Epic Safari!

There are simply too many things to say about our adventures in the Maasai Mara National Park. It is hard to capture in words and the pictures just don't quite do it justice. What I can say is this: it's very rare that you get one perfect day when you're traveling. We had three days that were more perfect than we could have hoped for. And perfect in ways we could never have even dreamed of. Are you getting the sense that we had a good time? It was epic and awesome and hilarious and moving. I have already run out of superlatives and we just started!

There's a lot to talk about so we'll save most of the animal pictures for the second blog post. So if you're just in for the animals, skip this one and go to the next one.

The camp that we stayed at was called Fig Tree Camp. We chose it because it was the cheapest option. We do have a family of five after all. The accommodations were... waaaay beyond what we were expecting. The whole camp is nestled deep in some trees and right on a riverbank. It was rustic in all the ways that you would want it to be. And luxurious in wonderful and unexpected ways as well. Technically we slept in tents. But these tents had hardwood floors and a tiled bathroom. The only tent like thing about it was that you entered and exited with a zipper.

We entered an exited through the camp via a bridge over the water.

 All of the meals were amazing. A huge buffet with so many different choices. And plenty of vegetarian options. A dessert bar that had 10 different options at every single meal made the kids pretty happy. We ate so much pineapple that the staff stopped restocking the pineapple until after they saw us leave. Rigley must have eaten six pineapples at every meal. Oh and the best part? They had Black Currant Fanta which was Jen's drink of choice for 2 years while in the Peace Corps. She got the kids hooked.

Couple more things about the camp. The generator was only on for a few hours a day so you had to be timely to charge your phone if you were going to take pictures. And they heated hot water for showers with a roaring fire in a big stove twice a day. Perfect after a day on the savannah.

We got to know the staff pretty well in just a couple days and they were very kind with the children. 

Guthrie wants you to know that there was a pool. It was freezing! But he got in anyway. 

Ok two more things about the camp and then we'll talk about people. 

There we're cute and playful monkeys right outside our tent. They would play on our front porch when we were watching from inside the tent. 

But Jen's favorite part by far; where we could always find her anytime she disappeared was with... the hippos!

Steps from our front door! All day long about 20 hippos hung out in the river. They spend all day there. And Jen sat watching them any chance she got. Yes, hippos are very dangerous. They kill more humans every year than any other animal on the continent. The bank on our side of the river was steep so they only entered and exited on the other side of the river. And there was a security guard named Jon in the evenings when the hippos left for the night to go eat grass all night only to return to the river just before dawn. Jon, Jen, and Chris would sit and watch to see them all climb up the other bank at precisely 7:30pm every night.

Ok. Before closing this one out, we have to tell you about the people we were with. You'll see them in a lot of pictures, but more importantly, they are wonderful humans that shared with us the adventure of a life time. Melissa is a friend of ours from Fort Collins and CSU. Her friend is Roundtree. Her first name is Christine, but she mostly just goes by Roundtree. And then there's Spencer. Spencer and Melissa work on the ship and Roundtree is a friend of Melissa's but is a back up medical person on the ship.

We all spent much of our time together belly laughing. They were caring (and patient) of our kids and joyful, adventurous travelers. 

We love these women dearly now. They were wonderful supports and models, especially for Rigley, of the kind of people we got our kids become some day.

The last person to know if Julius, our guide. I know everyone says their guide is the best. How could you not? They are responsible for giving you a peak experience. But Julius really was exceptional. He lives just outside the park and has been guiding for 12 years.  He was kind, caring, knowledgeable, patient, funny. He shared openly about his life and family. He felt like an old friend by the time we parted ways. And he let us stand up in the truck while we were hauling ass through the bush.

Spencer did NOT like standing up while the truck was moving. At least one person was thinking about safety. 

Ok, so the next post will be the animals. 

1 spoiler.

We saw every animal we could hope to see.

And a little taste.....

Sunrise

Sunset