Amboseli

Last weekend the five Kistlers went to Amboseli National Park, best known for its views of elephants in front of Mount Kilimanjaro.  Our time was great.  The road was surprisingly good, the best we've driven on in Kenya.  After a quick 3.5 hour drive, we were at the gate.  Unfortunately we were at the wrong gate, but the guard let us in anyway to pay elsewhere.  Our housing was basic, owned by the Kenya Wildlife Service, with power only 5 hours a day.  Yet, it was a peaceful place with plenty of room and a view of Mt. Kilimanjaro from the porch.

While we did not see a large variety of animals, we saw more elephants in three days than in the rest of our lives combined.  Seeing herds of 30-40-even 60 elephants became normal and even a bit ho-hum.  Multiple times, we stopped our car and just let the elephants walk around us.  Regularly, they came within 5-10 meters of us, and we held our breaths.  Elephants are so big, truly majestic.  They move with a grace of their own, and were free to play, eat and journey as they pleased.  Watching them was a true gift.

On the morning of the second day, we were also blessed by a parting of the clouds over Mt. Kilimanjaro.  Most days, the peak of the mountain is never visible, hid behind a veil of heavy cloud.  That morning however, the veil was torn until the entire mountain came to view.  We stopped and watched, enjoyed the majesty of God's creation there in front of us.   It was a blessed weekend and we praise God for it. Here are some of our favorite pictures....