The Voice of an Angel at the Equator

An early morning allowed us to leave The Ark and head to Lake Nakuru National Park.  We started Day Two of our safari with a game drive.  It did not disappoint!

Warthog.

Cape Buffalo.

Silver backed Jackal.

White Rhino.

Zebra.

Baboon.

Rare North American brown haired Greg.

Our overland truck has roof hatches and steps that allow us to stand, look out and take photos. 

Jacob and Greg in the roof hatch.

Our drive took us across the equator and through part of the Great Rift Valley, which extends from Syria to Mozambique. 

As Jacob pronounced it:  The Great Riftee Valley

Greg and Zanner standing on the Equator.
Every time a sailor crosses the Equator, he gets a new tattoo.
Thank goodness we were driving.

During my travels, people always ask if the water rotates the other way in the Southern hemisphere.  Well, in fact, it does.  At our stop at the equator, a man showed us a neat experiment.  He had a bucket and a match stick.  The bucket had a hole in the bottom.  The experiment was such that as he drained the water from the bucket, the matchstick that was floating on top of the water would rotate. 

Highly technical scientific experiment equipment.

We stood north of the equator, and the match stick turned clockwise.  A few steps took us to the southern hemisphere and the match stick turned counter-clockwise.  I am sure you are dying to know what happened when we stood directly on the equator.  The matchstick did not rotate.  I love science!  This was almost too much excitement for one day.
 

The Kenyans took very good care of us.  There were many extra security precautions due to the tensions between Kenya and the Somali Al-Shabaab terrorist group.  Anytime we entered a hotel, park or a crowded area, security was present and they would scan us, our vehicle and contents.  A few weeks prior to my arrival in Kenya, Al-Shabaab bombed a nightclub and a coffee shop in Nairobi.  This fact was always on the back of my mind during the safari, but once we left the big cities I was confident we were safe.

After a day of game drives, we had dinner at the Lake Nakuru lodge.  We were entertained by a Kenyan choir whose singers created beautiful harmonies to well known songs like "Michael Row Your Boat".  It was beautifully rhythmic. 

Not too shabby!

Our room at Lake Nakuru Lodge.

View from our room of the Nakuru plains.

Towards the end of the choir performance, each singer explained how their voice was inspired by one of the animals from the land (pelican, rhino, gazelle, buffalo etc.).  They selected me out of the crowd to join them in a song and dance.  This was followed up by the lead singer saying my voice was inspired by an angel.  Ha - the Angel of Off-Key maybe!  Their charm worked well and resulted in delusions of my singing prowess, and Greg buying their CD.  A little flattery can go straight to the bank.