We returned yesterday from safari in Zambia. To say it was incredible is a giant understatement. The short list of animals we saw (almost all 30 feet or less from the jeep) is: lions, zebras, elephants, giraffes, leopards, hippos, impala, bushback, hyenas, warthogs, crocodiles, and the list goes on!
We have the most amazing pictures to share, but sadly I can't get anything to upload today. We arrived to Croc Valley Camp about 2:00, had lunch and loaded onto the Jeep at 4:00. All sides of the Jeep were open except a vinyl covering over the top. We spent 4 hours out, 2 hours were in the dark with a huge spotlight searching for animals. We watched the sunset over the Luangwa river, which was stunning. The sky was ablaze with pink and red.
The next morning we departed at 6:00 as the sun was rising. Brrrr, it was chilly! This was another wonderful drive. The highlight for me was when we stopped for tea and coffee in an open flatland area where there was a herd of impala grazing, about six different species of birds digging for bugs, a huge troop of baboons running around, and hippos bathing in the river down below us. Really surreal!
Our final drive again departed at 4:00 pm. We finally found the lions on this trip! There were five lionesses sun bathing in an open flatland. Ahh, they were so cute rolling around, totally reminded me of Huckle when he sits in the sun in our driveway. Across on the other side from the lions were two giraffes and another lone giraffe on our side. This giraffe clearly wanted to cross over and be with his buddies, but he was nervous about passing the lions. Every time he would emerge from the bush and look like he was going to make a go of it, the lions would perk up and stare at him. I didn't realize that lions would go after a giraffe but apparently they will. This went on for awhile until the giraffe finally gave up and ran (funniest & coolest sight to see these animals run) off into the forest.
We had many conversations about God's creativity and his truly wondrous creation. It was an experience we will remember forever!
What an experience for you all! I'll bet the kids were super fired up to see the lions on the last trip out. So fun for everyone.
ReplyDeleteWow! What an amazing experience. Wish we could have been there. You can be our guide when we come. So glad the teaching went well. Love you all so much.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful journey that you experienced as a family. We cannot wait to see more of your safari photos. Always great to Facetime with you on the other side of the world. Love and miss you.
ReplyDeleteWhat an experience! I'm having the blog posts, thank you for all the wonderful updates :-)
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