The Fine Balance

Last night we returned from a great safari at Penjari Parc National in Benin.  It was an amazing experience and I feel so grateful that we could witness God’s magnificent creation in that way.  We travelled with Matt and Abby Miller and Matt Waller.  It was definitely not the plush vacation, but it was fun to “rough it” (using that term relatively) and so worth it to see the animals.  We saw a lot of cob, roan, water buck, bush buck, dik-dik, duikurs, hartebeast, warthogs, cape buffalo, one jackal, baboons, vervet monkeys, pabtis monkeys, hippos, and several herds of elephants.  There were also several varieties of birds including my favorite, the Abyssinian Roller.  Matt acted as chauffeur and has a way of drawing the elephants into a challenge of dominance, so whenever we encountered the herds of elephants we would generally get a good 15 to 20 minutes of up close and personal time with them.  The first time he did this I had quite the rush of adrenaline, but afterward I felt secure enough with Matt’s judgement that I was able to sit back and enjoy the action.  We were close enough to see the color of their eyes without any binoculars and took many good pictures without zoom lens.  

The girls were great and I was genuinely impressed with their contentment despite the limited food supplies, the heat and lack of air conditioning in the daytime, and long hours in the sometimes cramped car.  We ended the trip by going to a nearby waterfall which you can hike up and swim, and that experience was enough to almost rival our time with the elephants.  

Of course, words can’t rival pictures to convey the experience we’ve had, so I’ll post a few.  Also, check out the girls’ blogs for their perspectives on our trip.  Also, thanks for all the feedback on my last post.  Hearing from you guys really makes me feel connected!  Thanks Sandi, Katrina, and Cynthia!  It’s great to hear from each of you!

The pictures are of mother and baby baboons, a charging elephant, and Matt taking a picture with elephants in the background to give perspective.