HALLER PARK IN MOMBASA 9th of 27 Emails

“Jumbo!” Again from Africa!

We had a great time today visiting an outstanding reclamation project here in Mombasa. It's called Haller Park and is a huge game reserve covering miles of square miles that was done by the major cement company in the area to help reclaim the pits they dug for cement dirt on one little part of the park area.

A great example of cooperation between business and government to reclaim land and provide one of the best natural tourist attractions in Africa. Amazingly, once you are inside the gate, the venues to see the animals are so natural you could hardly tell it from the wild bush at times.

Yet, it was much safer than the wild. Even so, you never had any feeling that it was like a zoo. America could take some lessons from here on how to develop it's zoos.

Everywhere there were huge full clam shells, some as big as ½ a Volkswagen beetle. They are all fossilized along with big trunks of trees.

This place was once part of the sea as it is along the coast. Baboons and monkeys were running everywhere around and we walked through gazelles, giant turtles, elephants, etc.

The giraffes we fed were behind fences and the hippos were below us in the water, unfenced, but with a pretty steep slope which they would have had to climb to get at us.

A fascinating true story known worldwide is of the giant tortoise, Mzee, which we fed and scratched his long neck and head, and Owen, the baby hippo, that became her baby when the little hippo was orphaned. At first Mzee didn't accept the 600 pound baby turtle trying to nuzzle into her and sleep with her. But, over time she adopted him. The pictures of them together doing those times are fascinating.

Now, of course, the 2000 pound Owen lives elsewhere here, but it's a wonderful example of animal love and adaptation that people could learn a real lesson from.

The national game parks and reserves, of course, are the prime places for seeing animals, especially the big cats...lions, leopards, cheetahs, etc.

But, it's been very interesting to us to see many elephants, giraffes, zebras, and especially monkeys, baboons, exotic birds, etc many places we go in the countryside. And, it's common to hear real life stories from village people about their encounters with those animals...some of them ending in loss of life...and, especially them losing gardens and water and sometimes their little huts to the animals.

It is easy to see why the average African often doesn't like the animals.

Many of them have never been to a game park or stayed in a luxurious tent in the bush. And, as the population grows into the bush, it makes their homes closer to the animals and possible death.

So, there's little benefit to the villagers and bush people, except when they can occasionally kill an animal for food and even that is outlawed most places. Some government and non-profit programs have been set up so the people benefit from the park tourist economy, which helps the people be more accepting of the white tourists flocking here, but sometimes leaving little in return to the people themselves.

Tourism has become Africa's biggest asset, so it's very critical that the people somehow support it. And, it seems to be working better here than other countries we've visited around the world, because we generally feel a much more genuine friendliness and less resentment from them than we've felt in most other continents and places we've seen around the world.

I think that's also because of the deep, genuine kindness and friendliness of the African people.

We think of you each day and our prayers are said for you. We hope all is well at home and are grateful we can communicate at least by e-mail. There's little regular mail here. What there is takes weeks and weeks. It continues amazing how, even in the 2^nd largest city where conditions are better than anywhere else, the simplest little things we take for granted back home are often not available. So, we count our blessings much more now.

Love to you all,

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