LAIKIPIA PLATEAU, KENYA - Camels and giraffes munch on crunchy acacia leaves by a grass-fringed watering hole, oblivious to the stranger admiring them from a distance. From my balcony in the Ol Malo House, I gaze across a vast, rugged and wilderness-rich sanctuary. The house is built on a craggy cliff on the edge of the Great Rift Valley amid the foothills of Mount Kenya.

NAIROBI, KENYA – My African safari adventure started rather unexpectedly – upon arriving and just a few kilometers outside Nairobi’s international airport, when a herd a zebras brought our mini-van to a halt at a road crossing reserved for them.