Blogs from Masai Mara NP, Rift Valley Province, Kenya, Africa

And honestly, we’re a bit done with it as well. But watching animals waits for no man, so we don our trusty ponchos and toughen up…and sit in the jeep. The drive from Mara camp was long and muddy and we got a bit of African makeup but we were happy to arrive and have some rest time before lunch and some more rest time. Off on our first game drive at Lion camp in the Olare Motorogi conservancy. Even though they’re only 2 hours drive away (which, given the state of the roads is probably only about 40k), the country surrounding Mara and Lion camps could not be more different. While still very green and underwater, Lion camp was characterised by open fields and rolling hills. The grass was particularly long due to the lack ... read more

"I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills." This is the famous opening line of Karen Blixen's (pen name Isak Dinesen) book Out of Africa, made even more famous by the lush and romantic film adaptation starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. Kenya also has a romantic allure for anyone, such as myself, who has read the short stories of Ernest Hemingway, a fervent lover of Africa. Having already traveled to the African countries of Morocco and South Africa, I finally arrived in Kenya in mid-August 2023 for a private 10-day safari (which means "journey" in Swahili) that was organized by the travel company Adventure Life. The first stop on the itinerary was at Karen, a well-to-do suburb of Nairobi where Blixen's farm was located. Her home and some land around ... read more

20221103 Maasai Mara Part 2 Thursday About mid-day, we pulled up in a scruffy barren area. I was wondering why when someone exclaimed that a small concrete monument marked the border between Kenya and Tanzania. Shaken out of our somnolence, we leapt out of the vehicles. A solemn plaque forbade entry into Tanzania, although Lucas assured us that a twenty-metre grace was allowed; beyond that anyone, particularly poachers and smugglers, could be prosecuted if found by rangers. We took silly photos across the imaginary line. Large birds stalked across the landscape, presumably finding insects and grasses to their taste. Sometimes the ostriches pecked almost continuously, and sometimes they just strolled aimlessly. Seen in the wild, their incongruous shape seems quite natural. From a distance, the full feathered body could be mistaken for a termite mound. The ... read more

Back on the road after lunch, we moved more slowly as we entered the private North Mara Conservancy, where fenced farms were not allowed. (Conservancies allow unfenced farms; National Parks do not allow any farms.) Lots of zebras were immediately obvious, then warthogs, distant rhinos, gazelles, and many more Topi. Far towards the horizon, giraffes became apparent, sometimes resembling sticks because they were so far away. To my surprise, I began to catch sight of the animals on my own. Thomson’s Gazelles were easily identified from the distinctive curved black line on their sides. We were slowly climbing a towering escarpment out of the Rift Valley. The road led to the lowest end, steadily rose, then took a sharp turn to go all the way up. The Mara West Camp parking lot was busy when we ... read more

Up a bit earlier today and leaving camp with Wilson at 6:50am to get to the park gates soon after 7am for a full day in the Mara. We spent much of the morning driving to and fro across the Mara following sightings of a leopard. The first we missed so had a brief detour to the river where we saw a baby crocodile and the stone marking the boundary with Tanzania (we didn’t stop for a photo as leopard!) - then shot off back to the other side of the Mara where a leopard had recently made a kill (wild dog Simba said). We passed lots of vans going the other way so were a bit worried it would have gone but there was still one van there who pointed out to us the bush ... read more