Greetings all! I hope you’re staying warm wherever you are. We’re in full swing towards winter, so warm thoughts are a must. As the days get shorter and darker, my mind is encouraged to dwell on memories of warmer, sunnier places and times.
So today I’ll share a few thoughts from one of my favorite adventures: a Mini Safari. As a child some of my fondest vacation memories were in Florida, so I decided to make some trips over the past 3 years with my family as adults to see if we could find some of the things we remembered as well as make a few new memories. One of the activities we tried was a guided Safari Tour at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay.
I have to say that this was my most favorite part of being in the park the whole day, and it was a long one! Of course we went to see all of the animals at their enclosures, and also rode the train around the park to get the whole tour (The other rides aren’t our thing). I had my Dad with me, and I was actually shocked that he agreed to go on this adventure. We followed the tour guides onto the back of a open tour bus, and after a few preliminaries we were off. At first I wondered about standing for the tour on the back of this vehicle, but the view was 100% better that way. With no predatory animals featured on the tour, there was little to worry about, so long as we didn’t irritate on of the large rhinoceros (which wasn’t that hard with such a great driver)!
There were Zebra, Wildebeest, Rhinos, Gazelle, Ostrich, and… Giraffe! The staff has worked to strategically encourage those walking skyscrapers to actually come over to allow visitors to feed and pet them. Seeing them far off is amazing, but there’s something about being eye to eye with an adult Giraffe that is both humbling and exciting. We met a gentle giant named Ruby, who gingerly approached the tour bus, and accepted the juicy lettuce we offered for snack. I was filled with wonder as she allowed me to stroke her neck while she wrapped her long black tongue around the food I had stretched up in the air.
Being so close to such a majestic creature made me start to think… to wonder what it would be like to live around all of these animals without fences, without glass walls, without all of the man-made barriers to the natural world. I love animals, but I have to admit that I started to feel quite vulnerable, and perhaps even frightened. But why? Giraffes aren’t usually aggressive: Ruby was as sweet as could be. Maybe its because I won’t have the illusion of control and safety, because I would come face to face with the reality that the creatures around me could easily end my life without much effort. Maybe I would have to trust God in a way that I have no practical experience with…
At any rate, after everyone had the chance to feed and pose with our speckled friend Ruby, we were on our way back to solid ground. I loved the experience of being so close to one of this world’s most famous creatures. If you’re in the Tampa/Orlando area, it’s a great opportunity. I’m glad someone else was taking photos because I was too busy trying to take it all in. If you’ve done this tour, why not share some photos or thoughts? Until the next post, think warm thoughts, and keep it Simple. — Aisha