Dear Friends,
It has been a few days since I have last written. Our entire family has been staying on a huge wildlife preserve (24,000 acres.) The land used to be used for cattle farming, but now they are combining some cattle farming with wildlife safaris on the land. We are staying in the old ranch house with one other family from England. Every morning we are in the safari jeep by 6:30am, headed out to see what our guide, Simon, can find.




Because this land isn't fenced in, there is no way to predict what kinds of animals you will see. Going on a safari game drive is a jeep is different from anything I have ever done before. The jeep drives through the bush on very rough paths, searching in whatever part of the preserve you are in for that drive. Once you spot some animals, the guide tries to drive as close as possible, so you can sit for a while and just watch. One day we sat for at least 45 minutes, just watching a large group of elephants. They knew we were there, and as long as we stayed quiet and didn't move too much, they stayed calm and kept grazing. They are amazing creatures. Huge, intelligent, and peaceful as long as you respect their space.

Another morning we found a group of wild dogs, which are really interesting because they organize in packs that are very social. They have a male and a female leader of the pack, and when they head out to hunt, they work as a team.

One day we sat and watched a pride of lions. Six females and fourteen cubs. Some of the cubs were about a year, some eight months, and some just three months old. Supposedly there are two male lions in this pride, but they were hiding in nearby bushes, sleeping.

On Sunday the ranch staff organized a soccer game with the two guest families and a bunch of people who work on the ranch. It was a great game. Amelia played goalie for our team, and Geoffrey and Zachary did a fine job taking on the skilled Kenyan players.

Tonight is our last night here, before we move on to another safari site. They had planned for all of us to sleep out in the bush under the stars, but it is raining this afternoon, so we are not sure if that will happen. I think if we have to stay home to sleep, I will be just fine with that....

Tubing through the rapids on the ranch's river. Hoping not to meet any hippos....

Internet is very limited while on safari, so I may or may not be able to send another blog post for a while. In the meantime, I hope you are all getting plenty of time for fun and relaxation this summer.
Take care,
Elizabeth