We say good-bye and thank you to Twaha as we fly back to Entebbe. A couple of flights later, we land in Kenya.
We’re on a conservancy (private reserve) in the Masai Mara. It’s the same wide open plains as the Serengeti, only it’s named the Masai Mara in Kenya and the Serengeti in Tanzania.
Everything is so different from the mountains and forests we just left. Now there are rolling hills and tall grass teeming with wildlife, all surrounding the Mara River.
Landing in Kenya's Masai Mara
Flying over the Masai Mara plans and the Mara River
The wide open plains of the Mara
"Roughing It" at Our Kenya Camp
We’re staying at Offbeat Ndoto, a small luxury tented camp. Because (say it with me), we’re the only ones here right now, we (again) get upgraded to this HUGE tent, complete with working toilet, shower, fridge, and trunk full of alcohol just for us. It was still a tent, but a really nice tent.
Seriously? That whole tent for us?
We start off with a private lunch by a river
The Masai Mara Experience
The next three days were spent doing game drives across the wide-open plains, both in the private area and the large national park area of the Mara. During our time:
- We saw larger herds of animals than we could have imagined.
- We did an early morning balloon ride over the plains (see below)
- We saw herds of wildebeest in the midst of the great migration (think of what happened to Mufasa in the Lion King, and you’ll get the idea).
- We almost saw a migration river crossing (see below)
- We had private meals in the middle of the African bush
- We went out at night searching for rare animals. The stars were amazing. The entire Milky Way was visible (no pics of that. You’ll have to use your imagination).
- We heard hippos, buffalo, lions and other creatures from our tent at night. (There are no fences here. The animals are all free roaming, meaning we couldn’t walk around at night unless we wanted to surprise some critter that might treat us as dinner).
Balloon Safari
One morning we were up at 3:30 am to do an early morning balloon ride over the plains. We didn't get to see the giant herds of animals from above, but it was still a fun experience. Here's what it was like:
It's dark. We're tired. But, we can't wait
Flying over the hippos
Huge flocks of cattle egrets
River Crossing?
Ah, the river crossing that wasn't. It was something we really hoped for but didn't expect to get lucky enough to see. And we didn't, but it was fun watching it almost happen.
When I say 'almost', I mean we came Just-This-Close- to seeing a big herd of wildebeest cross the Mara river, dodging crocodiles. But, the wildebeests hemmed and hawed, walked to the edge and then retreated, back and forth, thinking about it for two hours, and finally thought better of it that day. It was still a cool event. Here's how it looked.
Why didn't they cross? These guys might have made them reconsider
I think the Hippos were just hanging out hoping to catch the show
This is a different spot along the river, where there was a crossing two days ago. Check out the mass of scavengers in the left picture. There's so much food that the guy on the right pic hasn't been touched yet. We sure smelled him, though.
Wildlife on the Mara
The video and the photos are just a sampling of being out on the plains with all of the animals.
Yes, it really does look like that
I love these Marabou Storks. It looks like a Muppet or a guy dressed up as a plague doctor.
Or maybe a Muppet plague doctor
This was a great scavenger meal photo. Jackals, vultures, and storks all taking turns
The Masai Mara and the Serengeti are the exact same place, just residing in different countries.
We did indeed step illegally into the Serengeti.
This cub was only about 2 weeks old, and barely opened its eyes
Our Masai tribe tracker, searching for wildlife
Lions enjoying a Zebra meal, or what happened 5 minutes off camera after the house fell on the Wicked Witch of the East?
You decide.
All this wide open space, and yet we STILL run into a roadblock
Cooked breakfast set up by the river, all just for us. Like I said, roughing it.
Also, the finest Kenyan lager. As far as I know, also the only Kenyan lager.
Sunrise over the plains
What a trip!
Kudos if you made it this far! We hope you enjoyed.
Kenya felt like true wild Africa, and it was a great way to end our time here. We were away a long time, and we were ready to come home.
Come home, yes. We weren’t exactly happy to go back to work, but hey, that’s how we pay for the next trip. This was a fantastic adventure. We can’t wait to get back to Africa.
Until next time
-Steve & Ruth
Aug 2024
P.S. - I'd be remiss if I didn't include this. We'll leave you with the profound words of wisdom from this African Wattled Lapwing. He is wise beyond his years.
HEED THE WORDS OF THE WISE LAPWING
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Amazing trip guys. This is my number 1 bucket list trip. Once we can go, I will definitely reach out to Steve and discuss over bourbon. :)