We leave our resort in the middle of the Kenyan National Forest just a few minutes after the sun goes up. It is a surreal sort of sunrise, with everything bathed in an impossibly golden hue. There is no sound but the loud growl of the truck and the wind whipping through my hair as we make our way into the African savanna.
The air feels fresher and crispier than anything I have tasted before. I feel overwhelmed with the variety of life- and also the brevity of it. A herd of hyenas run alongside us, chasing after an even larger flock of deer. My eye catches one of them, one of the largest of the lot, standing imposingly in the middle of the dirt road as his eyes trail his prey.
Does he feel in awe of the surroundings as I do- the molten gold tint, the raw scent of dew on wild grass- or is it simply background noise for him, eclipsed by the smell of his next meal?