African Adventure

Travel. Adventure. New Cultures.  All of these have contributed to, in one way or another, improving my health and well-being throughout my life. Sometimes physically and other times mentally.  For example, being out in the African savanna searching for magnificent animals in their natural habitat was very serene, but exciting.  Anticipations were always high on what we would see next, but at the same time I felt an unusual, content calmness.  The land had a hold of me, telling me to release all stress and worries and to live in the moment.  No cell phones and no internet, which allowed all of my senses to be heightened and focused in the present time.  One of these stress-free, heightened moments was when we were tracking tens of thousands of wildebeests as there were migrating north through Kenya.  Our 4×4 pulls far ahead of the herd and parks with the engine turned off. With the rumbling of the motor silenced, the raw power of movement can now clearly be heard. Thousands of hoofs hit the ground in unison creating a very deep, low thumping sound over various grunts and playful rustling.  We wait for them to pass through on there way to cross the famous Mara River.  Now, completely surrounded, my camera was ready as I took a few shots, but waited for that perfect moment.  Nothing else was on my mind except the complete aw of the environment around me.  Camera steadied. Lens focused. One large, male wildebeest turned, paused, and looked right at me for what was only a few seconds, but felt like a minute.  I snapped one shot then put the camera down to enjoy the rest of our eye contact, technology free.

Written by Robert Connolly