SIDENSTRICKER TRAVELS TO AFRICA – Kevin Stridenstricker, agriculture news director for KKOW, traveled to Africa for vacation in September 2024.
Sidenstricker and his mother took this once-in-a-lifetime trip to fulfill a lifelong dream.
“My mother and her husband traveled all the time before he passed,” Sidenstricker said. “They always wanted to go to Africa but never got the chance to. She’s part of a wellness program for older adults, and they organize trips and other activities.”
A trip to Africa was coming up, so Sidenstricker’s mother asked him to travel with her. He agreed, and they traveled to Kenya and Tanzania. Their first stop was Nairobi before they traveled to Amboseli National Park.
“We spent three days there, and we got to see some incredible wildlife,” Sidenstricker said. “We saw elephants, giraffes, water buffalo, and zebras. We also got to visit the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where we saw a crater formed by a volcano millions of years ago.”
After these experiences, the group traveled to Tanzania to see the Serengeti Plain.
“I got to see even more of nature that I’d never thought I would see in real life,” Sidenstricker said. “We saw cheetahs in the trees and a leopard feeding on a fresh kill. It was remarkable to see these beautiful animals in their natural habitat. We also visited Tarangire National Park in Tanzania. We also saw ostriches, alligators, flamingos, and other wildlife.”
During the trip, Sidenstricker’s group had various accommodations.
“Some nights we were in a hotel room, while we spent other nights in tents,” Sidenstricker said. “The tents were much nicer than you might imagine. They had flooring, framing, and other amenities that made life comfortable.”
His favorite part of the trip was seeing the unique wildlife.
“It never got old to see a zebra or an elephant,” Sidenstricker said. “We saw this pride of lions with three females and nine cubs. The cubs were adorable, and getting pictures and videos of them was amazing.”
Sidenstricker also learned how agricultural practices bring harmony to the villages he visited.
“We got to stop at some of the local villages and meet some of the people that live there,” Sidenstricker said. “It was interesting to see the harmony between the different tribes because of their agricultural practices. One tribe grows grass and lets the other tribe graze their livestock on those lands. It was interesting to see such a different way of life.”
