These Minnesotans saw lions and much more on a low-key dream safari

Five lions were sprawled out and sunning on rocks alongside Kenya’s Voi River. Hippos wallowed nearby. Elephants drank and splashed.

Then, on some imperceptible signal, the mood shifted. The lions stared downriver, ears forward, bodies tensing. We followed their gaze and spotted two zebras, separated from their herd. Two of the lions, adult females, began a slow slink toward them.

From our Land Rover, we watched the lionesses crouch and inch forward, blending into the rocky terrain. We’d lost sight of them when the zebras, apparently catching their scent, started to trot, then flat-out gallop.

One zebra veered upriver. The other was coming straight toward us when, out of nowhere, a lion pounced, landing on its prey’s back. The zebra lurched, twisted, kicked and got away, only to be attacked by the second lion. Somehow, the equine kicked its way free again and ran pell-mell for the herd.

The lions, panting hard, touched noses, defeated in their quest for lunch.

We — my husband, our friends Marty and Sheryl and our two guides — let out a collective exhale.

“That zebra deserved to get away,” said our guide, Chris Angell.

“Does this lift us above average on the safari scale?” Marty asked, joking.

“Oh, yes,” Angell said. “You’re above average, now.”

A main goal when we planned our safari trip was to keep it low-key. We looked at tour companies and travel agencies before a friend e-introduced me to independent guide Angell. We told him we weren’t photographers or people who needed to check off the so-called “big five” (lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and African buffalo). We just wanted to savor a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

We also weren’t keen on crowds – in some popular safari destinations, dozens of vehicles converge on animals, jostling for views, and we wanted a calmer approach. Angell advised us to skip the most heavily touristed of Kenya’s parks, Masai Mara, famous for its annual wildebeest migration. It would be especially busy when we planned to visit in September.

He assured us we could put together an itinerary focusing on less-traveled national parks and private conservancies that would let us see just as many animals and explore more of Africa’s natural expanses. We opted to go from Nairobi to the Mount Kilimanjaro vicinity, then to the Indian Ocean and Mount Kenya, traveling 1,200 miles over 12 days via Angell’s Land Rover and a couple of domestic flights.

We would stay in lodgings ranging from modest to fancy, mostly tents with thatched or canvas roofs, all with bathrooms and running water. Several were mere feet from watering holes where crocodiles basked by day and elephants came to drink at night, and where we were instructed to call a guard if we ventured out in the dark.

After almost 20 hours in the air from Minneapolis-St. Paul to New York to Nairobi, we learned that in Swahili, “safari” means journey. It seemed fitting, as we sensed that we were about to experience something profound.

Once we left Nairobi, where we visited the stocked national park and the famed Sheldrick elephant orphanage on our own, our days with Angell took on a certain rhythm. We woke before sunrise, drank a quick coffee, and went for a morning game drive as the light turned warm and golden, while some animals roused and others headed to sleep. We saw hippos returning to their ponds and learned that they are the deadliest animal for humans, and to avoid getting between them and their water source. Baboons descended en masse from treetops, chattering and scampering. One morning, a family of silver-backed jackals trotted down a road and disappeared into their den.

At around 8:30, we’d return to camp for breakfast, take a quick break and head back out for a few hours to look for more animals, or drive to a new location.

During these midday treks, we saw a series of animals tussling. One time it was male giraffes whacking each other by swinging their long necks and aiming their knobbed horns at one another’s midsections. We wondered if there was a female they were fighting over, and where she was. Another time, it was two beautiful oryx, bashing heads with grooved horns. And once, it was hippos thrashing in their pond, grappling with open mouths.

We also saw creatures I’d never heard of, like the gerenuk, an antelope with an extra-long neck that stands on hind legs to graze from trees, or the tiny dik-dik, the smallest of the antelopes, the size of a toy poodle. Then there was the rock hyrax, looking like a New York City rat but sharing the anatomical structure of an elephant.

After a late lunch, we’d head back out for a short evening drive and a sundowner, aka happy hour. Sometimes a local guide from one of Kenya’s 44 recognized tribes would accompany us. Some were armed with guns and knives, and one with a long stick that he said he’d learned to wield against crocodiles and lions during his manhood initiation. We enjoyed drinks and stunning equatorial sunsets.

Often, we caught elephants grazing. We were close enough to hear them tear at grasses and chomp, and one evening, close enough to elicit a warning trumpet and ear flaps from a huge-tusked male. We took him seriously and beat a hasty retreat.

A few times, we stayed out well after sunset. On one dusky drive, our local guide spotted two male lions lolling on a dirt field, plagued by tsetse flies. We watched for half an hour as they rolled, swatted and swung their tails. As darkness settled and the flies dissipated, they relaxed, occasionally nuzzling, until trotting off into a thatch of trees.

It was by putting in all that time, Angell said, that we were able to see so much. Some visitors sleep in, or relax poolside in the midday heat. Our attitude was to take in as much as possible in the time we had.

We kept a log of animals. We learned about birds, trees, fauna and how the landscape changes with elevation and the seasons. We found out that only 30% of lion hunts result in a successful kill, and that a zebra will feed a family of five lions for two or three days. And that hippos secrete an oil that protects their sensitive skin for a few hours while they forage on land for the 80-plus pounds of grass that adults eat daily. They poop in the water, and baby crocodiles subsist on that excrement until they grow big enough to attack hippo babies. I learned that vervet monkeys like to get into tourists’ vehicles when one jumped at my open window, causing me to shriek.

Some of our best sightings came when we veered from the easy route. Angell, a rally car driver as well as safari guide, took us down what seemed like mere suggestions of roads, rugged paths that had us hanging on tight. These forays led us to everything from a cheetah enjoying a meal, to a trio of lionesses napping, to a herd of shy giraffes that hid behind bushes — as if we might not be able to see their tall heads sticking up.

On our very last evening, we stayed out an hour after sunset and were hurrying back for dinner when Angell decided to take a less direct route. We rounded a corner and sitting on the road in front of us was a male lion, maybe four years old.

“He’s beautiful,” Angell’s wife and fellow guide, Janine, breathed, as we slowed and stopped in front of him.

The lion, unperturbed, stood slowly. He roared. Angell cut the engine. The lion roared again. We could feel it in our chests. He kept roaring as he sauntered toward us and to the side of the road, where he plopped down, camouflaged by tall grass. We stayed for a while, six humans as still and silent as possible, taking in the magnificence of the world around us.

A: It depends on when and where you go, your group size and whether you tack on extras. We found a range of options from $500 to over $1,000 a day. Outfits that offer customized tours are more expensive, with preplanned group tours on the lower side. Another option is to book a reservation at a camp or resort and pay extra for guides they employ for daily game drives. Some camps will pick you up from Nairobi or a regional airport.

Q: Did you need shots?

A: Yes. We updated standard vaccinations (COVID, MMR, hepatitis) and used CDC guidelines to determine what more we needed for Kenya. For instance, we chose to have malaria vaccinations, but not cholera shots, since we knew we’d be drinking purified water and would have low exposure. Your health care provider can guide you. Book your shots several months in advance for maximum protection.

Q: Were the bugs bad?

A: In early September, we encountered few mosquitoes at higher elevations. There were some in Mombassa near the beach. Camps provided mosquito netting over our beds and offered repellent. We treated our clothes with permethrin and packed lots of DEET and were likely overprotected. You’ll likely encounter more mosquitoes in the rainy season.

Q: Could you drink the water?

A: We were warned not to drink tap water at our camps, but they provided purified water. Our guide also provided purified water in the vehicle. I followed advice to avoid raw vegetables, opting for steamed.

Q: How was the food?

A: Most meals were buffets with varied and delicious spreads of African (think beans, rice and meat), Indian and Italian food, with lots of fresh vegetables (cooked) and fruit and a full complement of desserts. Somehow we did not gain weight.

Q: How did you find your guide?

A: Through a friend who had an office in Africa. You can reach Chris Angell via email at chrisangell42@gmail.com or Instagram: @chris_angell_safaris.