WorldTraveler Creations Weblog

Jess is leaving in a week, so we did the tourist thing and took a safari. We went to a park nearby Mombasa called Shimba Hills.

 The park itself is really fantastic. It isn't the usual savanah plains with animals everywhere. It has hills and lots of trees and underbrush, so you really have to look for the animals. We stayed in a lodge called the Shimba Lodge, which was right off of a watering hole and was very rustic. Very nice.

Driving about, we came across a huge bull elephant in the road, which was exciting. We had giraffes crossing in front of us. There were baboons and cape buffalos, and we were lucky to see the sable antelope, which are very rare and only found in that park. We even came across some interesting birds-we watched an African fishing eagle doing its work, and a crested kingfisher sat on a limb maybe five feet away from us to pose. The animals were really fantastic. This weekend, we are going to Tsavo Park, where there are many more animals. This is the park that the movie The Ghost and The Darkness was based on, about the true story of the two lions who ate their way through 140 workers building a railway. Needless to say, we won't be hiking this trip.

Back at the lodge, we had very nice service, it's quite pleasant to be pampered, if a little unusual. It's not our typical thing. Then came the best part.

There is a walkway into the trees, which is lit up at night. I decided that it was probably about as romantic as a person can find, and decided to ask Jess to marry me there. I bought a beautiful Kenyan tanzanite ring here, and it was quite nice.

Oh, and she said yes.

And some people think I'm not romantic...