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our kenyan safari |
sanu mathew 1988 elec |
jomo international airport, kenya |
I'm fascinated by forests and it pains me a lot when I see the forests destroyed or hear about the poaching. Actually whenever I go to India, I make a point to go to the forests and spend time there, but other than Bandhipur and Thekkady, never visited any wildlife sanctuaries and never been to a safari. Traveling to Africa and to go for a safari has always been on our "must do" list, but we never made the time to do it. Last year ( 2008 ) was a safari year for me and my family. In the new year we had the opportunity to go to Ranthampore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. Got the rare opportunity to spot ONE TIGER in the forest. Later in June we went to South Africa and had the opportunity to be in the famous KRUGER National Park. But both of these safari's had their thrills , but the one in MASAI MARA was the best. Lions, leopards, elephants, Zebras, Giraffe and oh my God ……The Wild beasts numbering hundreds of thousands…... These are just some of the things we saw in Masai Mara in Kenya. Noted below are our experiences on safari in Africa with photos of the experience. |
african elephant and cub |
The best thing about this trip was that we were not alone as we had done for the Rantampore and Kruger….we had the ever active and "Spirited" MACE gang with us. On October 2nd we started our journey with 6 other families. We booked our flight in Kenyan Airways and it was a package deal. Before boarding the flight, as usual, ignoring objections from our spouses, we started our "Spirited" journey from Irish Village inside the airport. The fun continued inside the aircraft and the stewards had gone crazy by serving us the spirits. |
the group |
Landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and we were met at the Airport by a representative from the tour company. We were transferred into a mini van, which was our safari van too. All of us were transported in 4 Vans. The trip was a gruesome 4 hours drive through some rugged roads and the driving was rash. Enroute we stopped at one gas station and also at the entry to the masai mara forest range. At the entry we had we had a wonderful learning experience. Everyone was vying to take the photographs of the masai ladies who came besides our van to sell curios. Bindhu, Tony's wife started taking photographs and suddenly one of the ladies came in and demanded 100 US$ for taking her photo!! Ashwarya Rai must not have asked for that in her initial photo shoot !! It took lot of convincing and smart tackling by me to convince the Masai lady to stay calm and move forward!! ( I'll describe what I said in a later story !! ) It was a great relief when we arrived at the Keekorok Lodge in Masai Mara after a long drive and the episode at the entrance. After the welcome drink ( mango juice ) we were asked to have lunch and short break and then to get ready for our first safari trip. ( Out of a Total of 3 arranged ). Our room was at the edge of the resort and we were led to our room. It had a entrance area like a balcony with chairs and our room had a king-sized bed, with complete mosquito net, an extra bed for my daughter, a lovely vanity area and a flush toilet. It was delightful. We were told to be back in an hour for tea and then we'd head out for our first safari. |
The modus operandi at all the camps follows a similar schedule. There are two game drives, one in the morning and one in the late afternoon In Masai Mara, night driving was not allowed so you'd be back in camp shortly after dark. We had a exiting first safari and spotted 3 of the big five the day itself. We had seen Lion, Wild Buffalo and the Elephant. The sight of the wild beast was unbelievable, we had only seen something like this in the National Geographic or Animal Planet. We must have seen thousands and thousands of wild beast along side Zebras. It was an unimaginable and beautiful sight. The never ending plains and the never ending herds of wild beats was a feast for the eyes. The only problem that we faced was the dirty flies or ( some sort of "eechas" ) that was around these creatures and it was disturbing our views. We came back at around 6.30 and after a short rest went in for our dinner. By the time we came back walking to the room, it was pitch dark and we could see deers and zebras inside our hotel lawns. It was an unbelievable sight in front of us and in close quarters. |
with masai tribes men |
brave move to step out after much persuasion with driver!! |
But the excitement of the first day was not over yet. Getting in bed that night Jeena and Myself heard a cry of the deer and based on our earlier safari experience, we knew that it was warning cry by the deers and as we looked outside we saw a lion making a kill just meters away. It was so scary, but equally thrilling to watch. But suddenly we heard whistles and torch light and saw the watch man/guards coming across and the lion just dropped the prey and just ran away. The guards came close to the deer and saw that the deer was dead and left the deer there itself and went off. I wanted to go out and talk to the guards but my wife refused to listen and I stayed put in the confines of our room. We later waited to see whether the lion would come back to take his kill, but we waited for more than half hour and then went to sleep. |
rare sight of lion & lioness mating!! |
Had a good sleep and in the morning checked the area where the kill was and found that it was not there and we were told that the guards had not taken it and the lion must have come back later and took it away. It was unbelievable that we were walking in the same area just few minutes before after the dinner and the dangers or risks of living in a lodge like this was scary. But we were comforted by the lodge authorities that the guards are always there to protect and never has any incidents of man eating reported anywhere within a lodge. The next day after the breakfast, we set out for our second safari. We had an option to go for a balloon safari which would have dented our pockets by US$ 400 and hence decided against it. We were lucky initially itself that we saw two cheetahs with kids, maybe cheetah family, wife and kids!! They were enjoying a kill that they had probably few minutes back. We were not lucky to see the chased and kill, but we were close enough to see them eat. We were all scrambling to get some good pictures and also please be aware that the drivers are all connected with walkie talkies and they immediately inform the other drivers what they see and everyone comes to the spot. The predators are completely used to these kind of crowds and they do not care. We drove off looking for other predators. |
a playful cheetah |
On the way we also saw a herd of Elephants including their calves and some giraffes and as usual zebras, wild beasts, plenty of antelopes, hyenas and all manner of birds. After some time, we came across a two lions and we spent a while watching them, mainly because they were mating and they were not scared or was least bothered about the other people around them. We saw a lot of predators during our stay and we were always amazed at their indifference to us. All the animals are somewhat used to the vans and jeeps driving around. Apparently, they cannot distinguish us from the vehicle. And they cannot identify the vehicle as being interesting to eat so they merely ignored us. There were many occasions when one of the cats we were watching would come up close to us and just look right at us. And then they'd just look elsewhere. It was unnerving at first. Our second safari was fruitful. We were back at the lodge and after lunch had the option of going to a masai village. We opted for it and was eagerly waiting to see the masai tribe. |
with masai ladies |
We drove to a nearby Masai Village. Here for a fee of Ksh 500 one can visit the Village and take unlimited pictures of the people. The Masai do not like their Pictures taken otherwise. Smart move by the Masai. An example of commercialism meeting Culture. (Though I'm positive that the Culture is the loser in this process) How else can you explain a Masai wearing a Money Belt (the tourist Type) under his Masai Clothes or the fact that a Bunch of Trousers and Shirts were left to dry on the walls of one of their Huts ! The Guide (a Masai) took us around the Village. This lady spoke excellent English and it was really impressive. Another aspect of commercialization. !! The Huts (made of dried Cow Dung) are arranged in a Circle. Inside this large Circle of Huts is a Smaller Circle made up of thorns and branches. Inside this smaller circle the cattle and sheep are penned for the night. Four Families comprising of 150 + members live in about 25 Huts. They showed us ways of making a Fire (the natural way), did a Masai dance (done to commemorate a lion kill) and (of Course) tried to sell us various trinkets. A word of advice to avid Shoppers. Whatever is quoted is a fool's Price. (i.e.; Only a fool would pay that) Start your Bargaining at 10 % (YES, TEN) of the Quoted Price. Finally purchased the natural fire wood, a dagger used to kill the predators or other animals, a lion nail and tooth !! I thought I had bargained and got a good deal !! |
masai boy |
Their dresses (men and Women) are quite colourful though. Took a bunch of pictures. Drove from the Masai Village to the camp and then in the evening set out for a 3rd safari. As in other safari drives, we came across all the animals and was trying to spot the elusive Leopard…..but alas, we came close to one, but it just slipped us probably 10 minutes before we came. However we spotted a rare white Rhino, which was really a rare find. On our way back we also stopped at a watery hole where lots of hippos were there. In a way a good safari trip. That day was the last day at the lodge and we had a memorable outdoor barbeque party with Masai tribe dancers. As usual with a camp fire and lots of drinks, the evening was memorable. Next day, we set out for Nairobi and we bid adieu to Masai Mara and drove to Nairobi. Enroute as usual stopped at gas station and some curios shop. We were eagerly waiting this day to go to the Carnivorous restaurant and by afternoon, we came there. It was a bit of a disappointment as the restaurant that day only had crocodile as the exotic animal meat and no other animals was available. Crocodile meat was really good and along with chicken and beef had a superb lunch. After the adventure in the carnivorous restaurant we were dropped off in the airport and by evening we bid bye to the wonderful trip that we had. It was a short and memorable trip, I would say one of the good ones that I had. |
in front of carnivorous hotel |
travelogue |
ninavu 1.3 |