Narok

The name 'Masai Mara' itself evokes our images of wildest Africa and it was impossible not to be excited to visit this legendary place. After a while we descended into a vast plain with high escarpments of the rift valley on the horizon. We began to see people with the distinctive red and black checked shawls of the Masai tribe. Alex, the driver, informed me that predatory animals fear the Masai and run away when they see the red shawls. We then started seeing the animals - an ostrich walked nonchalantly by close to the passing van. Herds of wildebeest and zebra appeared in the distance. We saw a giraffe, its enormous neck bowed, and two vultures in a nearby tree. We passed a big Masai cattle market thronging with tall, lean people looking elegant and dignified in their wraparound Masai shawls. This seemed like a people that still walked proud and adhered to their cultural traditions. We entered another vast flat plane of low trees and grasses, surrounded by high hills of the rift valley. We arrived at the camp lodge down a long bumpy path and settled into the safari tent we'd booked which was quite basic with a few insect visitors and geckos already in residence. Thunder rumbled ominously around the campsite as we waited to depart, hoping the weather would be kinder to us this time. A tame family of vervet monkeys frolicked in the garden including a very cute infant gaining confidence to leave his mother's side.
The Masai Mara driving safari started at 3pm and we headed off in two vans down a very bumpy mud track past many Masai men, women and children. One Masai warrior walked past in impressive full dress, adorned with earrings and his hair folded at the front into a bulging fringe and royal blue wraparound. We passed through the gates of the park guarded by a man in uniform and with a gun, and drove out into the open country of the reserve. I was struck dumb by the awesome vista before us. The grassy plains stretched out below us to impossibly vast distances to rises that seemed hundreds of miles away. I have never seen a comparable view in my life before. As we drove on into the park along muddy, riven tracks, great skies filled with huge storms heightened the overwhelming sense of vast expanses of nature. Very soon we began to see wild animals. Herds of Thompson's gazelle, topi, impala and eland browsed near the track as we passed. Suddenly, we saw an adult cheetah lying relaxedly in the grass, tail swishing. Then in the distance I saw my first African elephants - there was quite a large herd of ten or more including young elephants and at least one big male with white tusks gleaming in the sun as he vied for dominance with another male. You could hear their loud trumpeting even at a distance. Next we came across about four adult giraffe very close to our track, bending their long necks low to feed on the brush below. Further down the road we saw two ostriches close by, one raising its wings in a 'can-can' style display. After the other van got stuck in the mud a couple of times and had to be towed out, we entered an area teeming with antelope, gazelles, zebra, eland and warthogs all grazing together on either side of us. We saw a large, gloriously named, 'Glorious Bastard' bird stepping through the grasses. Then things got really exciting - the driver got a tip off on his radio and headed off at break neck speed down miles of very wet muddy tracks, slipping and sliding and almost getting stuck on several occasions. As we came over the brow of the hill we understood, to our astonishment, the meaning of all his efforts - a large pride of lions were hunched over a zebra kill, feeding lustily. There was a large male, several females and younger lions watching on. Behind us sat a jackal and a vulture waiting for their turn to feed. We watched this primal scene of lions feeding for several minutes before the storm looming over finally began to pelt us with huge drops of rain. Reluctantly, we left the lions to their meal and embarked on another hair-raising journey back up through the wet muddy tracks in pouring rain, lightning flashing in the distance. As we drove up to the rise, the rain abated and we saw a fantastic illuminated rainbow on the horizon. The driver managed to do a 360 degree spin in the mud which made me feel like we were in a 'dodgems' ride in a vast fairground. Then, just when we thought we were done for the day, we came across five cheetah walking purposefully through the grass in the evening light. We managed to drive off road right up to them and I had a precious moment with a cheetah walking past a few feet away from my open window - I could see her chest moving and sense her sentience and breath of life - it was a humbling, emotional and unforgettable moment. But the Masai Mara was not yet done with us - moments later in the fading light we saw a herd of elephants, including young elephants, close to the road. We watched a large elephant cross the road in front of us, shaking his head, ears flapping, as he headed off into the evening gloom. As we returned through the park the cloud filled horizon turned burnt orange with the setting sun and we had the final classic image of an acacia tree silhouetted against an African sunset sky. We returned to the Mara Springs Safari Camp having witnessed far more than we ever imagined. We had a good meal cooked for us by a chef who joined our party especially to cook for us. Over dinner we recounted and reminisced our experiences of the day. I retired early to bed to write my journal, and could hear hyenas mewing in the dim distance as I turned out the light to sleep. Wild Africa seemed all surrounding and filling my dreams.
I slept well, and got up at 5am for a second early morning safari. The large, nearly full, moon was pristine white in the silky pre-dawn sky. The air was cool and refreshing. After a quick cup of tea we started our second safari drive. As we entered the park, the sun was already catching fire to the pre-dawn clouds over the far hills and the pale yellowing moon descended towards the horizon behind silhouettes of acacia trees, creating another classic African scene. The views over the endless plains in the dawn light, with rising mists in the valleys were breathtaking and you could feel the ancient spirit of this ageless land. Impala, Thompson's gazelle and topi began appearing, munching through seemingly inexhaustible grasslands. We saw two wildebeest, dark and rugged, with their long shaggy neck hair blowing in the morning breeze. We were rewarded with more spectacular views over the plains on all sides. We saw two giraffes close by the road - one was a small, slight and paler youngster, looking at us seemingly dumbfounded. We worked our way across marshy tracks to where lions had been spotted - I caught a tantalising glimpse of a lion moving through bushes but nothing more. As we drove back up the incline we passed some marshy ground where a loud chorus of frog song filled our ears. As the drive progressed we realised that we weren't going to be treated to such a wildlife spectacle as the previous evening. It seemed that a lot of the bigger mammals had retreated to the bush to shelter from the strong morning sun. We therefore had to content ourselves with the awe inspiring views over the plains, which were brought into wonderful relief by the low sun, and the occasional antelope and warthog. On our return to the campsite we were provided with a nice cooked breakfast of omelettes and beans which we gulped down gratefully as we had only had biscuits and tea before the drive. We then faced a five hour drive back to Karen Camp which was the first campsite in Nairobi that we stayed in 18 days ago when we arrived in Africa - it felt more like six months ago with all I had experienced since then. The Masai Mara had been a deeply affecting wildlife and landscape experience which would never be forgotten. The image of a cheetah moving past me writhin a few feet kept recurring in my mind as we wound our way towards Nairobi.Read more