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Published: October 7th 2008
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We reached the Maasi Mara at about 7.00pm, just in time for the generator to be started. We were staying in a permanent tented bush camp. The camp was surrounded by a fence made of bushes, to help keep out the wild animals. A Maasi tribesman also stayed on guard at night with a bow and arrows. While we were there, we heard lions and hyienas at night. There were quite a few Maasi camps in the area and probably attracted the preditors to their cattle and goats.
We came to the Maasi Mara to see the migration herds. These are the 2 000 000 wildebeest and zebra which make migrate from the southern parts of the Serengeti in Tanzania, to the Maasi Mara and back again in the same year, It is regarded as one of the natural wonders of the world.
We were fortunate to see these migration herds, and it is a site you will never forget. 1000's and 1000's of wildebeest spread out right in front of you, to as far as you can see. You just look in wonder and shake your head in disbelief. It is an amazing specticle.
To get to the Maasi Mara
from the Serengeti and vise versa the herds need to get across a number of rivers at the boarder, this in itself is known to be one of the natural wonders. The animals are fearful of the rivers as more often than not preditors lie in wait. The herds build up on the bank waiting for one or two in the herd to make the leap and start to cross the river. Once this happens it has a flow on affect and all of the herd that is waiting to cross will simply follow the beast in front and cross the river in a continuous flow of animals until all of the herd has crossed.
We reached the Mara River bridge, which is the only bridge over the Mara River into Tanzania. This happens to be a gathering site for a large number of vultures, as they feast on the carcasses of wildebeest which have been killed or drowned crossing further up stream. The current deposits them on the rocks where the vultures feast.
We had lunch here with the Black Faced Monkeys then headed to one of the Border markers between Tanzania and Kenya. We stopped for a photo
and our guide said we will head to Sandy River, as on our way to lunch, he noticed a large herd of wilebeest heading that way.
As we arrived there the herd was gathering on the bank, and a few zebras were nervously gazing at the riverbed from the top of the bank. There was not a lot of water in the river but this means nothing to the animals crossing, because they associate rivers with danger, no matter how much water is flowing past.
We drove through the herd to take up a position on a grassy bank down below the top of the river bank. This would give us great view if they were to cross and it looked like they would.
The zebras at the top of the bank came down almost to the edge of the water then spooked and retreated to the safety of the top of the bank. The wildebeest now at the top of the bank started making their way nervously down to the edge of the water, stopped for a moment, then at a trot then a canter started off through the water and up the bank on the other side. This
started a chain reaction and the whole herd filed down the bank accross the river and up the bank on the other side. It was an amazing site. There were about 5000 or more animals in the herd, and every one of them crossed that river. The side of the river that was full of animals was now bare, and the side that was empty was now full.
Our guide said we are very luck to be here at this time as few people see a river crossing by this many animals, or a river crossing at all for that matter. You need to be there at precisely the right time when you are on a safari as it can be many days between river crossings, and they can occur at a number of sights. Film crews have sat for days even weeks to get footage of a river crossing. We felt privelaged to see this happen.
We were hoping to see this but new that realisticly our chances were very very slim. Seeing the migration herds in great numbers as we did, we were very happy. But to actually see a river crossing was just the icing on the
cake, it couldn't have happened any better.
That has put an end to our African safari and we had a fantastic time. Our next journey starts in Cairo, Egypt, see you there.
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