I must really love the Kilimanjaro Safari!  Every time I take the tour I act like I’ve never seen any of those animals before in my life (and may never see them again).  I take a million pictures.  As if my life depends on it.  Every.  Single.  Time.

I can’t just get in the vehicle and happily listen to the guide as we go along on our exotic animal-spotting expedition.  I hear, “Jambo, Everyone!” and I immediately start swiveling and craning, camera ever at the ready – snapping pictures like crazy!  WHY!?!!  What causes this irresistible urge to photograph every single animal over and over again?  How many pictures of giraffes eating does one family need?

If you haven’t yet enjoyed this grand adventure in the Africa section at Disney’s Animal Kingdom – hit it as early in the day as possible while everybody out there on the savannah is feeling perky and moving around.  Once in the park, head for the Tree of Life.  Once you’ve crossed the bridge onto Discovery Island, keep the Tree on your right as you go back along its left side.  You’ll cross one more bridge and then you’ll be in Africa!  The line for the Safari moves quickly and the tour takes about 18 minutes to wind you all around the 100 acres of African habitat.

There are some extremely cool animals to see and, if you’re lucky, many of them get pretty close to you (while you bump along safely in your open-air tour vehicle).  I prefer sitting close to the front (if I can manage it) and at either end of the bench seat (to minimize the number of times I accidentally take a picture of the back of someone’s head).

Among the many animals you can see (and photograph!) are rhinos, lions, wildebeest, crocodiles, antelope, giraffe hippos, elephants, okapi, mandrills, and many others.  Go ahead, take some pictures.  I’ve decided that for some of us, that’s just how we answer the call of the wild.