Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Resting at the base of cloud-covered, Mount Kilimanjaro, Amboseli National Park was the first stop on our "safari" (Swahili for journey). Thanks to the Rogan's recommendation, we traveled with the best guide and driver in Kenya, Dickson and a kind, talented cook named Dominic. As Dickson says, "Game drives are like fishing; you never know what you'll catch." Surprises lay around every turn in the wildly bumpy road. As the animals are most active in the early morning and early evening, we rose at sunrise most mornings and retired to our tents at dark. It is low season, before the summer crush so we enjoyed cool temperatures and saw few vans on the dirt tracks. We mostly had the animals to ourselves.
Some of the most transcendent snapshots included:
-Sunrise in with large herds of elephants moving majestically across the grasslands toward the swamp. Mothers and babies, all have their tusks, as Kenya has eradicated poaching.
Something about a "shoot to kill" order and a special paramilitary unit protecting the animals.
-Smelly army tents and squat toilets did nothing to stifle our enthusiasm (OK, the accommodations were a bit surprising, but we adjusted our expectations.)
-Groups of giraffe striding elegantly toward the next acacia tree and then disappearing into the forest.
That's something that never failed to awe us. Everything can disappear so quickly, no matter how large. An elephant into scrub bushes, a hippo into the swamp, giraffes behind acacia trees.
-An enormous bull elephant strode silently passed our van, at a distance of ten feet.
-Male wildebeest, gazelle and elephants clashing horns resolving some unspoken dispute.
- Five cheetah, camouflaged in the tall grass, wrestling each other like overgrown house cats
- Spying a rare African wildcat that looked like a domestic cat until it stood to its full height and turned into the grass.
- Dr Seuss like birds live here including the Crested Crane, Maribou Stork and Helmeted Guinea Fowl.
- Running zebras, outrageously painted, each with a unique striped pattern like a fingerprint
- Maya and Skylar standing up with their heads out the roof of the van, wind in their braids, straining to spot another beast.
-The soft light of sunset, brilliantly lit the snowy peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
We have eight days and two more parks to visit. The people we meet adore Barak Obama and definitely think he should be the next President of the US. While electricity is rare, there is cell phone reception across the country, including the game parks. Kenya is full of surprises.
For more photos of Amboseli National Park, click here.