Looking off the deck we see the nearby bright green foliage of the stream bed in front of the brown hillside. But we weren’t prepared for the beauty of the stream bed up close. Robert, a security guard who lives in the staff quarters out back, offered to take us for a walk along the stream. Because of the possibility of leopards, baboons, elephants, and buffalo we aren’t allowed to explore the stream bed by ourselves.

Anne, Robert, and Kithati are ready to take the hike down. After 50 yards or so of walking through tall grass and bushes filled with stickers that grab onto your socks, we hit a steep spot that led us to the top of the falls that Robert had promised us was there. Since this is the dry season, there was only a drip going over the edge where Kithati is standing.

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Last night on the ride back to Lewa from a meeting at a neighboring wildlife conservancy, I distracted myself from the terrifying road conditions by thinking about what next to write about. There are endless topics: work, people, rituals, shopping, traffic, living routines. Everything is interesting. But because I am feeling a bit brain muddled by massive doses of intellectual and sensory input, I’m going for the easy target: animals at night.

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