Moving Forward: Dream Safari

In 2006, thanks to my friends Matt Werner and Jarrett Mirkes, I was blessed to go on my first African safari. During that trip we toured a few parks, saw many things, and at the end I was sure of it - some day I would take my kids on safari to the Masai Mara.

The kids walking out to the Hippo Pond at Keekorok

Marquite and Natalie enjoying our safari

The Maasai Mara is a large park of over 580 square miles located in South Western Kenya. While many people go there for the animals (The Big Five), the scenery is phenomenal, and the culture is one of a kind. The combination of the three above make the Maasai Mara a must see in one's lifetime!

Phillip spotting an animal

Natalie watching the elephants drink

When we came we knew we were going to go on safari, but we didn't know when we wanted to go. Typically we would wait until June or July to try and catch the Great Migration and hope that some of our friends would come visit us and join us on safari. Well, we got restless and we really wanted to go so we started calling around. Fortunately we found a great deal with a wonderful tour company, unfortunately we were unable to go with our friend Charles who has taken me on every safari (more than 10) that I have been on since 2006. The great deal was impossible to beat and forced us to upgrade from our typical budget camp to a 4-5 star lodge called Keekorok. It was unbelievable!

Phillip enjoying the breeze

The hippo that was peaking at us through the trees

Keekorok has a hippo pond on its land, literally it is a 500 meter elevated walkway, to a pond with about 20 hippos in it. Literally, there is a bar there to have a soda or a drink and watch the hippos. One night when we went out there for a few minutes, an elephant snuck into the pond area and started chasing the hippos, it was so cool. Another one of the mornings when we were walking out there we found a hippo peaking at us from between two trees, it was awesome! Oh, one final thing about hippos and Keekorok, the final day when we were leaving for the sunrise game drive, a hippo walked right through the front yard of the lodge- AWESOME!

Two male lions walking along side the van

A family of elephants walking in line

Keekorok had great accommodations, wonderful food, and friendly staff - I highly recommend it! The kids loved it, the staff included the kids, they felt very safe and saw a lot of the hippos, and the food was also kid friendly. Overall, I would rate it a 10 out of 10!!!

Us at the Mara River Lookout

Hippos in the Mara River

The game drive itself was miraculous, we saw so many animals, we saw babies, we saw them eating, we saw the sunset, the sunrise, the beautiful scenery, and spent a lot of time together. To see the kids faces and hear their excitement when they spotted something warmed my heart. After the first night I asked Phillip how he liked it and he said, "more than you can know". Now, that makes a dad's day!

A big croc in the Mara River

Enjoying the ride and the scenery

Maybe some of you don't know this, and if you're still reading maybe you're interested- I once promised my kids to take them to Kenya and didn't do it, and that haunted me. I like to be a man of my word and when I couldn't take my family with to Kenya in July 2014 I was crushed. I had made a promise and was unable to keep it. So, bringing them to Kenya this time, has sort of made up for that!

Giraffe eating some grub, or shrub, or actually a tree

Jodie rocking the binocs

There were so many great moments from the warthogs running across the road time and time again to the 6 large lions devouring the buffalo, to the bird that Phillip spotted that had just caught and was eating a fish, to Marquite who spotted almost everything first, even beating the tour guide a few times...the moments were numerous! Natalie was able to see giraffes and Jodie screamed only a few times and didn't scare off any animals that we are aware of.

Watching the sunset

The sunrise on Day 3

The safari was one of the final things on our list to complete. This week we are very blessed to complete a few awesome projects here in our community and then it becomes time to start thinking about, 'What's next?" When will we come home? What will we do when we get there? Where will I work? And so much more. Please pray for us as we consider our options and see where God leads us!

The staff at Keekorok surprising mom with a birthday cake

Learning how to make fire from the Maasai

Natalie making fire with the Maasai

Sorry about the long post, its late here and the electricity went out as soon as we got back to the IV...in addition, I've caught a nasty cough and sore throat so I wanted to get this off while it was still fresh. Hopefully, you like the pictures and please pray for us as we consider whats ahead!