Safari

There is a Jimmy Buffett song with the line, "Don't try to describe a KISS concert if you've never seen one". I think the same goes for safaris. We took a break from our visits and meetings in Lesotho and drove to South Africa with Andy and MeMahlompho for a one day adventure. The morning was spent bouncing around in a Jeep through stunning, lush, hilly, grassy park land inside a 96,000 hectare park. We saw elephants, rhinos, impalas, wildebeests, giraffes, wart hogs, zebras, Cape buffalo and a baboon! Wow. If you can imagine doing that, then you can imagine exactly what it is like. Before today I couldn't have imagined it.  

This afternoon was a hippo and croc tour on a barge in a river. Hippos have long been a symbol of affection between my wife and I (not exactly sure why) and as a result they have been a favourite animal of mine for a long time. Also, the main character in the book (and film) 'The African Queen' inspired the name of our first born and that story takes place on a barge, in a river in Africa. So for me to float down an African river seeing hippos up close and personal was an extraordinary experience. We saw two crocodiles but they were both stone still in the mud on the shore.    

The funny thing is, I thought this might make me feel guilty, having this sort of adventure while the children in the foster homes back in Lesotho carried on with their everyday stuff. It didn't. Nor did it bother me that so many people can enjoy this sort of thing while these orphans may never have the chance. As a matter of fact I felt just the opposite. It made me realize how fortunate they are to live near so much beauty and adventure. I was excited to think that this is their home, they get to grow up here, this is their inheritance. As they continue to grow, to heal and to strive because of the incredible work being done through Bracelet of Hope, who knows what they might get to see and do.