We were both so looking forward to Kenya and seeing the Masai Mara. To experience Africa will all its senses from seeing the big 5, hearing lions roar and tasting the local food.
Masai Mara is named after the Masai tribe who dwell in the area while Mara means spotted. The Masai Mara is a savannah spotted with animals and trees. We did a three day safari and here are our highlights. It is fair to say that Kenya is one of the most unique places we have visited and can see why it draws so many people from all over the world.
Big 5
Brimming with diverse wildlife, the Masai Mara is a sanctuary of the big five. I couldn’t believe the amount we saw especially lions. We saw one of the oldest lions in the Mara named Bena. He’s 15 years old and when you see him at first glance you know why, Bena is King of the Savannah.
We were so lucky as the intensity of our game ride increased when we saw a pride of lions approach with baby cubs. We stood inside the pop-up roofed van to prepare for the first encounter. Our eyes were like telescopes, trying to count all the different lions and cubs. There were so many!
Its incredible how close the cubs got to us walking and play fighting right by our jeep. It is one of the best memories of the trip.
In another area, a pride of lions were already resting under the shade of a tree away from the sun. Regardless of their size and colour, they were able to camouflage even in grassland. Since the game ride is whole day, our lunch was packed and we had our picnic inside the reserve, hopefully away from the wild animals. We had our late lunch under the shade of a tree while enjoying the beauty of the endless scenery in the countryside.
Hyenas stealing a lion’s kill
The beauty of game drives is you never know what to expect. Our driver, Ronnie had spotted a buffalo carcass as we drove closer a group of hyenas decided it was their lunch. Hyenas would not be strong enough to kill a buffalo so had obviously stolen someone’s lunch. Whilst we waited for the owner of lunch to approach a fight broke our between vultures, hyenas and jackal all wanting a piece for themselves.
The vultures wanted part of the feast and didn’t mind what leftover they get from the bones, horns to the animal skin as they were about to dig in a lion suddenly approached the scene.
We could hear the hyenas howling as the lion was about to eat their lunch. They ran into the distance but within sight to see the lion completely devour the buffalo. It was incredible to watch nature playing out in front of our eyes and could see why the lion is king in the Masai Mara.
Hippos
One of our stops each day was to a camp that had a bloat of hippos in a river just next door. We had never seen so many hippos and was mesmerising watching the hippos in complete silence as they wrestled with each other to get the best spot in the water, yawned and then slowly disappeared underneath the water.
The game ride was a combination of thrill, fun and wonder from the big 5, to watching hyenas steal a lion kill to seeing hippos laze around in a river. Our last stop before leaving the Masai Mara would be to see the Masai Mara tribe.
Masai Tribe
It is impossible not think of the Masai tribe when you think of Kenya. Its Kenya’s iconic trait not only because the Masai is the only tribe among the 42 who until now had chosen to preserve their culture but also because of their popularity and uniqueness that draw people from different part of the world to their village.
We arrived at the village and were welcomed by a group of the Masai who wrapped themselves with their traditional sheets made from either cotton or wool. They then started doing the welcome song and ‘jumping dance’ which they are famous for. For the men, the higher the jump, the less they pay for their dowry.
Interestingly, the head of the tribe began explaining the different roles of men and women. We were both surprised to discover the traditional house is built by women entirely from mud and takes 4 – 6 months to build. The houses can then last for 30 years.
Spending the time interacting with locals is one of the best experiences that people can do whilst travelling it stays close to your heart and sticks in your memory forever.