Day 1 of Safari

Beep, beep, beep. Rise and shine, it's breakfast time! Open those little peepers! 5:45 came all to early in the morning, but the thought of a hot shower while standing up didn't keep me in that bed long.

We hit the road around 8:30 – much delayed from our ATM fiasco. Armed with my camera manual and some cheese and crackers I couldn't have been happier to be on our way. We drove through Nairobi, marveling still at the cleanliness, the organization, the working traffic lights, the nice cars.

Along the way, there are strategically placed (about one bladder's worth) souvenir shops packed to the ceiling with ebony figurines, soap stone sculptures, wall hangings, masks, etc. Of course everything is 300% more expensive to start, because you are expected to bargain. I hate bargaining. Some great stuff, and some incredibly gaudy stuff. I could just picture the giant wooden sculpture of the lion roaring, or odd scary-looking tribal man (obviously made for tourists) holding an axe in some tragically American's tacky entryway.

After 2 harassing bathroom breaks with salesman following us even out to the van, we were on the last stretch of road…I thought Uganda had bad roads. This was worse than anything I have ever experienced. "Free body massages" as Justice referred to it, for an hour and a half. But it was all part of the amazing experience – authentic, rugged, outbackish, safari! Flailing along, frantically reading my camera manual so I would know how to use the dang thing, listening to Justice talk about the bumpy "loads" and how we can take a "lest" when we get to the lodge and starving to death we spotted our first animal. ZEBRA. Not one, not a hundred, but a thousand lining both sides of the road. As deep as the eye could see. A zebra here, 5 zebras there, 2 wildebeests over here, herds of them munching and moving together slowly. And then one stops, lifts his head, and stares straight at us. I was practically in Justice's lap trying to take pictures. I dove into the back seat and assumed the safari position: camera tattooed to my face, hanging out of the window. Zebras are totally cool at the zoo. Zebras are AMAZING in herds of thousands in the wild. They were right on the road – Justice said we were lucky. He probably says that to everyone, but I believed every word from his lips. Of course I am lucky! I am on safari and I am seeing freaking wild ZEBRAS! Then wildebeests, then impalas, and then far in the distance, 2 long necks pop up from behind the herd of impalas, through the trees. GIRAFFES. And we weren't even in the park yet! A bit further and we saw a herd of ostriches. Whenever have you seen a whole herd of ostriches? And then far far in the distance a group of elephants. That was one of the most impressive things – to see massive numbers of these incredible animals, and to see them roaming free. Zebras are so cool.

We passed Maasai village after Maasai village. I desperate wanted a picture of the lone cattle herder, black as night, standing with his herd, red shawl slung over one shoulder and licking the side of his leg in the wind, leaning on his walking stick as he watched over his animals. Beautiful. You can't take pictures of them without their consent.

We busted up to our lodge just before they closed for lunch at 2:30, hallelujah. We didn't even go to our room – straight to the dining hall. I cannot express the amazingness that was the food. Just the amount of options alone was incredible. And salad. SALAD! Real salad! It's been two months for me. Real lettuce, with tomatoes, onions, CHEESE, carrots, cucumbers and dressings galore! I could have been happy with just the salad bar. And then hot rolls – real bread, not dry, crusty, stale, nasty bread. With real butter. And chicken and vegetables! And a choice of 10 different desserts to boot! Sigh. The gloriousness that was… Our table was in a little glass nook overlooking the well-manicured lawn. Does life get better than this? But wait – it did, at precisely 4:00 when we left for our first game drive. Justice picked us up in the van with the top popped up so that when we stood in the van there wasn't anything to block the view. Every moment spent in that Penfam van was indescribably glorious.

I can't describe the absolute feeling of peace and joy and content standing in the back of the van, wind blowing in my hair, tall yellow grass and bright blue sky rushing by as we bumbled out way to find some animals. It was like playing the coolest game of "Where's Waldo" in my life. I was completely happy to just be. After about 15 or 20 minutes of driving without seeing anything I spotted the first animals – a family of 14 giraffes far in the distance! They were too far away to see well, but when have you ever seen 14 giraffes?! The excitement of spotting an animal is beyond description. Justice! Stop the van! There are freaking GIRAFFES over there. I love giraffes. I never got tired of them.

Forward ho! On to more animals. We came to a pond with 2 crested cranes and a chick. Instantly my head was filled with the voices of the children singing "Oh, Uganda! The land that feeds us, we lay our future in they hands." Those birds are incredible. Justice calls them "clowned clanes". I love that man. But the best was yet to come. We rolled up on a mass of safari vans right in time to see a whole den of lions walk out of the bushes RIGHT AT OUR VEHICLE. They were so close, my zoom lens was too powerful! Like we weren't even there they slowly walked up to the van, then to a puddle of water right next to us and all fought to get a sip. Like little kids pushing to get the best view, they climbed over each other and nudged each other out of the way. One was laying in the shade of our van. I couldn't believe how close they were! We were surrounded on all sides. They could have jumped in the van with one leap. It was a feeling of total respect, awe, excitement, reverence, thrill, and joy all at once. There were more than 8 in the group – probably 2 lionesses and the rest cubs; I can't remember what Justice said. Watching animals in their natural habitat is so much more exciting. The mothers licked their young, rolled around with them, walked away, nudged them along, and settled in the grass right in front of our vehicle. Talk about feeling lucky. We even got to see one feed her cubs. I could have stayed there all day. But there was a whole park to visit!

We passed fields packed with topi, hartebeests, impalas, more crested cranes, all kinds of birds; herds of animals munching on grass, looking around, walking, running. We saw 2 hartebeests fighting, crashing heads and chasing each other. You could never get that in a zoo. Just a bit up the road we came upon 5 giraffes. Giraffes are hilarious animals, and incredibly gorgeous at the same time. They are so elegant when they walk, a tall slender stick cutting the sweeping horizon with its height. When have you ever seen a giraffe run? CRAZY! It's like someone running while holding up a long pool noodle, waving back and forth in the wind. I took over 300 pictures in one day. So many I filled up my 1 gig card (on both cameras) and had to delete pictures! And the giraffes were no more than 10 feet from the car. A baby one walked right up to us and posed for his picture. I still can't get over how striking a giraffe looks against the broad lines of the Kenyan plains. I had just as much fun taking the pictures as I did watching the animals. I've decided I really love playing National Geographic. J

Park rules are you have to be in your lodge by nightfall, which was fast approaching. Speeding back "home" I couldn't help but think this must be the best day of my life when we found ourselves feet away from an elephant and her 2 babies. Justice even had to move the van because the mother was getting too close for his comfort. Mom was munching on grass, baby was munching on mom. So adorable.

I could die happy. All in one day I had seen 4 of the 5 things I wanted to see: zebra, giraffe, lion, elephant, and cheetah. That night hippos came onto the grass outside of our room.

I am the luckiest girl alive.