I booked a trip to Masai Mara National Reserve (known as Masai Mara or "The Mara") last week for a three-day safari. Masai Mara is a vast expanse of land in southwest Kenya that is an extension of the Serengeti plains in Tanzania. Fortunately for me, from July through October, the largest animal migration in the world takes place here- when over a million wildebeests, two hundred thousand zebras, and other animals migrate from the dry Serengeti to Masai Mara in search of food and water. I couldn’t pass up the chance, even at $150/day to sleep in a tent!
I took a taxi from Gilgil to a stop on the main road in Mai Maui (sp?), and then met up with my safari group. I ended up traveling with five men from Bangladesh and one from Dubai. The five are actually currently stationed in Congo on a United Nations Peacekeeping mission with the Air Force. The man from Dubai originated from Pakistan, and has traveled quite a bit of the world. It was an interesting crew, and as the only woman in the group, I was treated quite well by everyone we met!
Day 1:
We drove 5 hours to Masai Mara and dropped off our belongings at the Rhino Safari Camp. I was fortunate to be given a tent to myself, with private shower facilities. After a cup of tea, we all piled back into our safari van for our first game drive.
Masai Mara… how do I describe it? Miles and miles and miles (approximately 580 sq. miles- just smaller than the state of Rhode Island!) of protected land. There are large expanses of short brown and green grass, taller grassy areas, areas with trees and small mountains… Watering holes, a river, and small streams cross the Mara as well.
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| Entering the main gate of Masai Mara The safari vans have pop-up tops for viewing the animals! |
We were greeted right away by zebra, Thompson gazelles, and local wildebeests.
A short while into our drive, we saw giraffes and buffalo,
and sleeping lions, lazy in the late afternoon sun.
Finally, we saw what I’ve been waiting for- elephants!
Before we headed back to camp for the night, we saw a cheetah and watched some giraffes under the sunset.
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| Sunset over the Mara... beautiful. tks |
