Day 5-6 - Siana Community Conservation Area

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Geo: -1.48848, 35.0464

After a flight on 2 separate twin-propped planes, the 5 of us combined again at the Maasai Mara airstrip.....literally a dirt strip. We were met by our guide, William, in another Toyota Land Cruiser, but this one was specially modified to enable us to sit on the roof when the time was right.

The 2-hour drive took us through remote Maasai villages and more wildlife. We then arrived at Leleshwa Camp, which is located within the Siana Community Conservation Area on the northeastern edge of the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. The camp was incredibly luxurious, but the accommodations had canvas sides, zippered doors, and Maasai tribal members providing watch all night, as it was an open camp surrounded by lions, hyenas, and other wildlife. We were not allowed to venture outside of the tents after dark, without a Maasai chaperone. That only added to the appeal.

In the evening, we did a safari drive around the Conservation Area where we saw a huge family of giraffe, reedbuck, hyena, jackal, wildebeests,topi, and many others. We watched the sunset out on the African plains while drinking Tusker beers around a campfire. We then drove back in the dark, spotlighting animals, until we arrived back at the Camp for dinner.

We had an incredible communal dinner with the 2 other guests at the Camp (who had been in Africa doing mission work with families of AIDS), the manager of the Camp, a student from Zimbabwe doing research on the Maasai culture, and our guide. We sat and conversed until bedtime.

We slept to sounds of zebras, hyenas, and other unidentified noises, but we all slept very well.

The next morning we did a walking safari of about 5 miles through the Conservation Area, and to actual Maasai village (We had our guide and a Maasai spotter with a spear to protect the five of us on our hike.) This was not a "fabricated/staged" village. We had an unbelievable experience interacting with the Maasai people, particularly the children. None of them spoke English, but our guide, William, was from another Maasai village and translated for us. We particularly enjoyed taking pictures of the kids wearing our sunglasses, and showing them the pictures on our cameras. They still live in mud and cow dung huts with no water or electricity, and measure their worth by the cows, goats, and sheep that they own. The baby calves and goats actually live in the huts with the Maasai people until they can survive on their own. The children are raised by the village and sleep in whatever hut they want. The females build the huts, cook the food, and raise the children. The males protect the village from predators and watch after the herds of livestock.

It was interesting to learn that William returns to his village when he is not working. Even though he has lived and travelled in Europe and Australia, he still practices the Maasai diet and culture when he is home. We asked him if the children in the village would wear shoes if they were provided and he responded that they would not. They like their simple lifestyle.

After an amazing lunch back at the Camp, we did another safari drive through the Conservation Area. We saw more wildlife, including large pods of hippos, and had another great campfire in the prairie, accompanied by Tusker beer and music from Sean and Sarah. Great evening and hard to believe we were in such an unbelievable place.

We had another communal dinner with the previous night's guests, plus the manager's husband and their 14 year-old son. Her husband is the manager of the Natural Habitat Mobile Camp, which is our destination for tomorrow night. Their family moved from the UK only 11 weeks before, so they were adjusting to life in Kenya. It was very interesting to hear their perspectives and experiences.

Tomorrow we head into the actual Maasai Mara reserve, and will stay at the Mobile Camp. We still have not seen wild elephants or any cats!

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