Psalm 5:13 But all who take refuge in you will be glad;

Day 7 - Today we head to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a non-profit wildlife conservancy in Central Kenya, lying between the Aberdares foothills and Mount Kenya, right on the Equator. This picture was taken from the van (as indeed all of my pictures were.) Our next accommodation will be  in a traditional tent set up on permanent floor. Every tent has a veranda overlooking the waterhole and savanna, a grassy plain with low acacia trees and shrubs.

Every day, Agoi tries to teach us some Swahili words. He is fluent in English and can speak some to other foreign tourists in their languages. He has been to Japan to drum up safari tourists. Although Vicki and Cathy are catching on in Swahili, especially Vicki who practices her Swahili at every stop.

Me? Not so much. I’m even having difficulty bringing up English words at times with a short-term memory that doesn't seem to work very well as I age.

The chief purpose of this Conservancy is to protect great apes and the largest herd of black rhinoceros in East Africa. It is also home to three of five northern white rhinos in the world. We are also going to visit the Sweetwaters chimpanzee sanctuary (started by Jane Goodall). Sweetwaters is the only chimpanzee sanctuary in Kenya for orphaned or abandoned young chimps. It’s similar to the elephant sanctuary outside Kenya that we visited on our first day here. Sadly, baby chimps and other apes are often victims of poachers who sell the adult carcasses for bush meat.