Leave it to LAZARUS

 

Of course, I’ve only been on one, but I would venture a guess that the guide can make or break a safari. And I’m so thankful that ours was surely the best! He went above and beyond to make sure that our basic needs were taken care of, used his experience on the savanna to get us the best views of the wildlife we wanted to see, and added little extras to make sure our experience was one we’d never forget.

His name was Lazarus, pronounced “Lah-zoo’-roo”, with the emphasis on the second syllable. A quiet man, probably in his upper thirties, he didn’t offer up a lot of conversation, but once asked a question he answered at length, and it was obvious he knew what he was talking about. From the names of various birds to all the different species of gazelles to the unique characteristics of each of the animals we saw, he shared it all. I believe he’d been a guide for seventeen years and had visited all the countries in Africa but three. The guides work continuously, one safari after another, until the wet season arrives and the dirt roads become impassable for a number of months.

Our three-man crew worked long hours to get keep us fed, transported, and enthralled with all that Africa had to offer. The two cooks were up at 4 am, preparing the morning meal, and packing box lunches for us to carry along for the noon meal. They served breakfast and cleaned it all up, and then after we were on our way, they packed up our tents and carried them to the next campground. There they set them up again and began cooking again, again serving and cleaning up. How they accomplished all that, cooking outside and accomplishing the task sometimes when there was no electricity at the camp due to storms or other problems is beyond me. But we ate delicious meals and were warm and dry thanks to their efforts. I often wondered what they did with leftovers and cooking waste, as surely there was an abundance of hungry predators surrounding us at all times; I assume they carted everything in and out.

Lazarus had the responsibility of the safari itself, getting us from one destination to another as expected, while showing us everything possible along the way. Truck maintenance also fell to him; many were the evenings that after dropping us off at the camp at the end of a long day, he still had hours of work ahead of him, trying to make minor repairs to the truck, picking up a spare tire, or simply getting gas. But when he could, he joined us for meals and always added a lot to our enjoyment of the same.

As numerous as the safari companies are, it is amazing how many of the guides seem to know one another, probably from covering the same ground together over the years, and they communicate by radio to share tips about good viewing opportunities when they come across them. Lazarus seemed to have a knack for positioning our truck in the best possible location time after time, despite any number of vehicles that were also vying for the best spots. He also remembered the purpose behind our particular safari, and provided bottles of sparkling cider for wedding toasts at one lunchtime under a big acacia tree… and joined us for dinner bearing a bottle of champagne the night after the vows were spoken. He was simply a treasure, and we were sad to say goodbye to him when he got us and our luggage safely to the airport for our flight back to Arusha.

 I am reminded how important it is to have a Helper of some sort wherever you find yourself… not just on a trip of some kind, but especially in your regular everyday life. Thankfully such Help is available. God has provided such a Companion to those who know Him… a Guide to help, counsel, direct, encourage, and travel with us on a daily basis, celebrating our joys and comforting us in our sorrows… all for the purpose of getting us safely Home.

 

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

(John 14: 16-17 NKJV)

KHAKI-Colored Clothing

I never thought much about the color khaki nor garments so named until I was headed to Africa. Suddenly this dull, yellowish-brown color occupied my thoughts continually and eventually filled my luggage, as well. It was the word of the day in the packing list we were sent in advance of the trip. Told to avoid bright colors – red, yellow, bright blue and white – so as not to frighten away the animals we wanted to see, we were advised to bring clothing in colors that would blend in with our surroundings, to dress to match the ground we would be walking on. Dust and dirt could then be easily brushed off, and our clothes would still look relatively clean. Brown, olive green and khaki-colored garments were to be our items of choice.

I had none. 

A summer of shopping excursions ensued, and it was amazing how my eyes became trained to see only safari colors in the choices available to me, bypassing the brighter hues that normally would catch my eye. Luckily for me, olive green was the color of choice that season, and every store had shirts and shorts and pants and jackets in abundance in the color of that popular Mediterranean fruit. I bought them all. Even my day-pack ended up matching my clothes; it’s a mystery people could see me at all, and thankfully, due to my careful shopping, the animals didn’t seem to, either!

 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or “What shall we drink?’ or “What shall we wear?’ For… your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”

(Matthew 6: 31-32 NKJV, emphasis mine)

 

Our African "JEEP"

 

OK, so they’re not really a jeep. But Land Rovers are similar in style and function… so they count for today’s post! And they abound on the African savanna. In fact, they sometimes seemed almost as numerous as the animals we came to see. One morning a leopard was spotted by one group climbing up on some rocks, and soon, seeing a stopped truck and noticing the excitement of the travelers on board, other vehicles converged on the area until in a matter of minutes there were no fewer than seventeen vehicles crowded around the one outcropping! But just as often you seem to find yourself totally alone in the wilderness, especially when experiencing trouble of some kind! Truly these 4-wheel drive vehicles prowl around over the grassland like some strange armored animal themselves, accepted by the other wildlife as part of the natural landscape. The wild kingdom in general doesn’t give them a second look, allowing visitors to drive up and view animal behavior and beauty in a truly spectacular way.

Safari tour companies number in the several hundreds, and the bigger ones have huge fleets of vehicles operating at any one time. Smaller companies like the one we used have far fewer trucks at the ready, and when one breaks down, as ours did on a couple of occasions, there may be none available to swap out with on a moment’s notice. Our tour was delayed (thankfully at the most beautiful campsite of the week) while our truck was in the shop one day. Company headquarters had even given the approval for the purchase of another vehicle so the safari could continue uninterrupted, but there were simply none available to buy. Thankfully the repairs were quickly accomplished and the delay was only a matter of hours, pleasurably spent sipping beer at a poolside bar overlooking some pretty incredible scenery. Our guide soon arrived, honking the horn as he drove up the hill so we could quickly load up and be on our way.

One wonder of the safari vehicles is that the top lifts up a number of feet so the occupants can stand to view and take open-air photos of whatever wildlife comes into view. There’s nothing like feeling the wind on your face as you drive along, camera or binoculars at the ready, too excited to sit down again only to hop up a minute later because something else of interest suddenly came in view! For those less inclined to move, huge sliding windows offered a fresh-air view from the seat. The trick was to remember to close down the roof and shut the windows whenever leaving the vehicle for any length of time, as monkeys would climb in and steal water bottles or any other possessions left out in the open.

Second in favor only to the lift-top construction of the vehicle was the incredible power strip hooked to the car battery – the only means we ever came across that week to power our multiple devices. With six cell phones and five camera batteries all needing to be charged on a regular basis, the strip was in constant use, and the passengers in the front pair of seats had the extra duty of making sure that in all the rough travel nothing came unplugged. All in all we were simply grateful for vehicles as rugged as the terrain we had to travel through!

 

“The Lord shall preserve they going out and thy coming  in from this time forth, and even for for evermore.”

(Psalms 121:8 KJV)

Idyllic ILBORU LODGE

 

This Blogging Challenge is far from over, but we’ve come to the letter I… and I have no choice but to talk about the idyllic resort we were taken to when the safari itself  was over and we had returned to Arusha in preparation for our flight home. The Ilboru Lodge seemed like an absolute oasis after days of safari camping. Beautiful to the eyes, with lush green vegetation everywhere, beautiful flowers at every turn, the rooms were spread out in little huts around the grounds, linked together by pathways that curved around a beautiful swimming pool and ultimately led to the main lodge building itself. There the meals were served, either in the beautiful restaurant with the best of service, or out on the patio with a view of the pool and the beauty of the outdoors. The rooms were beautifully appointed, complete with canopy beds draped in light fabric that was pulled back and tied to the corners of the bedposts, other  luxurious furnishings and a clean and welcoming bathroom whose greatest feature was an abundance of hot water! Warm showers at last! We washed off the safari dust, changed out of our khakis and began to unwind and relax.

I shared a room with Elizabeth, my daughter-in-law’s sister, and despite the difference in our ages, we bonded in that overnight stay in a way I think neither of us expected. With the shared experience of the safari behind us, we talked endlessly about our lives back home… to the point that we would forget about the time and the appointments we’d made to meet the others and were constantly scrambling to get ready on the fly. One of my favorite memories of the trip was seeing the relationship between Alex and this sister of hers, one night when she and Kevin stopped in to chat for a few minutes before we all went to bed. In true sister fashion the two girls got to laughing about something, and soon were howling, bent over till they couldn’t breathe, tears flowing… the whole water works. I was laughing like an idiot, too, even on the outside of the joke, just watching them. Pure joy.

Elizabeth and the girls’ parents left for home the next morning; because of some scheduling problems when we made our flights, Kevin, Alex and I ended up staying at the lodge for two extra days, at the complete expense of the safari company! I did feel a bit like a third wheel, as this safari lodge was the perfect honeymoon spot for the newly married couple… but they never made me feel that way and I tried to give them plenty of space in these last days before we headed home. Our rooms and meals were all covered; we were left with nothing to worry about but enjoying ourselves… and we made the most of it, by lounging around the pool or exploring the city and the sightseeing opportunities in the area. It was simply the perfect end to a perfect trip, like the bow set on top of a beautifully wrapped gift.

 

 “The burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.”

(Isaiah 35:7 ESV)

The HYENA'S Heist

The hyenas stole a word out of my vocabulary, and now I’m struggling to get it back.

It was our last day on safari; we were on our way to the airport to board a small plane that would fly us back to Arusha, when we suddenly came upon a pack of hyenas running around in a frenzy just off the side of the road. We soon learned the source of excitement – a mating ritual was underway.

The male had mounted his partner and was busily trying to accomplish his task, the female patient beneath him… while all around the other animals, perhaps ten to fifteen in number, maybe even more, were frantically squealing and “laughing”, dipping in to nip the flanks of the mating pair and then dashing back out to circle around and attack again. Truly it was amazing that the male was able to finish at all, so many and persistent were the physical attacks and distractions surrounding him, the air loud with calls of “woo-hoo” and “ha ha ha” as if in raucous celebration of what was taking place. We watched spellbound and marveled at the duration of the event, which went on for an amazingly long time.

Later research revealed that mating is not an easy task for these animals due to the penile-like structure on the female, which is “sucked in” much like a sleeve pulling in on itself during mating to allow for the entrance of the male organ.  Once completed, the pair usually stays locked together for a number of minutes; the absence of such an indicator that the copulation attempt was not successfully accomplished.

Too much information? My coworkers certainly thought so when I told them later of the wonder of witnessing the event, a rare occurrence, since mating usually takes place at night with few other animals around. “You stayed and watched?” one lady asked in obvious horror. I was equally incredulous at the thought of not witnessing all the facets of animal life on the savanna that we were privileged to see!

In retrospect I should probably have left some details to the imagination... including the bit out about the hyenas calling out “woo-hoo” in the excitement of the moment, but it struck me forcibly at the time, since it is the exact word I used to use constantly in my own celebrations of life, be it receiving a check in the mail, good news from the doctor, or even something as little as being sent on a break at work. A simple expression of joy, it burst from my lips on its own accord, without my giving it any conscious thought. Upon my return from Africa, however, such exclamations have been met with sideways glances from my coworkers and disapproving shakes of the head before resultant hyena-like bursts of laughter, as we all remember where I heard that word last, and in what context! No matter; I won’t let any haters take my hyena-joy away!

 

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

(Proverbs 17:22 KJV)