Hi Everyone
I am writing this final blog on my way home from an adventure that is so full of memories and experiences. Where do I start? We started in Amboseli, so that’s a good place to begin. The beauty of the flamingoes and the tracking of a lone cheetah are my highlights. I should also mention the beautiful birds and elephants. Amboseli was full of life and her sunsets will be remembered.
Lewa and the rhinos. I had never seen so many rhinos anywhere in Africa. They were all so healthy and happy that it made me beam with happiness knowing that these rhinos are safe from the horrors of poaching. Wandering off with our driver to a remote area and seeing black rhinos in the tall grass of the savanna. Then watching the sun set. The watering hole we stumbled on and the parade of zebras, elephants, antelopes and buffalo walking by us. I could have stayed there all day watching the action. Seeing a Gerenuk for the first time. Getting up close with a rhino and watching an Oxpecker clean a buffalo. Lewa is alive with life.
Onto Uganda and Bwindi. Watching my porters carry me over hills and through tea pastures. Then being helped by them through the thick and inhospitable jungle. How they carried for me is a memory I will never forget. Then getting up close with the Mountain Gorillas. This trip was mainly about them and I knew that this would be my only chance to experience such a unique creature. Following one family and always being observed by the leader or Silverback. His presence was always front and center and his protection of his family was so strong. Now the chimps. I will always remember watching wild chimps swing from the branches, communicate amongst each other and the memory of watching a chimp charge into a trunk to make a loud drum noise. Getting another chimp to turn around by trying to imitate their sounds.
All my adventures always come back to the people. I tend to associate places by my experiences with the people. The Kenyan people cared for me in such a unique way. They would do anything for my safety and well being. When I got sick, in Lewa, and how the owners of the Camp, Collum and Sophie, cared for me. When I was taken to the Clinic, how the staff helped me heal. Then the Ugandan people. The hordes of little children waving to us from the side of a dirt road and their smiling faces. The staff of the two Camps extending their help due to my physical condition. I could go on and on, but now it is time to rest my exhausted body and work on my pictures.I needed to heal from within and Africa was there when I needed her. She will always have a special place in my heart.
Hope you enjoyed our journey
Love
Larry