Photos courtesy of Lisa Sonne Lisa Sonne sits atop a camel at Mombasa Beach after a scuba dive in the Indian Ocean. On Sonne's animal-filled journey to Kenya last month, camels waited on the beach to give rides across the sand not far from the historic Arabian trading post.

An April sunset in Amboseli National Park, one of the "59 game reserves in Kenya where one can see different animals in their natural habitat," according to Nyambura Kamau, the consul general in Los Angeles for the Republic of Kenya.

Masai tribespeople greet visitors at the Amboseli Sopa Lodge. The Masai is one of the best known tribes in Kenya.

"Giraffe at 1 o'clock!"

I pointed excitedly from the open top space of our safari van.

Our driver and guide, Mungai Njungo, had already slowed down on the bumpy dirt road that seemed to stretch ahead to nowhere but took us everywhere. His keen Kikuyu eyes spotted animals before we did, but he let us enjoy our own sense of discovery.

The trip last month was billed as "Magical Kenya," and for me it surely was.

As we got closer, a giraffe neck taller than a person swung up from behind the bushes. Then, another giraffe emerged, and another, until there were five.

When I zoomed in with my camera, I saw delicate eyelashes. The gawky yet graceful creatures ignored us as they grazed and we gazed.

We were in Amboseli National Park and had already stopped for families of stately African elephants to cross our path. Ears flapped, tails swished, trunks swung.

Sheltered between the tusked behemoths were two "little" babies. The smallest of them simply fell over at one point, as if forgetting for a moment how to walk. The youngster rose quickly and carried on with the herd.

Magnificent and majestic, all seemed unfazed by our presence.

There were four of us humans clicking away as we shot them (with cameras, not guns).

We were part of a larger group of 200 international journalists who were invited by the Kenyan Tourist Board to visit as soon as internal politics stabilized a bit and the U.S. State Department eased its travel warnings.

A coalition co-presidency was set up to end Kenya's violent civil disturbances. December's disputed election triggered more than 1,000 deaths and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of nationals.

Although no tourists were reported harmed, the tourist industry itself was a casualty. Operators and managers I spoke with cited visitor decreases ranging from 45-90 percent.

Tourism has been a billion-dollar-a-year industry for the country. At stake are the livelihoods of workers and their families, the tribal centers that sell crafts, and the animal reserves that count on visitors to send a strong message that protecting animals is more profitable than poaching them.

As the country tries to rebuild socially, it is asking the tourists of the world to help it rebuild economically — not with long-distance handouts but by visiting firsthand and spending money. In a country where the average income is less than 120 shillings (about $2) a day, tips alone can affect family life.

Nature on the hoof

Our weeklong journey in southern Kenya took us in vans from Nairobi, a modern city of almost 3 million, to the 400-year-old coastal port of Mombasa.

The trip would have been about 520 kilometers (323 miles) if driven directly, but we added side trips to lava flows, tribal homesteads and hippo hangouts. We also enjoyed several "game drives" before flying Kenya Air for an easy return to Nairobi.

They were called "game drives" because we drove past game animals in their natural habitats. Ironically, we were the ones captive, in our metal cage with wheels.

Out in the bush, we were not allowed to leave the vehicle without special permission. There may have been man-eating lions, testy buffalo and mothers aggressively protecting their young in the area.

On our second day of game drives, we rounded a bend to see a 6-foot ostrich in the road. Behind the huge, feathered drumstick of a creature was a mesmerizing mosaic of moving black and white lines, a group of zebras.

A fellow passenger, Lorne Mallin, gave new meaning to "road trip" by beginning to keep track of all the animals we found in the road.

Even Robert Burch, who had been on "better safaris" during his "more than 60 trips to Africa," was unjaded when we spotted a striking fringe-eared oryx. This creature was a "first" for him, and he excitedly captured images of its distinct facial markings and long, straight horns.

Big-game hunting with a lens

The word "safari" is actually Swahili for "travel" or "journey."

The "big five" for hunters to bag were lions, buffalos, elephants, leopards and rhinos. During my short trip, I captured four with my camera, missing only the swift leopard. Nevertheless, I was moved beyond counting when I saw giraffes, zebras, hyenas, warthogs, bat-eared fox, kudu, dik-dik, waterbucks, hartebeests, impalas, gazelles, blue monkeys, Vervet monkeys and baboons.

When we stopped at the oasis of Mzima Springs, I even observed hippos and crocodiles in the wild.

We ended up watching most of the animals featured in "Lion King," including the hornbill bird (the animated major domo Zazu).

But this was real live action, not a cartoon. We smelled the grasses, felt the caked dust dissolve to mud with our perspiration and, sometimes, when we stopped the van, we could hear the animals.

We were actually in some of the most beautiful landscapes of the movie "Out of Africa," which was set and filmed in Kenya. My vistas sometimes expanded to infinity and took me with them in every direction.

The flat-topped acacia trees punctuated the long grassy parchments of earth with tales we are almost illiterate in now. But we sense the ancient story.

Kenya is sometimes called "the cradle of humanity." Dr. Richard Leakey found human bones there that speak of our earliest origins. Some primal memory seems scratched in the magnetic draw of the place.

"When I return to Kenya, I feel like I am coming home; east Africa has become my place of refuge and renewal," David Dolan told me before I left. The chairman of the Southern California chapter of the Explorers Club has been to Kenya 15 times.

Preserving the species

The country also is trying to be a place of sanctuary for animals; Kenya now has 59 animal parks and reserves, one of the largest concentrations in the world.

We only had time to visit Amboseli and Tsavo West and East as a group. On our "free" day, I opted for a day-trip out of Nairobi along the commanding Rift Valley to Lake Nakuru National Park.

It is the renowned home of countless pink flamingos, but for me the highlight was getting so close to a white rhino we heard it chewing.

In this brief sojourn to Kenya, I witnessed an injured lioness with her two cubs, huge open spaces with hundreds of buffalo roaming, a sunrise with the peaks of Kilimanjaro poking through opalescent clouds, and birds with the colors of tropical fish.

Standing in the van with the wind in my face, I felt like I was sailing over a terrestrial ocean as large as any sea.

The roads ultimately took us to the beach resorts of Mombasa on the coast — truly white sands line-dancing with the light blues and greens of the Indian Ocean.

The gate-guarded tourist destinations offered recreation, restaurants, spas and sports. In front of the family-oriented Voyager beach resort, camels waited to give rides across the sand not far from the historic Arabian trading post.

I stayed at the high-end Serena Beach Hotel, where the grounds were scented by frangi-pani and monkeys with blue rumps scampered the landscaped paths.

At the spa named Maisha (Swahili for "life"), an Indian neck and shoulder massage re-energized me after the dust and bumps of the road.

The intriguing morning markets; the ancient Fort Jesus, built by the Portuguese in 1593; the narrow winding Mombasa maze of "Old Town" all beckoned.

But I was still in safari mode. I wanted to see the big game of the Indian Ocean.

Buccaneer Diving took a small group of us out and, after a gentle roller coaster of swells, we backward-rolled into a coral sea quite different than the kelp forests of the Channel Islands.

A white-tip reef shark glided within 8 feet of me, and then another. But it was the sea anemone — 3 feet across — and the gentle, sleeping turtle — more than 6 feet long — that really captured my attention. Everything seemed to live large under there, and I was one of the few divers to enjoy it.

Bruce Phillips, founder of Buccaneer Diving, said the customer base has dropped about 75 percent since the disputed December election and hasn't picked up yet since the coalition cabinet was announced April 13.

Traditionally this time of year, a "rainy season" there, has lower tourist turnout. For economic recovery, Phillips said, "We are hoping like mad for July!"

Hakuna matata

In this country of grand contrasts, one thing remained constant. Whether we were on the coast, in the urban center of Nairobi's Hilton or back in the bush in wonderful resorts like the Salt Lick Lodge in the Taita Hills and the Amboseli Sopa Lodge, we were warmly greeted with gorgeous smiles and "karibu!" ("welcome!") or "jambo!" ("hello!")

We were given refreshing drinks and wet towels and treated like we were truly welcome. My favorite Swahili phrase became "Asante sana," which means, "Thank you very much."

There were at least 42 tribes of people with their own languages and dialects in Kenya, but English and Swahili were common.

When I asked for something (an additional electrical adaptor or more water), I was told, "Hakuna matata," the great phrase and song in "Lion King." It really is Swahili for "No worries."

I would like to tell the world, "Hakuna matata"; pack now and go see your own peaceful parts of "Lion King" and "Out of Africa."

The truth is, though, change is fragile, so it is important to check on travel warnings and do research before booking.

Here's hoping for good times ahead. This summer could be a dream-fulfilling time to see wild animals on safaris, and help the Kenyan people's realities.

One of the greatest animal migrations in the world takes place in Kenya between July and October. Huge herds of wildebeests and zebras and large predators are expected to be on the move.

I know I want to go back.

Nyambura Kamau, the consul general of the Republic of Kenya, told me that on my first trip to Kenya, I would fall in love with the country. I did.

She also said with a smile that I would see so many elephants, I would probably get tired of them. I didn't.

— Lisa Sonne of Agoura Hills is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared on CBS, PBS, Animal Planet and National Geographic Television, among other places. She publishes WorldTouristBureau.com and, with her husband, Victor Dorff, a teacher at California Lutheran University, founded the volunteer-run CharityChecks.us.