Scott’s top bucket list item that he calls “watching lions killing tigers”, or a safari, becomes a reality this month.

We are heading to Kenya via Amsterdam. Kenya is on East Africa Time, 10 hours ahead of Mountain Standard Time. A few days in Amsterdam, we hope, will help us adjust our clocks and give us a chance to check out Robin and Inge’s wedding venue. I’m looking forward to visiting the Rijksmuseum, which was mostly closed (while under a 10 year renovation) when we went in 2009 with Allie. We are also going to visit with Inge’s parents and hope to meet her sister and her family.

As for Kenya, I’m not so sure about chasing after things that can eat you. We will be in the Olare Orok or more specifically, the Olare Motorogi Conservancy, located just north of the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, which is contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The area is famous for big cats: lions, leopards and cheetahs. There’s also elephants, rhinoceros, buffalo and hippopotami, and some small scary things like biting insects and scorpions. The area is also famous for the wildebeest migration, but that happens during the rainy season from July to October. We will be there during the dry season, which was recommended  for better wildlife, especially lion, viewing because of the absence of the tall grasses that grow in the rainy season. And without the big herds, you can get closer to the other wildlife.

The idea of getting close sounds good to Scott. I’m less happy about being near things with enormous feet, claws and teeth, particularly, since the vehicles we will be on do not have windows, something the operators think is a better for viewing.  We will be staying at Mara Plains Camp. The photos are from them.

The camp has wi-fi so I should be able to post blogs about our trip–at least as long as I don’t get attacked by the wildlife.