Through her two trips to Africa, Ann has visited many places most of us can only
dream of seeing. One of the first visits she told me about was a village she visited on
her second trip located in northern Rwanda. Iby’iwacu Village is similar to us here
in America going to a pioneer days event. They learned how the villagers ground up
grain, among other things, and they watched performances as well. The villagers spoke
English, so there wasn’t a language barrier. On her second trip, Ann also was able to
visit gorilla families in the mountains of Rwanda. They only allow roughly 80 people
a day to visit these gorillas. 8 people are allowed one hour a day to go visit and it takes
about 2 hours to hike up the mountain. The views were amazing and worth the trek,
as were the gorillas. Gorillas in the Mist which is a movie about Dian Fossey and her
work with gorillas, was filmed in this area. The gorillas were being poached, heavily,
and at the time of the movie their numbers were about 300. Thanks to conservation
and education, their numbers are now up to 900. In Kenya in the Samburu National
Reserve they also visit the Samburu Tribe. Clad in brightly colored fabrics, the women
of the Samburu tribe come out singing and dancing to greet them. “It’s a magical
experience. Pictures are hard to relay what the colors are like correctly.”
A few of the parks Ann has visited on her trips are the Samburu National Reserve,
Buffalo Springs National Reserve, Shaba National Reserve, Serengeti National Park,
Ngorongoro Crater, Maasai Mara National Reserve, the Maasai Mara National Reserve,
and the Ark in the Aberdare Forest. Each of these parks has their own experiences and
adventures that Ann holds dear.
The Ark in the Aberdare Forest is at the beginning of the trip and is located in
Kenya. It’s a lodge that resembles Noah’s ark and is up on stilts. It is built around a salt
lick where animals come at all hours of the day to the watering hole. The ark has many
decks from which you can watch the animals but the best location is the lowest level
vTRIP
continued on page 21
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