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which resembles a bunker. It’s a concrete slab with slits for windows
and there’s a rock pile in front to separate you from the animals. You
can watch from there all day long and if there are animals you’d like to
see but haven’t appeared before you retire for the night, you can have
them ring your room to wake you up so you don’t miss any animal
you’d like to see.
Giraffe Manor is an educational area, with a lodge, in Nairobi,
Kenya. This area features one of the most endangered species, the
Rothschild Giraffe. Giraffe Manor helps educate, but you can also feed
the giraffes; even get a kiss by one! “The thing that thrilled me the
most, that surprised me the most, was the giraffes.” Giraffe Manor also
features the popular hotel where you can share your breakfast with a
giraffe when you stay at the hotel on the property.
One of Ann’s favorite places to visit is actually the Karen Blixen
Museum. Karen Blixen, otherwise known as her pen name Isak
Dinesen, is one of the reasons Ann fell in love with Africa so much
with her movie and book, Out of Africa. Her home from her time in
Africa has been turned into a museum and the movie was actually
filmed at the location. Ann’s favorite place on the property is a stone
table and bench that are mentioned in the book where Karen would
have meetings with the chief of the Kikuyu tribe. Near this museum
is Mt. Kenya where the Safari Lodge is located. The lodge sits right on
top of the equator so you can actually stand on both sides. One would
think with them traveling so close to the equator that the weather
would be really hot but Ann says the weather is beautiful.
One of the activities featured in the book 1,000 Things To Do Before
You Die is an activity that Ann has had the privilege to do twice. A trip
over the Maasai Mara in a hot air balloon is an optional activity but
Ann has done it on both of her trips. She had to wake up before sunrise
so they could leave in the early morning but the view was worth it.
They travel for about an hour in the balloon and then are treated to a
champagne breakfast in the wilderness. “It’s definitely a highlight!”
The Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania is another location they visit
and another of Ann’s favorites. It’s a sunken, extinct, volcano and is
the largest unflooded and unbroken caldera in the world. It features
its own habitat and the animals live there full time. The crater is
about 100 square miles. Another favorite, and probably the most
popular and well-known locations, is the final stop on their trip; the
Serengeti Safari. It’s also the location of the annual great migration of
the wildebeests and zebras that do a circle between Serengeti and the
Maasai Mara. “It’s a great experience.”
They don’t only visit parks, but submerge themselves in the culture
too. They visit local shops, museums, and have visited a girl’s school.
They are taught a lot about the culture of the places and people they
visit but they also learn a lot about the animals and plants. Each trip
they are given a journal that has all the animals and plants they will
see and information on them. Ann marks these up with notes about
when she sees them, how many, location, and other details. Like a little
scrapbook. The whole trip is “very educational.” Ann says that photo
safaris tend to be expensive because the fees help with the conservation
of the animals and vegetation. Submerging themselves in the culture,
they sometimes stay at lodges but they have stayed in tent cabins as
well. She recalls one experience in a tent in the Serengeti where she
remembers waking up to monkeys crawling across the tops of the
tents.
“It’s unbelievable the amount of animals we see, of all types.” Many
of the encounters with the animals are close and experiences we
couldn’t even imagine. On Ann’s first trip they saw a poster in the
beginning of a close-up of lions. They told their guide taking them out
onto the safari that they had to get a photo like this. Throughout their
time they hadn’t come across any lions in that setting though, until
about 5 minutes before they had to leave for the airport they came
across the lions and Ann was able to get great shots. Ann was also able
to see a baobob tree, which is mentioned in the book The Little Prince.
Ann has always loved traveling. When she was younger she tended
to keep her traveling more to road trips but she’s worked hard and now
she’s enjoying the fruits of that labor. “I live on it for 6 months planning
and going. When I get back, it keeps me going for another 6 months.”
One thing that has changed Ann the most is her decision to sponsor a
little girl from Uganda. On the trips there are opportunities to sponsor
a child at the school they visit but she didn’t know enough about it.
But she’s seen the African Children’s Choir twice when they’ve come to
Yankton and has had more information given to her about Music for
Life. This year she decided to sponsor a 10-year old girl, Cathy, through
the program.
“It’s a magical experience. And it seems everyone who goes,
you form a special bond. It’s a special thing you share that no one
understands unless they’ve been on the trip. It’s something I feel
passionate about. I really love it. It’s all worth it.”
vBy Brandi Bue
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