Sabbath Time

This past weekend I enjoyed two nights by myself, away from home and the boys.  Two nights!  It was amazing.

This past year Eli and I have tried to give each other "Sabbath Time" in which we get away from home for a night to be alone and with God.  It hasn't happened as much as we'd like, but it does still happen occasionally, and this time I wrangled two nights away and spent that time in Nakuru National Park.  I went there because 1) it's a city where I could get some supplies before coming home, 2) there was availability at one of the resorts (unlike the first place I called outside of the park), and 3) it's where the flamingos are, and I really really wanted to see flamingos and take photos.

After reading, napping, reading some more, eating really good food, reading my Bible without interruptions, swimming laps in the pool, listening to worship music, watching Netflix, praying, and reading again, on the second evening I left the resort to find the animals.  Nakuru National Park has lots of wildlife, and what I found was the highlight of my Sabbath.

First, ubiquitous buffalo.  They were seemingly everywhere I went.

Also, a troop of baboons near a marshy area.  This baby captured my attention, for obvious reasons.

And a couple of jackals right along the road, blending into the dry background.

And then - my first flamingo sighting!  A long line of flamingos stretched along the edge of the lake.  I couldn't get any closer since the park doesn't allow people to get out of their cars and wander away from the road (ya know, just in case a buffalo stumbles upon you and decides not to like you), so these were the best shots I could get with my zoom lens.  But I knew there'd be more flamingos at the bottom of the lake, so I continued on in my search.

Further along I spotted this rhinoceros!  Rhinos are not ubiquitous and I was elated to have come along at just the right time to see one.  It was lazily eating whatever edible grass it could find and I paused to take some photos and marvel at such a prehistoric beast.

I remember thinking that with its head down it looked a bit like a giant rock, similar to the little rock just behind it.  Then, just as I was about to pull away, the little rock moved!!!

Baby rhino!!!!!  I had no idea it was even there, and let me tell you, if seeing an adult rhino is cause for excitement, then seeing a baby rhino is cause for calling someone just to share the good news (which I did)!  I could not believe my eyes.  A baby rhino, in the wild, right in front of me.  It was unbelievable!!!

Once I finally calmed down, which took awhile, I continued on in my search for flamingos.  I reached the bottom of the lake and found them!  So many flamingos.

Can you see that faint pink line all across the water?  Yep.  Those are flamingos.  All of it.  Flamingos.

I stayed there for awhile, watching them with fascination.  They are beautiful creatures, and quite noisy too.

This guy, for whatever reason, was all by his lonesome the entire time.  I was able to get out of the car at this particular spot, so I walked right to the water's edge and took several photos of him.

I felt like I was in the middle of a National Geographic show.

At one point while I was looking through my zoom lens I noticed some buffalo hanging out near the water as well, along with more rhinos!  I couldn't believe my luck!  Nakuru National Park is known for its rhinos, but you never know if you'll see them or not, and I sat there and counted no less than five rhinos mixed in with the buffalo.

And one of them was a baby!!!!  Another baby rhino!!!  This one wasn't as little as the first one, but still, another baby rhino!!!  It was so hard to see because of the distance, but I did see it and felt soooooo blessed to see these creatures in the wild.

Back to the flamingos.  Did you know the tips of their wings are black?  It's completely hidden until they flap their wings.

As the sun set further, the flamingos gathered together from their various locations around the lake.  I'm not sure if this is a normal behavior at the end of a day, but it felt like they were gathering close for the night, ready for a sleepover or something.  It was fascinating.

Finally I had to leave and head back to the resort for the night.  Shortly before getting there, I almost ran over a group of guinea fowl.  There were nine of them, darting back and forth through the grass and across the road.

Seeing these animals was the highlight of my Sabbath Time.  I thank God for giving me such an incredible time in the park, and for giving me the chance to take photos, and for refreshing my soul through His creation.