Advertisement
Published: March 21st 2011
Edit Blog Post
On Wednesday, we woke up early for a delicious Spanish omelet before heading to Masai Mara. We left Nakuru and traveled to Narok for a buffet lunch. While filling up on a gas, a local merchant tried to sell us cd’s of local music. He was very friendly and sang several of the tunes to us. As we were parting ways, he drew a big grin and commented on how beautiful Lauren was. He proceeded to ask me how many cows I paid for her before belting out in a tremendous laugh. In Narok, we picked up our chef, Joshua. Of all the people we have met, he is by far the most jovial. The road from Narok to Masai Mara was not long, but “hell” according to our driver. The dirt road was littered with crater like potholes. For the next several hours, we bounced from side to side and swerved on and off the road. Despite the horrendous conditions, we were riveted by the scenery. Along the way, we watched as the Masai men herded their cattle and their goats in search of green pastures. Long and slender, the Masai are quite majestic to watch of the plains with
their bright red shukas (blanket that is worn similar to poncho or shawl), herding sticks, and spears. Along the way, we also passed a school bus and several schools where the children waved with ear to ear smiles. After a 5 hour drive, we pulled into the Sakura Mara Camp. A camp built for twenty five plus people, we had the entire place to ourselves. We unloaded our gear and then headed into the park. The gate was lined with the skulls of wildebeest, buffalo, and gazelles. Just inside the gate, the open plain was bustling with game. We were greeted by herds of wildebeest, which I find to be one of the most quintessential African animals. A few minutes in, we stumbled upon a sleeping male lion. As we watched, a Land Rover with Rangers drove by. The lion picked up and walked within touching distance of our van!!! We were left stunned as he walked into the distance. Our drive proceeded with close-up encounters of elephants, buffalo, all varieties of gazelles, and zebra. The highlight of our night came as we made our way toward the exit. We stopped quickly as a lioness and her four playful cubs
walked along the side of the road next to us. The setting and situation were both so perfect it seemed as if the mother was parading her children in show for us. Ending the night, we watched the sun set in beautiful shades of red and purple.
Thursday was our full day game drive. We woke up to a hearty breakfast and watched the sunrise in our camp. We left camp at 8:45 and headed into the park. Our day began with a quick drive to find lions feasting on a fresh kill. Two males lions and a lioness were enjoying a Masai cow killed during the night. Surrounding the lions were hungry cultures and jackals hoping for their share. We came to find out that the Masai had chose to illegally graze their cattle in the park during the night and one had been preyed on by the lions. In a fury, the tribal men headed out to hunt the guilty party. They were intercepted by the park rangers who needed to brandish their guns to drive off the Masai. We were lucky to have the perfect day in the park. Due to the intense sun here in
Kenya, the sky often glistens with a grey hue. Today, the skies seemed far more blue and was filled with fluffy white clouds. As we traveled from our camp to the Tanzania border (where Masai Mara quietly blends into Serengeti), we sighted scores of game. We watched as an elephant troop played in the mud. We stumbled on a massive male lion and his mate keeping cool in the shadows. Possibly the highlight of the day was our interaction with a cheetah. Relaxing in the shrubs, the cheetah studied all of the comings and goings in front of him. We scored amazing photos of the cheetah after I leaned too far out the van and agitated him. At midday, we approached the international border. A large stone monument denotes the line where Kenya becomes Tanzania. With one foot on each side of the stone, we stood in two places at once!!! We continued to the Mara River where the wildebeest annually migrate from Kenya to Tanzania during the Great Migration. Large hippo families wallowed in the mud while crocodiles lurked on the shores. A park ranger armed with a rifle guided us along the river banks to get closer to
the animals. After the river, we made our way all the way back to camp.
We woke up extra early Friday to watch the sunrise over Masai Mara. We drove into the park and watched as the sun slowly lit up the rolling savannah. The sun seemed to slowly wake up the animals as more and more became active with the daylight. Though we have seen many amazing sunrises, the sun here is blindingly brilliant. With the sun now lighting the way, we headed further into the park to find the animals. Though we had spent hour son safari in the previous days, our final day was just as spectacular, with cheetah, lion, buffalo, elephant, and antelopes all in sight. Since arriving in Kenya, I had an unusual craving for pancakes. To my surprise, our safari cook made a huge spread of delicious pancakes. We enjoyed the full breakfast and then loaded into the van for a long haul back to Nairobi.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.051s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 14; qc: 33; dbt: 0.0188s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
BSunio
non-member comment
My vote
Jake I liked your sunset the best! sorry Lauren. So happy for both of you that you were able to take such a wonderful and memorable trip. Thanks for sharing your pictures. Bren :)