What a Magical Place!

The last two Saturdays, I've had the privilege and pleasure of going to Arusha National Park. This park, which is located on Mount Meru, is covered in lush, thick forests. I love it so much! I love the dappled sunlight piercing through the layered canopy of forest. I love the carpet of clovers and moss under the cool shadows of mossy trees. I love all the bushbuck and duikers that you can see scampering quietly and delicately through their carpeted home under the knurled trees, with their rich red coats sometimes speckled with beautiful white spots. The best word to describe this untouched forest is MAGICAL. The fresh air, the cool temperature, the trickling sound of a pure stream, the dappled sunlight on the forest floor, the padded footsteps of a forest animal, and the louder but still peaceful sound of a waterfall all contribute to the magical reality of this forest. The mad rush to see all the animals you can that you find in other national parks fades away in the Arusha National Park, forcing you to enjoy the extravagance of raw nature.

Above all the spectacular places in the forest, the Miao waterfall is my favorite place to be. The small trickling waterfall falls into a stream that turns left right in front of a perfect lawn of grass. This allows you to sit right in front of the waterfall without sitting in the stream. This perfect grass creates clearing in thick forest. Once you have reclined on the grass for a while, soaking in the beauty of your surrounding, you sit up and dip your feet into the very cold but crystal clear stream. After wading around a little, you have the picnic that was packed for you. You eat in silence still awed by the beauty God chose to put in nature. After awhile you decide to take a little walk with your guide (well, your supposed to have a guide :). You are overjoyed to find another trickling waterfall like the first. As you continue on, you find yet another waterfall! This one falls over an overhanging cliff and flows into another stream. You find a spot to sit down. You notice speechlessly how the sunlight is piercing through the thick canopy and lighting up the smooth rocks and churning water. By this time you’re just bubbling inside and running over with joy. You can’t soak it all in at once. Its too much, to saturated! You suddenly burst out singing because the waterfall is loud enough to drown out your voice. As you hike back to the first waterfall, pack up the picnic and drive away in the car to enjoy the forest more your are so aware to the REALITY of God's nature. Its real! Out of the fake man-made devices and feelings of the city you find the beautiful reality of nature.

Here are some photos, but no matter how skilled the photographer or writer is, pictures or words cant describe the wonders of nature. So go see it for yourself!

(The pictures of the bee-eaters are not in the forest, but they are in a part of ANP)