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We were often reminded about the need
for care, not from banditos but from
critters such as the occasional elephant
or hippo checking out our hotel, maybe
for goodies, such as human visitors. We
were warned to keep our room doors
locked to keep local monkeys from slip-
ping inside our rooms (maybe to take a
shower?).

One entertaining stroll was out on a
boardwalk to the Hippo Bar. Now this
was a major change from the typical
resort remote bar. Here we could order
up a cold brew or a glass of wine and
watch about 30 hippos as they flopped,
splashed and cavorted in a pond about
50 feet away.

One troubling aspect of our journey was
the long drives, roughly five tedious
hours, getting out to and back from the
on-site safari lodges. Long sections of
the drives were dusty and bouncy, plus
we joined lots of traffic once back onto
a highway. One option you might look
into, for an added cost, would be to fly
out to and from the safari lodges. An air-
strip was only a few miles from our lodge,
and we saw several small aircraft ferret-
ing tourists in and out.

All in all, our Kenya safari was a memora-
ble experience, a journey we recommend
adding to your personal bucket lists.

Author bios. Tom Leech is author of sev-
eral books, including On the Road in ‘68:
a year of turmoil, a journey of friendship,
and, with Jack Farnan, Outdoors San
Diego: Hiking, Biking & Camping. Les-
lie Johnson-Leech teaches fitness for
seniors, Tai Chi and history of musical
theater and film.

Wine Dine & Travel Winter 2015 81