Most amazing I thought were the giraffes. They are such strange creatures and amazingly adapted to eat the acacia leaves that are surrounded by 3 inch plus thorns and grow to be quite large trees. We started at the top of the hill with a guide and intended to loop around to see the giraffes, so we headed down to the shore line and traversed herds of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle. There were also waterbuck, which seemed not to congregate in large herds but were interspersed with all of the other animals. I was impressed with their majestic striped black and white antlers.
Before we made it too far, the giraffes had headed our way and were apparently coming to see us. They had three babies with them, one only 20 days old; still quite a bit taller than me and Gus combined though.
Our friendly guide also took us to a nearby Hyena den, which apparently are created by the Ardvarks, who dig for their food and then abandon the caverns that they create, providing housing for Hyenas, Pythons and probably a number of other creatures. At the den, there were remains of the "hyena picnic", as our guide referred to it. Weak, dying or dead herd animals are taken by the hyenas at night, as they are scavengers and the herd animals often do not have enough food from the drying grasslands. The rains will return here soon though and revive the land for the farmers and animals alike.
python track and den-guide says the snake extends from the den a little further than picture shows, about 12 feet.
Other highlights included meeting some fisherman on the shore in a type of canoe, filled with common carp. They sold me five large fish and gave one to our guide. I later sold one fish to our driver, kept one to cook tonight and sent the rest home with John to feed his large family of foster boys. I'll have to report later on how dinner turns out. Also, we saw two water buffalo from a distance, apparently the outcast or loser males of the herd. We then walked by a large flock of pelicans and found a very nice pelican feather for a souvenir. Unfortunately, we did not sight any hippos and were only able to witness a python track through the dirt from its den.
I'm not sure what Gus enjoyed the most; possibly the van ride, seeing animals along the road (donkeys, sheep and goats), and his snacks. He did pretty good considering we walked around for a few hours, which included a short nap on my back, running around and riding on our shoulders ("airplane ride", as John called it). He was often "too hot" while walking, "too cold" from the wind while riding and interested in getting back to the "white van" to go home.
I think that he will enjoy another safari once we get a chance to all go together. Katy was on call, working very hard while we played. We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to see these animals. It seems as if the Kenyan government has done well to create protected areas. Additionally the cost is very high for tourists to visit. There are affordable entrance rates for residents and, in fact, the caretaker at Crescent Island did not even charge for John. I do struggle with spending as much as we do, as tourists, compared to what that money could be used for to help people living with so little here. For us, we hope to balance to two. This afternoon I will be meeting with John again to visit a widow that he has been helping through his Flow of Hope mission to evaluate putting a new roof on her house. I hope to pay for the materials and help install the new roof possibly next week. After our visit today I will explain more about Flow of Hope and the amazing heart that John has for his community.
Zach
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