This weekend, we went to Tsavo West National Park. Until recently, I haven't really appreciated the natural beauty of the earth. After this trip, I can say that I truly enjoy nature and seeing animals in their natural habitat. There is something majestic about viewing animals out in the wild, as opposed to in the zoo. Watching them navigate the wild is fascinating. Below I will post pictures of some of the animals we spotted!
The lodge that we stayed at had a lovely outdoor dining room. Here is the view from our table! While we were eating we saw zebra, giraffes, elephants, warthogs, and impalas. It was interesting to have some "guests" every day with our meals.
On Sunday evening, we drove up to the "Poacher's Lookout" and had appetizers overlooking the national park and Mount Kilimanjaro. It was absolutely breathtaking! The pictures really don't capture the true beauty, but they still turned out nicely. As we were on top of the lookout, I had a paradoxical thought. The view I had from where I was standing was marvelous, yet there were thousands of people living in poverty below the mountain that were just too distant for me to see. Looking at the picture below, you only concentrate on the beauty of the sunset and forget that amongst the fields there are families struggling to survive. It's so easy to only see the beautiful things in life and to ignore the other things which are not as pleasant. |
The lodge that we stayed at offered "tent rooms". It felt like a luxury camping trip! The lodge is in the middle of Tsavo West National Park so aside from the civilization of the resort there was nothing for miles.
As we were leaving the park, we encountered a herd of Cape Buffalo. We had to wait for them to finish passing because if we approached them it was likely they would charge at our car. We sat there for about 15 minutes as the buffalo curiously stared at us, not allowing our car to pass through. Eventually, they moved on an we were able to continue through the park.
At night there are Masai guards who walk the premiss of the lodge, looking for lions, cheetahs, snakes, etc. After 7:00 when it gets dark, you are advised to not walk around outside unless you are with one of the guards. The lodge really is right in the middle of the wild!