Masai Mara was an amazing, whirlwind trip, and I can’t believe it is already here and gone. In hindsight, I almost wish we had stayed for another day because there is so much to see in the park.
We left early Friday morning, bumping and careening our way along in the matatu until we reached the smooth roads (about 3 hours into our journey). Along the way, I also had my first experience using an authentic Kenyan restroom, which translates to a hole in a poorly-ventilated stall. If you need details on this, you’ll have to wait until I come back home and we can talk face-to-face. Suffice it to say, it’s a good thing those Kenyan engineers design the operation to be graded toward the hole. In any case, we arrived to the Fig Tree Camp after 8 hours on the road. We grabbed lunch at the restaurant, and discovered that meals at Fig Tree are buffets, with a soup course first, and plenty of desserts! We certainly didn’t go hungry this weekend, especially considering the meals were included!
Next, we brought our bags to our rooms, and prepared for our first game drive. We started out at 4pm, and had two full hours in the park. The first ride was incredible, as everything around us was new. The Mara is different from Lake Nakuru; it is a huge, sweeping stretch of plains, groves, and brushland, where all of Africa’s beautiful wildlife roam free. Well, mostly free. That is, when they’re not surrounded by an intrusive matatu paparazzi! We streaked across the plains, enchanted by the herds of zebras, antelopes, gazelles, and impala. We joked around that the zebras are so commonplace to us now, they don’t even inspire a snapshot. Instead, the adjusted attitude is, “Oh, those are just zebras,” and “Not another zebra!” The real excitement started when we came across our first lions! Actually, we were tipped off by the crowd of matatus (what’s goin on over there?), and found a male lion relaxing in a cool clay enclave while his lioness counterpart hid in the brush above him. We went bananas. Oh my gosh, it’s a lion! And there’s the female! Whoaaaaa. We quickly and astutely took note of the wildlife safari etiquette – when your matatu driver takes you to a good “find”, he jockeys for position with the other drivers to get you as close as he possibly can, within breath-smelling distance if at all possible. He then promptly cuts the engine and all matatu passengers commence to exclaim their immediate feelings to one another in excited, slightly hushed whispers.
Cameras blazing, we showed the lion our appreciation of his majesty. The indifferent lion tolerated us until the lioness made her way down to the enclave to join him. We clicked and clicked, and then the lions did what lions do best. Roar? Et eh. Kill something and eat it? Nope. Gracefully race across the plains? No, no, no. They started getting it on! Embarrassed, I awkwardly put down my camera and tried to decide where to look. Fortunately, my trusty colleagues had better instincts than mine – what did they do? They took a video! We followed the lion pair as they crossed the small stream and then laid down in the grass for a nap. Our driver informed us that adult male lions mate approximately 300 times a week. That’s about twice an hour, non-stop, round the clock. I guess it’s a good thing it only took about 45 seconds. Apparently, the lions rest for at least 15 to 20 minutes after each escapade, so we sat around in the matatu, hushed whispers flying, and waited for the lions to move again. It took about 40 mnutes, but they did finally stir, decided to give the crowd of matatus something to talk about, and then laid down again! After this we took off, because it was obvious that this particular pair were a little more into themselves than doing something exciting like roaring or hunting.
We moved on, viewing more of the “common” Mara wildlife, such as zebras, antelope, and wildebeest. Next, we encountered a pair of young male lions napping with a lioness. No steamy stories here, just plain observation. We took off, and next found a group of elephants grazing in the plains. The sun was at the point where it is just beginning to approach the horizon, casting lovely rose and peach rays across the plains. The elephants looked magnificent, and we took tons of pictures. Happy as clams, we finally had to depart because the park hours were past closing. We saw a gorgeous sunset, and even happened across a trio of startled lions on our way back to the camp. All in all, the first game drive was spectacular. We headed back for dinner, then showered up and crashed because we had an early start the next morning.
Saturday, we woke up early, to start our morning game drive at 6:15am. It was rough getting up so early on a trip, but well worth it – we were out before all of the other matatus, and our dedication paid off; we actually watched the sun rise over the plains, as an adult male lion was passing through. Our driver positioned us perfectly, and we caught some amazing pics. The whole scene was surreal, and exquisitely beautiful. We feasted our eyes on the lions for a while, then took off once the matatu congestion began. We saw a pair of giraffes further out on the plains and caught up with them, a mother-offspring pair. Next, we followed a trio of hyenas for a short ways. It was interesting that two of the three spotted hyenas were wearing collars. Our guide, Eric, told us that they are tracked by researchers. Next, we saw a group of lionesses, including one mother playing with her two young cubs, which was delightful. Other highlights included two more families of elephants, some elands, a vulture, and an owl. Then, it was time to head back to camp to get ready for the Masai village!
This was a remarkable and unique experience, and I am very glad we went. To keep things brief, we got to tour a Masai village. The Masai are one of the oldest tribes, and most Masai people still keep the Masai cultural traditions, which include specific ceremonies, certain dress and decoration, and a nomadic lifestyle. We got to see and participate in the women’s dance, tour and learn about a Masai home, and see the men dance. I really enjoyed it, and our host, Jeremiah, was wonderful about answering our questions and explaining the traditions of his people.
We came back to the camp and had some time to enjoy the pool, grab lunch, and take a nap at the pool in the sun. Then, we had our second evening game drive, where we saw hippos for the first time! To be honest, they were a little poky. All you could really see was the top of their heads and their nostrils as they rose to the surface for a breath. I was hoping that they would go up onto the banks of the river, but no such luck. We did, however, get to see a couple of spats where one hippo rubbed another the wrong way and they tussled in the water. They also barked a little bit, which was cool. Then, back to laying around in the cool mud. On this drive, we also saw a male ostrich, more lions and elephants, as well as a wonderful sunset. Then, we headed back to camp for dinner, and rest.
Sunday, we again got up early for a game drive, hoping to see leopards and cheetah. We drove all around for quite a while without any success. The highlights from this drive were a group of giraffes, elands, and a warthog family. Then, we headed back to the camp for breakfast, and then to start the long journey home.
In Kenya, we always hear about the “Big Five”, which are the African animals with the most celebrity: lions, elephants, rhinos, water buffalo, and leopards. Now, I have seen all of the Big Five except for leopards. Leopards are usually only seen in Lake Nakuru, which we have already visited, and Masai Mara. So, it seems that Masai Mara has given me a reason to return to Africa.
