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Published: September 23rd 2006
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Morning over the Masai Mara
A joy to wake up every morning, when this is the reward. The 250 km drive from Nairobi through Narok into the Masai Mara took us almost twelve hours. This gives you an idea just how bad the roads were. In fact, most of the roads were so bad that our driver chose to drive next to the road instead. It was fun getting to know the people who would be around us 24-7 for the next few weeks, and it only took the first day to realise which seats were the crappy seats (ie the ones right at the back: when you went over a particularly nasty pothole your head practically hit the roof!).
On our first day, we experienced an African thunderstorm which cleared away to give us a glorious sunset. The effects of running on “African time” were already showing: we arrived into camp under the night sky (instead of before sunset as planned) but our dismay at the thought of pitching unfamiliar tents for the first time in the dark turned to joy when Chris, our Kenyan tour leader, announced that he had arranged for us to stay in pre-erected tents complete with beds.
The early highlight was just how amazing the night sky looks when there
Topi
They look like they've rubbed the colour off their legs. is no electricity for hundreds of kilometres. The Milky Way was so bright that it looked like cloud cover and neither of us had ever seen a sky at night like it. The silence was broken only by the sounds of strange animals surrounding the camp. Our African adventure was well and truly underway.
The sunrise was amazing! It happens so quickly out here. One minute it is dark and then next the sun’s rays break over a hill and everything is awash with a golden hue. There is something incredibly peaceful about being in the middle of miles of grassland with no form of communication, no plans, and a deep blue sky.
We saw an abundance of wildlife, including:
* Vultures fighting over a carcass
* Hippos and Crocs generally doing nothing
* Masai Giraffe (distinguished by their star-shaped patches)
* Hartebeest with their heart-shaped horns
* Topi (we swear this must have been George Lucus's inspiration for Jar-Jar Binks)
* Lions, leopard, elephants and buffalo: four of the Big Five.
* countless gazelle, zebra, and elephants
The highlight of the Masai Mara was undoubtedly watching the wildebeest migration. They are not the brightest animals we
Dinner!
Vultures enjoying a meal of wildebeest. have seen. We witnessed thousands migrating in single file when one renegade decided to follow a zebra in a different direction and the wildebeest behind it just followed it blindly. Confounded, the wildebeest further back started milling about, unsure of which group to follow. Last we saw, a large portion of wildebeest were still following that zebra. Let’s hope he was also heading for the Serengeti!
On the way back to camp our truck got stuck. It took the crew the better part of an hour, a fight with a black cobra and a lot of huffing and puffing to dig us out.
We ended the day with a beautiful sunset visit to a Masai Village. We were given a tour for a small price which went to the building of a local school. We learnt a lot about their culture and lifestyles. We were welcomed into their homes, saw a demonstration of how to make fire with 2 pieces of wood, and were given a song and dance from some of the women in the village.
One of the more interesting details we were told about was the rite of passage from boyhood to manhood. This
Hartebeest
These were named for the heart shape of the antlers apparently involved a public circumcision at around the age of 14 in the village square, and the boy’s masculinity judged on how silent he could remain throughout the ordeal. The adolescent is then given warrior status, allowed to grow his hair into warrior braids, and sent out into the wilderness for up to 2 years. During this time he must learn the healing powers of nature and, together with his group, track and kill a lion. As proof, he must return with the mane, teeth, claws and skin, turning the mane into a ceremonial hat and the teeth into jewellery.
At their market at the end we bought a Masai blanket (which looks something like Tartan rug!) and Bronson resisted countless offers to trade his digital watch for necklaces, spears, lion’s teeth, and just about anything else they had for sale.
We enjoyed the Masai Mara experience immensely and would recommend it to everyone. (Hint: When bartering, expect to pay less than half of their initial asking price, and bring some digital watches to trade!)
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I want a hippo!!! Surely you could have handed the warrior a box of matches?