reaction that feels today the same way it must have felt to humans thousands of years ago. We would cruise around, tracking paw prints in the sand. It was always breathtaking when we found our animal, it was always the most beautiful thing.

There were these wonderfully quiet moments where we would just sit in silence among the wild and all the world felt in perfect harmony. In contrast we had other times where we were speeding through the African tundra, chasing a lioness on the run, our hearts racing! “Tattle tail” birds would scream warnings of the predator on the move while giraffe, zebras, and impalas ran for their lives. Fear and adrenaline pump through your blood, a high we felt for hours. Being in the presence of something much stronger and more powerful than you, understanding and observing the circle of life, how it is such a beautiful balance, makes you respect and appreciate the world just as it is when it just IS.

We were so fortunate to stay at this beautiful resort but even if you were anywhere else, it doesn’t change the way the sunrise looks in the misty morning, the quiet way elephants migrate past you or the feeling in your soul when a lion looks you right in the eye…

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Safari Mornings

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Before the sun rises every morning, we were awakened by a knock on the door where we rose for a light breakfast of oatmeal (with scotch if you prefer), the sun slowly waking up on the earth. We loaded up into our safari vehicles with hot water bottles, plaid wool blankets and, if you’re me, three cameras. It’s so quiet in the mornings, so peaceful. And the light. THE LIGHT. It’s the most beautiful light in the world. I dream of waking up every morning in this light. We sat quietly and watched elephants wander by (did you know their steps do not make a sound?), we looked at the mist dancing on the pond, we counted stripes on a zebra (did you know they stand overlapping in a group so their patterns confuse predators?), we tracked down lions and cubs, searched for cheetahs and followed wild dogs (which are actually rare!). One of the mornings we had a beautiful breakfast in the bush but mostly I just enjoyed the peacefulness of the mornings. Because later in the day…. it’s a whole different beast.

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