Kenya: Masai Mara

From the scorched desert lands of the ancient Egyptians I found myself landing in the, somewhat damp, Kenyan capital, Nairobi. It's the time of the short rains and as I was collected from the airport by my tour company and whisked to their office I got my first taste of East Africa. The outskirts of Nairobi being a lush green landscape the roads were a lot more like the busy streets of London with the lunchtime traffic bustling around, the difference being the chaotic swerving and jostling to squeeze through non-existant gaps with vehicles spewing black smoke from their exhausts.

On arrival at Sana Highlands Treks and Expeditions headquarters I met Huldah, the girl I have conversed with on email for the past month, and was informed that my group for the Masai Mara safari had all fallen ill. The only option I had was to go on a two night excursion, missing out on Lake Nakura, but still leave as planned the following morning. Dejectedly I agree to the change with the only upside of saving a day's safari costs and the company paying for a nights accomodation in Nairobi.

At 8.30 am the following day I was collected from the Milimani Backpackers hostel by Ojanjo, my driver for the safari and next 3 days, and was taken to meet my fellow tourists. During the next two nights Edmund and Regita, a German couple holidaying in Kenya, would be my companions.

The Masai Mara is a long drive, West, of Nairobi. We left the crowded and congested capital and headed towards the Rift Valley that we had to cross to reach the famed Kenya game reserve. Along the way I got more of a taste of the Kenyan way of life. On the sides of the roads women, baring large loads of wood supported only by a strap over the top of their heads, walked barefoot on the dirt and stone streets. Locals crowded around little, corrugated metal, kiosks selling various consumerables. Kenya is a place of logos and on every building, billboard, or any other walled surface there huge corporate emblems, "Nescafe for only 5 Shillings a cup" to mention but one.

Before long we were passing though a dense forest along the crest of a hill and the road bent round onto the side of the Rift Valley. A vast basin spread across my view and on the other side was the dormant volcanic beast of Longonot. We stopped for the obligatory photos of this impressive landscape. On the side of the winding valley road were a couple of Curios - little kiosks selling hand carved, wooden, imitations of the game animals we hoped to see. The vendors were quick to pounce and deliver their well rehersed sales pitches.

After a lunch stop in a rather suspect transit motel we left the tarmac of the main road and diverted onto a heavily potholed track that left the buttocks rather bruised from the constant bouncing for two hours to the lodge. Ojanjo did his best to avoid the gapping wells in the surface but you'd have needed a hover craft to have had a comfortable ride.

The Mara Hippo Safari Lodge would be my dwellings for the next two nights. Set by the entrance to the game reserve the campsite, one of the countless dotted around the plains of the safari park, consisted of wooden canopies that sheltered large, green, tents. A restaurant and pool (that looked like elephants had been washing the mud off themselves in) completed the grounds. At night animals often wander through the complex as there are no fences from the game reserve so security is employed to try and ward them off - men with big sticks and a head torch!

Our game drive scheduled for the afternoon of our arrival was cancelled due to torrential rains so we started out the following morning earlier than normal. We'd had breakfast and a lunch was packed so we were set for a full days game driving. In our white toyota minivan that had been purposefully converted for driving across the Mara we entered through the gates and we were immediately presented with photo opportunities.

According to Ojanjo many of the non-predatory animals shelter near the human camps at night as they feel safer from carnivorous beasts that roam the huge reserve. Zebra, Buffalo, Antelope and Gizelle alike were all strolling out onto the plains to graze.

To describe the whole day is virtually an impossible task. The information Ojanjo told us as we wound our way across the Mara and spotted the various different creatures in their natural habitat was immense. To pick some of the highlights I have to say that the lions basking in the sun, the elephants plundering along vast plains, the cheetahs - that had just hunted and killed a gizelle and were devouring it - and the leopards casually strolling the banks of the stream or resting in the branches of a tree were the sights that will forever stick in my memory.

 

A full day's game drive is a long experience though. At times I was caught napping in the van and was given a friendly poke by my German companions to arouse me and let me catch sight of more of the fantastic creatures roaming the reserve.

The Masai Mara is home to the Masaai tribe and is also the northern conjoint twin of Tanzania's Serengeti. They are one and the same game reserve and the only real division is the line on a map that has been greatly disputed by the tribes of the different countries. It is an enormous expanse of rolling green plains and hills and to see so many of the so called big five (elephants, lions, leopards, buffalo and rhinos) was a real treat. Leopards are a particularly rare treat and to have seen two different ones in the same afternoon was incredible. Unfortauntely the rhinos remained elusive to us this day. Not often found in the Masai Mara they are more commonly found at Lake Nakuru - the location I was missing out on due to the change in my expedition.

As the day was drawing to an end we bounced our way along the muddy tracks cut into the the ground by the countless four wheel drives and white safari vans. We'd had a glorious day of sun with hardly any clouds in the sky and as we neared the gates to the reserve we were graced with an astounding sunset to crown the day. Over the rolling hills, to the west, the sky was a beautiful purple and amber as the sun beamed through the growing clouds. It was the perfect end to a truly memorable day.

The following day, our last in the Mara saw us up early for a pre-breakfast game drive. Mainly for people to try and get some pictures of the animals they had not yet captured the main attraction of the morning seemed to be the pride of male lions resting on a large rock. The safari vans were gathered in the their masses around them and the vehicles all seemed to block each other into a group. It was still low season but there seemed to be ample amounts of gawking tourists taking pictures with varying degrees of photographic equipment.

We headed back to the camp, had breakfast and checked out of the accommodation and then headed for a visit to the Masaai people's village. A short distance from the camp we were greeted by one of the chief's sons. We were introduced and then given a guided tour of the wooden huts with manure covered walls. We were told about their lives as the inhabitants of the area. The people are ranchers with a large head of cattle and goats. The village in which they reside is also the play pen for the animals and the ground was totally swathed in cow and goat droppings.

The Masaai people vary in the modern age. The notable large holes in the ears from heavy rings are not unanimous anymore. The younger generations are a mix of people with normal ears and the low hung hoops. Those with normal ears are the ones that have attended school. They are a people who are gradually becoming slightly more westernised. This said the chief's son, someone who had been schooled, had still proven his manhood by killing a lion in close combat with nothing but a spear and a hunting knife. He showed us his crown made from the lions mane and also allowed me to be photographed wearing it.

We were then treated to two different songs and dances. The first by the women. A welcoming song which was followed by a parade and another song of blessing. We were told that the women with metal braclets on their ankles were married and that the leather belts some wore around the midsection symbolised they were mothers. Next we were given a demonstration of the male dance and song. This dance was more of a jumping competition that was to prove how strong you were. The higher you could jump signified that you were stronger and that to marry you would have to pay for less cows. Paying for cows is the traditional fee for marriage. The standard price is ten cows but if you are a strong jumper you would pay for less. I had a go jumping with the chief and I was told I would pay less than ten cows, he didn't tell me how many though.

We were then shown how they make fire by using a hard wood spindle in a soft wood block and kindling. A technique that has been passed down through the ages. We were taken to the chief's son's home and here he showed us the tooth of the lion he had killed and made into a necklace. The spear he used to kill the lion was presented to us and after a demonstration of how to use the projectile weapon we attempted a throw ourselves - I was less than deadly. As we were shown to the stools were they sell hand made souvenirs and gifts I was taken aside and asked if I wanted to buy an extra-special souvenir - one of the teeth from the lion. It was an honour not bestowed on many people. It came at a price, but then what price can you put on the tooth of a ferociously savage and wild beast that was slain at the hands of a Masai chief?

As we said goodbye to the Masaai people I was faced with the arduous return journey. As soon as the experience had begun it had ended. Like so many of the special adventures you get to experience when travelling this one had passed with a rapidity that was, at times, bewildering. I would have only a few short hours back in Nairobi to prepare for the next adventure the very next morning...Mount Kenya