At 7:30am Monday morning we were promptly picked up by George, our driver and safari guide, and shuttled out to the Masai Mara. Kim had been saving a safari (which means “journey” in Swahili) in the Masai Mara for us as it is considered the best safari in Kenya. The park is about four hours by car from Nairobi in the southwest area of Kenya, bordering Tanzania. We made it to Basecamp, our safari lodge, in time for lunch, and were more then pleased with Kim’s choice of accommodation. Unknown to her, it also happened to be the Obama’s choice back in 2006. The camp is definitely getting a little mileage out of this one and the “Obama Room,” No. 16, is booked well in advance. They even went as far as to name the area where the four Obamas planted trees the “Obama Forest.” As for our room, there was a good balance of luxury and camping–two words not often put together. Our room was a large canvas tent with three twin beds and an adjoining bathroom, all covered by a beautiful thatched roof. The bonus feature was the private outdoor shower which had a view of the trees across the river where monkeys were swinging from branch to branch.
After lunch we headed out in the rain for our first game drive. The rain was a welcome sight as Kenya has been in a severe drought recently leaving many people starving. George wasn’t sure what we would be able to see, but was willing to give it a try. As we came up to the second river crossing and saw a Masai man knee deep in the river, we decided it was better to turn around than to lose our van to the water. Although disappointed, we were still able to watch the sunset from the camp and later settle into our beds which were heated up with a hot water bottle. Ah…
In the next two days we had three more game drives for a total of about 11 hours searching out wild animals. The safari van had a pop top which extended about 3 feet up and allowed us to stand to get a better view of the terrain and the animals. Staying on our feet was a challenge with the bumpy dirt roads tossing us around, making it difficult to take photographs. George did stop when we asked and for big game, but it was impossible to stop every time we saw an animal. Safari runs at a relaxed pace and takes some patience since much of your time is spent driving around trying to find the big game, but when you come up over a ridge and see two lions getting ready to hunt or a mama cheetah and her three teenagers chasing each other around your vehicle, it’s worth all the time spent in the van.
Here is a list of the animals we saw on safari:
- Lion (23)
- Giraffe (20)
- Cheetah (5)
- Jackals
- Vervet Monkeys
- Baboons
- Mongoose
- Elephant (20)
- Zebra (too many to count)
- Warthog
- Hippo (17)
- Eland
- Dik-dik
- Waterbuck
- Buffalo
- Hartebeest
- Hyenas
- Impala
- Thompsons Gazelle
- Grant Gazelle
- Topi
- Wildebeest
- Panda
- Vulture
- Heron
- Stork
- Starling
- Fish Eagle
- Crowned Prince
- White Bellied Bustard
- …and many more birds
The only two of the “Big Five” (lion, rhino, leopard, buffalo, and elephant) we did not see were the rhino and the leopard, but we were more than pleased with our “Big 22″ list–who needs to see a rhino and a leopard anyway? =) If you come to Kenya, don’t miss out on a safari–a trip to the zoo will never be the same again. When we return in the future we will try to time our visit with the great wildebeest migration in the Mara where you are sure to see at least one kill and a whole ton of wildebeest. Even if we hadn’t seen any animals, the food alone would have made this three day holiday worthwhile.
7 Responses
April 12th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Wow! You have some really great photos. I especially like the silhouette of the eagle in the tree. Sounds like quite the journey!
April 12th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
panda?!?!?!
April 13th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Yes, please explain the panda. Was he lost?
April 14th, 2009 at 6:32 am
Whaddaya call the animal you photographed hanging out of the side of the jeep? Looks pretty hairy and wild…
April 14th, 2009 at 8:06 am
hahaha! you caught it =). we thought we’d just throw it in there to see if anyone was really paying attention. nice work=).
April 14th, 2009 at 8:07 am
What? You didn’t ever see pandas when you lived in Africa. Hmm… that’s weird. =) Just kidding, we were just seeing if people were paying attention… and they were!
April 18th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
What an awesome experience, guys! I was wondering about the panda sighting. I wish you continued happy and safe travels!
Amy
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