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The Wondrous Masai Mara

There really is only one song that could accompany this blog. Listen to it over to the right (or here on mobile).


In the months leading up to our departure, one of the most commonly asked questions by family and friends was “what are you most looking forward to?”. Edward and I had a definite answer for this. So when we found ourselves waiting in Nairobi on 18th January for our safari driver to pick us up, we were both extremely excited.

We had spent a lot of time researching all the different safari operators and all the different itineraries After much deliberation, we had booked a 4-day safari in the Masai Mara Game Reserve with a company called 'Back of Africa'. For anyone looking to book a safari in East Africa, I’ve included a few tips at the bottom of this blog to get you started.


Our adventure started with an eventful journey from Nairobi to Masai Mara (featuring an incident involving petrol running out) – 6 hours after setting off, we arrived at Lenchada Campsite, just outside the Masai Mara Game Reserve. Tip: It is far cheaper to stay at a site just outside the reserve itself and it really doesn’t take you long to get to the site, although there is accommodation within the site itself if you’d prefer.


After settling in we met up with our group (there were 6 members of the party) and our driver, Dennis. We headed out for our first game drive. Dennis was a determined and fast driver, fearless of the pot holes that littered the dirt tracks. He sped through the reserve in pursuit of interesting wildlife. It wasn’t long before we stumbled upon two male cheetahs devouring a wildebeest carcass. We were about 5 metres away from the cheetah brothers and could see every movement. It was magical, if a tad gruesome.

As we watched, the large stretching sky had clouded over and it started to rain… Heavily. In fact it rained so hard that our mini-van became utterly stuck in the mud. No matter how hard Dennis (pictured below) revved, or how hard we attempted to rock the mini van back and forward, there was no budging. Help came in the form of a 4x4 with superior wheels. We were pulled to freedom.

In a world full of animals kept in captivity: where tourists ride elephants in Sri Lanka and tigers are drugged and chained up in Thailand, the Masai Mara is a welcome breath of fresh air. It’s incredible to watch wildlife live and roam freely and naturally.

We woke up on the second day of our safari refreshed and ready to go. We headed straight out to the game reserve in search of the ‘Big 5’: leopards, rhinos, buffalo, elephants and lions. Dennis continued to be an incredible driver and as such we managed to see all the Big 5 before lunch! At lunch time Dennis took us to a spot for a picnic – he casually assured us that we were completely safe from predators(!).


Watching the elephants was my favourite part of the day. Their intelligence and grace is so abundantly clear when observing them so closely. We watched as the babies kept close to their mothers, gingerly feeling the way with their miniature trunks.

Ed's highlight of the day was stumbling upon a pride of lionesses, lounging lazily under a tree with their cubs. It was adorable to watch the mothers cleaning the cubs, until they opened their mouths to reveal those HUGE teeth!

Unfortunately, on the third day we had to switch drivers. Despite this, the day was still excellent! We saw plenty of wildlife, including: warthogs, giraffes, zebra, wildebeest, gazelle, more lions, elephants, etc. - I took time on this day to appreciate how majestic the scenery was. With skies that stretched on forever and rolling hills dotted with Vachellia trees (the landscape of which gives the reserve its name: ‘Mara’ meaning ‘spotted’ in the Maa language).

In the afternoon we were given the opportunity to visit Ololaimutiek, a Masai Village. The village showed us their traditional dances and showed us around their homes. They were very welcoming and enjoyed answering all the many questions we had. Upon introducing ourselves, one of the tribesman cheerfully told us that his brother was named Edward and was killed by a buffalo a week ago! In case you are interested, Masai tribes traditionally: live on diet of only blood, milk and meat; reward boys who can jump highly with a cheap dowry; and send boys into the wilderness at the age of fifteen for five years as a rite of passage.

On the final day we got up early (5.30am!) to catch the sun rising over the mighty Masai Mara. We felt like the only people in the park, watching the huge round sun emerge over the horizon. I couldn’t help but sing the Lion King theme tune in my head! It struck me how pre-historic the skyline looked, with great elephants marching slowly across the skyline, and bird swooping low.

In conclusion: the Masai Mara really does live up to hype. It was an amazing experience that I will treasure forever.

 

It can be quite daunting when trying to book an East African safari. There’s so much information out there and a lot of it seems conflicting! We’ve come up with a few tips to get you started:


1) Use safaribookings.com – it’s a really useful website which allows you to find the right package for you. You can adjust your search based on country, price, group size, safari company rating, etc. It really helps you to discover which national park ticks all your boxes.


2) Book in advance! It can be tempting to just abandon online research and think “I’ll just book it while I’m out there”. In our experience we would recommend booking before you leave. The chances are if you book while you’re in country, you’ll end up being pressured into a tour with a company you don’t know. You’ll also, most likely, be ripped off.


3) Bring binoculars with you! They’re a really excellent tool – people were constantly asking to borrow mine.


4) Book a 4-day tour at the minimum for the Masai Mara. It was nice to have two full days of game driving (as the first and last days include travelling to and from the reserve, which can take up half the time).

5) If you’re nervous about booking, just send the company a quick email. Ed and I exchanged numerous emails with a couple of companies before we went with Back of Africa – they were all happy to answer our questions and were very helpful without being too pressuring. ("Jambo Amy, I'm as fit as a fiddle my sister" was a particular favourite response to our email.)

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