The ride to the safari lodge was challenging. The staff at Simba lodge were angels, they stayed up till eleven to serve us dinner. I think I could've eaten my weight in onion soup. After sixteen hours of bumps and swerves, when we got to bed at one in the morning, I felt like I was sleeping on a boat. My bed seemed to be moving up and down as I promptly fell asleep.
I have never been so surprised to receive presents on Christmas morning! I had no idea a package came in but clearly Santa didn't forget about us. It was wonderful getting some new stuff, we were all very thankful. Absent minded, I found myself looking around for the rest of my family. I must have counted my siblings a dozen times before I remembered that we were all there. The only people I didn't count were our family still in America. It felt depressing for the moment but the excitement was still there. My only option was to keep myself busy, which was going to be pretty easy.
There was a large group so our guide would be going in between our van and another during the safari. As soon as we entered the park, we started seeing animals right off the bat! Herds of water buffalo and gazelle and antelope, close enough to hit with a thrown rock. It was almost surreal. This is where they really live, no fences, no specialized diets, no one cleaning up poo. Completely free and wild, the only sign of humans was the dirt road we drove down, deeper into nature itself. We opened the sun roof of the van and stood on the seats to get a better view as we flew like the wind with the dust in our face. We were all completely filthy by the end but it was worth it. Then the car stopped and our guide came back into our van, telling our driver where to go. They had found lions! We drove through the dirt, off the path, parting through the grass and there they were. SIX lioness's were laying in the Sun. Truly an amazing sight! They wore tracking collars because they're endangered but other than that, they were living the life they were born to live. We had to end the tour early to be in time for the boat ride but what more was there to see? I got my birthday present from God.
We got on the boat just in time. I made my way to the top deck to get better pictures. Immediately we saw more water buffalo and hippopotamus! They looked so cuddly and peaceful, rarely surfacing so all you could see were their big, black eyes and their pudgy snouts. We even saw little babies but it was impossible to get pictures because they only peeked out of the water for seconds. Then, in the distance, we saw them. A whole herd of majestic elephants. They were difficult to see through the brush but they were definitely there. If you looked close, a little baby elephant would shake it's ears at a passing water buffalo, as if it was warning it to stay away from such a big, tough (baby) elephant. What seemed to be the head elephant, came down to the water to get a drink and to check out the scene to make sure it was safe. He looked so happy, strutting around. Then he saw the crocodile basking in the Sun. He took two steps towards it and the croc fled to the water, faster then you could blink. I'm pretty sure the elephant was even more proud after that. It was so beautiful I could have watched it for hours.
We have been so blessed to have people that donated to make my sweet sixteen especially extraordinary. I will remember it my whole life and would gladly take anyone with me through bush to see nature as God created it.
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