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A stunning African wildlife adventure
Kenya's Masai Mara offers the thrill of the wild and much more!
 Radu Sigheti / Reuters file Tourists pass in vehicle (background) between a wildebeest herd during the annual wildebeest migration in Kenya's Masai Mara national reserve, 270 km (165 miles) southwest of capital Nairobi, July 28, 2005. Over 1.4 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebra and gazelle migrate each year in search of rain ripened grass. |
MASAI MARA, Kenya - What strikes you most about the Masai Mara, a massive game reserve in Kenya, is the amount of wildlife roaming its grassy plains. Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of animals dot the landscape - from elephants and lions, to cheetahs, giraffes and the always cranky wildebeest.
Flying across the Masai Mara from Nairobi or Mombasa, you get a glimpse of the stunning landscape, with the Mara River winding across the sweeping grasslands that are dotted with rolling hills. But it's not until you touch down at the remote, dusty airstrip that the beauty of the area and abundance of wildlife becomes brilliantly clear.
We were lucky enough to visit during the annual Great Migration, when more than a million wildebeest, zebras and associated predators following seasonal rains cross from Tanzania's Serengeti into the Masai Mara in search of fresh grass. The animals arrive in July and return in September and October. It is one of the greatest natural spectacles on Earth.
The short drive from the airport to Kicheche Mara Camp, which provided our lodging and tours to see the animals, was itself a mini-safari. We spotted hippos lolling about in the river, giraffes strolling across the plains, and antelopes and gazelles watching curiously as we went by.
Kicheche, which houses up to 22 guests, is not your ordinary bush camp. The secluded tents have a double bed and private bathrooms with flushing toilets. Deck chairs out front allow you to soak up the view across the sweeping plains. Unfenced, the camp often finds itself hosting hungry wildlife roaming in search of food.
We were woken the next morning by camp staff - local Maasai warriors - who would deliver tea, coffee and biscuits to our tent just before sunrise. Shortly after, it was time for our first game drive of the day.
Almost everywhere in the Mara is crowded with lions, elephants, cheetahs, buffalo, antelope, giraffes, hippos, gazelles, zebras, hyenas, kudu, ostrich, jackal, impala, and wildebeest - always looking hostile and often fighting each other. Then there's the warthog, renowned for its short memory, and often seen stopping mid-stride and wondering - so we were assured by our guide - where it was actually going.
An added novelty for me and my wife - coming from our current base in the polluted and chaotic Thai capital, Bangkok - was the Mara's incredible tranquility, with the few noises heard often just the distant roar of a pride of lions.
Setting off in a customized four-wheel drive, our guide Julius Ronjore found a secluded spot where he laid out our continental breakfast as we watched dozens of hippos bathing in the Mara River. Behind us, several giraffes chewed at the treetops.
After satisfying our hungers, our minds turned to more important tasks - tracking down the Big 5: Elephants, lions, buffaloes, rhinos, and the elusive leopard.
We came across one group of elephants, and managed to stop within 10 yards from where they were resting in the shade. A baby elephant was lying under his mother, sleeping. The mother maintained a stare which we knew was a sign to keep our distance. We had no intention of pressing the issue and slowly drove off.
As we soaked up the clean air and kept our eyes peeled for other big game, Ronjore spotted another safari group observing a cheetah, almost camouflaged by the long grasslands. We managed to get closer, when the cheetah - identified as Kike, made famous on the BBC's "Big Cat Diary" - leapt onto the hood of a neighboring vehicle.
Unfazed by all these tourists clicking away madly with their cameras, Kike was more interested in using the vantage point to search for a potential meal. So relaxed was Kike around humans, she even took time to wash herself before leaping back onto the ground and wandering away.
Back on our search for the Big 5, we came across a huge pride of lions slowly walking across the plains. Several big females, closely followed by about a dozen cubs and young lions, with the male head of the pride not far behind.
They eventually stopped under the shade of some overhanging trees, providing us with the perfect viewing spot. The cubs playfully wrestled with each other, while another sought the attention of its mother, who obliged by giving the youngster a quick wash.
As we continued our drive across the Mara, we spotted a group of vultures feeding on the remains of a zebra, most likely killed the night before. Suspecting it was captured by a leopard, Ronjore headed to a group of nearby trees where they like to hide.
A couple of hundred yards ahead of us, we spotted a leopard lazing high up in a tree, its legs flopped either side of a branch. We managed to get a little closer, but the leopard - generally shy and elusive - slipped down the tree and into the deep rough terrain below.
As we made our way back to the camp, we came across a group of buffalos. No. 4 ticked off the list!
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