Safari is a Swahili word for “long journey.” It used to refer to a big game hunt, but now generally has to do with a trip taken for the purpose of observing and photographing big game or other wildlife. We booked our trip through Asili Adventures, working with Joyce Mbote, and were glad we did.
On Sunday at 7:30 am our driver, Joseph, arrived at Mumbi and Wachira’s home to pick us up. This guy is exactly who you’d cast in a movie about a safari. A 6’2″,
Joseph, our Safari Guide
deep-voiced, shaven-headed, straight-standing and incredibly well-informed man, Joseph had a quick, detailed and articulate answer for any question we’d pose throughout the next three days. Although having a thick Kenyan accent, he spoke English with precision.
We drove through Nairobi and through the Great Rift Valley in the large, rugged Nissan safari van we’d be in throughout the adventure. It would be about a five and a half hour drive. Just as we entered the valley, we saw a family of baboons–but we couldn’t quite get our camera or camcorder on them.
This journey takes you through the land of the Masai, which for an American is like
Me, beaming in anticipation as we approach The Mara!
leaping into another century. For approximately the last hour and twenty minutes you are no longer on any kind of actual road–but more a trail, well-worn by all the safari vehicles headed into Masai Mara, Africa’s most famous wild game reserve. It is an incredibly bumpy trip; I wondered if there were a staff chiropractor at the lodge ahead!
The Mara is about 590 square miles in size, and lies near Kenya’s southwest border, adjacent to Tanzania. On the way in we saw lots of antelopes, which is the broad category to which a number of animals belong. There were Thomson’s Gazelle,
An Impala, grazing by the side of our trail to the lodge
Impala, Hartebeest, Elant, Waterbuck and Redbuck. The great Wildebeest Migration had just occurred the week before we arrived, and is regarded as the eighth wonder of the world to locals, but there were still a few Wildebeest as we drove through. There were also huge numbers of Zebra and Buffalo. Then we arrived at our lodge, The Keekorok.
So far, the Keekorok has probably been the thing we’ve enjoyed the most since starting our Kenyan adventure. We loved our room, the lodge and the grounds surrounding it. I’d say the majority staying there were Europeans, with a few Japanese, Indians and Americans. Rachel was one of only two Kenyans who were staying at the lodge. The unfortunate reality is that most Kenyans are far too poor to pay for something like this. I felt a bit uncomfortable when discovering this in the presence of Rachel’s family.
Some safari companies offer to let you stay in “tented camps” on the Mara, and there are those who would only do it that way. But Rachel’s brother once spoke of tenting in another reserve and seeing a hippo move right by him, so she felt better about a lodge. I suppose there may have been another thirty or so vehicles moving about the vicinity while we were there. The vehicles have all been customized so that the rooves pop up about two feet, and you can stand up and see or film the animals without a window obscuring your sight.
We arrived at the lodge around 2pm or so, checked in and had lunch. The food is always a gargantuan buffet, featuring foods that are influenced by both Kenyan, British and Indian cuisine. I think I’ll talk more about differences I’ve noted in the food (and otherwise) in a later post. We met Joseph out front for our late afternoon game drive.
“The Big Five” is something you hear around here a lot. The idea is that, when you’re on safari, you hope to see all of the Big Five: Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Rhino & Buffalo. This was curious to Rachel and me, since we were more excited about seeing cheetahs, giraffes and hippos than Buffalo. But the Big Five is a throwback to
A buffalo glances at us in mid-graze as we stop for a look
hunting safaris, when it was about bagging something that was large enough or wily enough to require good hunting skill.
To me, Buffaloes are just like big, meaty cows with funky horns. There seem to be enormous herds of them constantly grazing. As slow and calm as they are, apparently you’ll never see a single lion attempt an attack on one; it takes at least a few to bring one down. There was nothing particularly exceptional about them–other than that they looked like they’d taste good!
Giraffes are freaky. We saw quite a few of the Masai Giraffe, the largest of the species
The Masai Giraffe, largest of the species
and the tallest land mammal, some of them reaching over 21 feet in height. They are slow with enormous strides (obviously,) but they really seem to study you. Joseph told us that lions stay clear of giraffes as well since their kicks are from hell, coming from any angle and being delivered with sharp hooves. The only time a predator will attack is when a giraffe folds its legs and sits down for a drink. Rising is a time-consuming process and the perfect opportunity for a lion.
Joseph told us that not long ago a woman was deceived by a giraffe’s calm demeanor when one wandered near her Mara lodge. She was taking pictures, getting closer and closer to it, and it didn’t seem to mind. She then decided to walk underneath the animal and snap a few shots, but the giraffe kicked her in the chest, killing her immediately.
Two cheetahs, one of them full, the other still enjoying an antelope
At this time we also saw the first and only cheetahs we would see on our safari. I so wanted to see one running, but we had to settle for seeing a pair feeding on an antelope. Joseph explained that a cheetah is neither classified as a cat nor a dog, but has strong characteristics of both. They’ve been recorded running at speeds up to 75 miles per hour. Boy, would I have loved to see that!
Rachel was most interested in seeing lions, and we would not be let down. Yes, on our very first drive, we found
A male and female lion, basking together
two lions mating. We would see lots of them throughout our safari, and one thing I’d say about them: they seem least interested and least bothered by humans than any other animal out there.
Throughout our trip we discussed whether it was accurate to consider the lion the King of the Jungle. Joseph feels strongly that it is not, and we’ll talk about his reasons in the next post, but I think the lion–and particularly the large, maned lion, with it’s cat-like face,
The same pair, so much in love...
fearsome roar and ability as a hunter is something that people are truly fascinated by. But on this particular sighting? They were just getting it on…
Much more to come!
October 20, 2009 at 9:31 pm |
“they looked like they’d taste good!”
*shudder*
October 20, 2009 at 10:08 pm |
Well, as an unapologetic omnivore, I say…”They did.”