Encounter Mara

It's official! In two weeks, we will be going on our first safari as a family!

We heard about a great company called Encounter Mara a few weeks ago. They have a long relationship with Rosslyn Academy and were offering a special deal to teachers during the upcoming long weekend of September 19-21.

We checked them out and were definitely impressed with everything: the level of service, the philosophy of being good stewards of the land and resources, their employment of Masai warriors for their expertise and experience-not just for photo ops.

I'm not going to lie: This is the luxury tent-camping of my dreams. (At teacher-prices, no less!) It's still migration season, so we may be in for a real treat of animal sightings. There is the option of a visit to a Masai village and many opportunities catered toward the girls as well. As a bonus, we found out that three other families signed on for this deal, so it will be a nice weekend away to get to know some colleagues as well.

We were talking about it this morning with the girls and they are getting really excited. "I've never seen a real cheetah in the wild!" says Claire. Kirk will be bringing one of the fancy school cameras that he has gotten pretty good at, so there is a chance we can record her first sighting to share with everyone soon.

Safari njemma!