vTRIP continued from page 13 which resembles a bunker. It’s a concrete slab with slits for windows and there’s a rock pile in front to separate you from the animals. You can watch from there all day long and if there are animals you’d like to see but haven’t appeared before you retire for the night, you can have them ring your room to wake you up so you don’t miss any animal you’d like to see. Giraffe Manor is an educational area, with a lodge, in Nairobi, Kenya. This area features one of the most endangered species, the Rothschild Giraffe. Giraffe Manor helps educate, but you can also feed the giraffes; even get a kiss by one! “The thing that thrilled me the most, that surprised me the most, was the giraffes.” Giraffe Manor also features the popular hotel where you can share your breakfast with a giraffe when you stay at the hotel on the property. One of Ann’s favorite places to visit is actually the Karen Blixen Museum. Karen Blixen, otherwise known as her pen name Isak Dinesen, is one of the reasons Ann fell in love with Africa so much with her movie and book, Out of Africa. Her home from her time in Africa has been turned into a museum and the movie was actually filmed at the location. Ann’s favorite place on the property is a stone table and bench that are mentioned in the book where Karen would have meetings with the chief of the Kikuyu tribe. Near this museum is Mt. Kenya where the Safari Lodge is located. The lodge sits right on top of the equator so you can actually stand on both sides. One would think with them traveling so close to the equator that the weather would be really hot but Ann says the weather is beautiful. One of the activities featured in the book 1,000 Things To Do Before You Die is an activity that Ann has had the privilege to do twice. A trip over the Maasai Mara in a hot air balloon is an optional activity but Ann has done it on both of her trips. She had to wake up before sunrise so they could leave in the early morning but the view was worth it. They travel for about an hour in the balloon and then are treated to a champagne breakfast in the wilderness. “It’s definitely a highlight!” The Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania is another location they visit and another of Ann’s favorites. It’s a sunken, extinct, volcano and is the largest unflooded and unbroken caldera in the world. It features its own habitat and the animals live there full time. The crater is about 100 square miles. Another favorite, and probably the most popular and well-known locations, is the final stop on their trip; the Serengeti Safari. It’s also the location of the annual great migration of the wildebeests and zebras that do a circle between Serengeti and the Maasai Mara. “It’s a great experience.” They don’t only visit parks, but submerge themselves in the culture too. They visit local shops, museums, and have visited a girl’s school. They are taught a lot about the culture of the places and people they visit but they also learn a lot about the animals and plants. Each trip they are given a journal that has all the animals and plants they will see and information on them. Ann marks these up with notes about when she sees them, how many, location, and other details. Like a little scrapbook. The whole trip is “very educational.” Ann says that photo safaris tend to be expensive because the fees help with the conservation of the animals and vegetation. Submerging themselves in the culture, they sometimes stay at lodges but they have stayed in tent cabins as well. She recalls one experience in a tent in the Serengeti where she remembers waking up to monkeys crawling across the tops of the tents. “It’s unbelievable the amount of animals we see, of all types.” Many of the encounters with the animals are close and experiences we couldn’t even imagine. On Ann’s first trip they saw a poster in the beginning of a close-up of lions. They told their guide taking them out onto the safari that they had to get a photo like this. Throughout their time they hadn’t come across any lions in that setting though, until about 5 minutes before they had to leave for the airport they came across the lions and Ann was able to get great shots. Ann was also able to see a baobob tree, which is mentioned in the book The Little Prince. Ann has always loved traveling. When she was younger she tended to keep her traveling more to road trips but she’s worked hard and now she’s enjoying the fruits of that labor. “I live on it for 6 months planning and going. When I get back, it keeps me going for another 6 months.” One thing that has changed Ann the most is her decision to sponsor a little girl from Uganda. On the trips there are opportunities to sponsor a child at the school they visit but she didn’t know enough about it. But she’s seen the African Children’s Choir twice when they’ve come to Yankton and has had more information given to her about Music for Life. This year she decided to sponsor a 10-year old girl, Cathy, through the program. “It’s a magical experience. And it seems everyone who goes, you form a special bond. It’s a special thing you share that no one understands unless they’ve been on the trip. It’s something I feel passionate about. I really love it. It’s all worth it.” vBy Brandi Bue Keep The Holidays Merry – Hassle-Free Holiday Decorating • FREE Estimates • Exterior, Professional Holiday Lighting • Installation, Take Down, Storage • Commercial & Residential NaturescapiNg DesigNs ( L A n D S C A p i n g | p r O p e r T Y C A r e | H O L i DAY D e C O r AT i n g ) CALL US TODAY 605.661.1205 • NatureScapiNgDeSigNS.com • LAUrAwnSD@gmAiL.COm HERVOICEvNOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017v21