Where He leads...: Game drive

Game drive

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Friday was our free day. One of the options for us was to go on a game drive. Over 20 of us piled into two vehicles and headed to the reserve. We drove into the gate and slowly followed a guide for about 10 minutes before arriving at Acacia, the “resort” and restaurant. Along the way we spotted zebras, wildebeests, and other common species found on the African plains. When we arrived at Acacia, we were greeted first by three happy dogs. These were the first dogs with wagging tails I had seen in Africa. We walked around the resort for a while before lunch was ready. I call it a resort because it was obvious that the owners designed it to be a homely place where guests can relax and unwind. There were about ten private huts. Inside each hut were two beds with mosquito nets and a private bathroom. To me, these quaint huts were cute and what I would expect and enjoy as a simple vacation spot on an island or similar destination. Around the resort were pavilions, lounge chairs, picnic tables, and such. There were many plants and two small ponds. I knew instantly that this excursion was a good break for me from our normal ABO schedule.

We gathered for lunch and enjoyed a delicious feast. We had salad (rare in Africa), potatoes, baked fish, spinach quiche, and “spaghetti”. I have decided to adopt the Acacia recipe for spaghetti. Each of us went to the chef who stood behind his sizzling skillet. After olive oil was poured into the skillet, we told the chef which of the many ingredients we wanted to add—garlic, garden tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, onions, peppers... After mixing all of this yummy goodness together, the chef added cooked noodles to the skillet. Meat sauce was then added and within seconds it was on my plate and ready to be enjoyed. It was the best spaghetti I’d ever had! For dessert we had pineapple upside-down cake with ice cream.

After lunch we lounged around for about an hour waiting until the proper time “when the animals would be out”. Finally, we climbed back into (and on top of) the vehicles and set off to see some wildlife! We drove for quite a while (it’s a HUGE reserve) and finally came upon some giraffes. It was like being inside a Where’s Waldo book. At first you don’t really see any giraffes and then all of a sudden you spot another one, and another one, and another one… Some of them stood staring at us while the others went about their grazing. We were the second vehicle in the caravan, so sometimes the one in front of us had already scattered the herds beyond a good camera distance. Nonetheless it was a fun outing and neat to see animals “in the wild” that I’ve only ever seen in a zoo. I do hope and plan on going on a real safari at some point while I’m in Africa. A real safari… as in you don’t get out of the vehicle because a lion might eat you. This reserve didn’t have any of the “Big Five”—lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, or buffalo. Apparently, the highlight for many of my friends was me running with the zebras. Had I known the video was going to be such a big hit, I would have ran even faster! I’ll try to post the video soon on here or on YouTube. As we were leaving the reserve, they asked me to chase an ostrich. Of course I obliged. Ostriches are FAST! And after a few seconds of chasing him I remembered and started wondering about where the wildebeest was that I saw as I first started chasing the ostrich. That would not be an exciting encounter. Some interesting facts about ostriches: They can run up to 45 miles an hour. They can make good pets and better “guards” than a dog. They can live 30 years in the wild and up to 70 years in captivity. :)

My new and fabulous friend Jenny. We get along great and enjoy watching Cold Case episodes together after dinner each night. :)

Playing around in one of the old cars they had on display at Acacia.

One of several giraffes we saw. This one was near the gate as we were exiting. The setting sun was working against a decent picture, but still a wonderful sight to behold.