Honeymoon Dispatch

On our 4th and final day in the Masai Mara, our guide Robert had just dropped us at the Kichwa Tembo airstrip in Kenya and was preparing his Land Cruiser to receive a new guest.

That guest arrived before our plane departed, so we got to overhear the warm reception we had been so accustomed to receiving…except it was for someone else.

I heard the new guest ask: “So - what do you think - 3 nights is probably enough for safari, right?

“Oh No.” Robert replied. “Let me tell you, I have been out here for 20 years and I haven’t seen it all.” This was followed by his booming laugh that reverberated across the airstrip where, just 16 hours prior, he was fixing me a Gin & Tonic while we watched 3 cheetahs sleep after taking down a Topi.

First, let me say: I’m sensitive to writing about safari. It’s hard to do so without coming off as pretentious or annoying. I know what it looks like. But after nearly 5 years of saving and investing, I was able to give my wife the trip of her dreams, and one I wish everyone had the chance to experience.

Safari means “Journey” - which is perfect. It’s a journey within our life’s journey, so to speak.

Obnoxiously meta, perhaps, but not untrue.

The way you approach it can often reflect the way you approach your own life.

Allow me to explain:

Our first 2 nights we shared our vehicle with a friendly couple our age from NYC. Of course, we realized we had mutuals and hit it off instantly, but the guy from NYC would NOT stop talking about how much he wanted to see Leopard.

“You don’t see the Leopard…the Leopard sees you.” Robert would reply. He was a total pro, but it was hard not to imagine he had heard enough about Leopard spotting.

We spent every game drive (2-3/day) with one focus: finding a Leopard.

We never found a Leopard.

What’s interesting, though, and something that Robert would constantly remind us, is that you never know what you WILL find if you keep your eyes open.

As so - In the process, we came across 4 black rhino (including a baby), 3 serval, 3 cheetah, 2 different lion prides, a lion kill a gazelle, and just about every other African animal you can think of.

Leopards are elusive, but Rhino are critically endangered, shy, and much more rare in the wild. We literally saw 10% of the entire population in the Mara.

Leopards are more sought after, but Servals are smaller and statistically much harder to see.

Robert couldn’t believe our luck, and he kept reminding us of it amidst the looming desire spot the Leopard.

He was doing his best Mick Jagger…you can’t always get what you want…

This really stuck with me amidst the social media detox I decided to take before we left.

It’s so uniquely human to construct these ideas and desires in our minds about what we want.

More so than ever, it seems those are influenced by what we see in others. It quickly becomes a comparison game that leaves us feeling empty.

“Somebody else saw the Leopard, so I want to.”

“Well here’s more even more rare and unique sightings of Rhino and Serval…”

“Yes, but the Leopard…”

Stop comparing. Start living. Enjoy YOUR safari.