Lions and Tigers and ...

We left the Mission House early this morning in our three safari vehicles, making our way to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. As we made our way, we saw many Maasai tribes people and saw a watering hole that was put there by T.D. Jakes. It was cool for the kids to make the connection. Four hours into the trip we entered the gates to the Mara Reserve and immediately began seeing animals. We saw zebras, giraffes, impalas, wildebeest, to name a few. We got pretty excited knowing that we had an excellent chance of seeing the “big five” of Africa. (Lion, Leopard, Cape Buffalo, Rhino, and Elephant). Our guide made no promises as it is a hit or miss proposition with these animals.
We arrived at the lodge, which is incredible. The lodge is located on a hill overlooking the Rift Valley Plains. A group of Maasai warriors greeted us with traditional dance and pulled us, by hand, into the lobby of the lodge, singing and dancing all the while. Crazy! A river winds through the plain and we sat on our balcony with our students, looking at herds of zebra, tope, giraffe, and hippos splashing in the river bend. We could not wait to go on the game drive. First, we ate lunch. You can imagine what kind of food is at this place! Buffet, and a lot of it. Phenomenal. We waddled back to our rooms and rested until the game drive.
This evening we drove through the plains and got up close and personal with all kind of wild life. We saw elephants, a black rhino, cape buffalo, cheetahs, and more. Then it happened. We came upon a zebra kill. A hyena was feasting and jackals and buzzards were circling. The hyena left and the jackals were pacing nervously and barking at the brush. A leopard emerged from the brush and attempted to drag the left over carcass into the brush. It was large and after a few minutes, the leopard simply gave up and started eating where it was. Where it laid was no more than 20 yards from our vehicles!! The pictures were flying and our group was treated to a rare sight. The guide told us that in his 15 years of doing Safari trips, he had never had a group see so much in only two hours time. We thank God for continued blessings, even in the little things! Our group is blown away and thoroughly enjoying this experience.

This post written by: Kathy and Jon Brooks