Monday 24 October 2011

Masai Mara

As Thursday was a national holiday in Kenya, I took the opportunity to go on a four day Masai Mara camping safari.  My adventure started 7.30am Thursday morning when I was dropped off at the tour company offices in Nairobi; by 8am we were on the road, picking up other members of the group along the way.  The journey to Masai Mara was approximately 5hrs, but we stopped off at the rift valley view point and also for lunch, so it broke the journey nicely.  I was forewarned about the rough journey to the Mara, but nothing could prepare me for the reality….it was a bumpy ride…pot holes everywhere, I can’t count the number of times my head hit the roof of the bus.


We arrived at our camp late afternoon, dropped off our bags, then went straight to the park for an evening game drive, we saw zebras, buffalos, elephants, giraffes and more, all on our first drive, we even saw a lion and its pride.....and literally 2mins after that we all had to get out of our bus and help another bus that got stuck in a ditch; which, might I add, was only a couple of metres away from a rotting buffalo carcass (i'm guessing this was the lions doing)…now that was something. The whole experience was like watching a real life documentary…I was expecting David Attenborough to pop up from somewhere and start giving me a running commentary.   We stayed in the park until sunset and then returned back to camp for dinner then bed for another early start the next day. 

Not a great situation to be in!
 
Friday we set out early and spend the whole day in the park…we saw pretty much the whole of the Lion King cast (definitely need to watch that film again!).  We even saw a black Rhino, which I understand is extremely rare…we got lucky.  In the evening we got the opportunity to see how the Maasai tribe live, probably one of the most iconic tribes here in Kenya, renowned for their nomadic lifestyle and their distinct physique and dress.   It was amazing to see how they live, their houses made of mud and sticks…with no windows (they told me this is to prevent mosquitoes entering) and all the amenities under one roof.

Third day we headed to Lake Nakuru, which was another 5hr drive, and stayed overnight.   This is not as big as Masa Mara, but very scenic and picturesque…a nice end to an amazing safari.

The Maasai Tribe

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