After a busy and challenging week, I was really looking forward to our long weekend in Masai Mara. And one condition we all made each other is we would not take laptops on our weekend trips, but rather use the time to enjoy Kenya and have an opportunity to reflect on what we have seen and learned. With our mid term presentation scheduled for Tuesday (today), we were hesitant, but my team is in a good place so Masai Mara here we come!
To say the drive to Mara was awesome was an understatement - I loved it! The first ~2 hours were the same route we took to Nivasha last weekend and then after a brief rest stop (which Peter cleverly declared "the Costco of carved animals") we headed down a dirt road for the next 100+ km.
This dirt road would make the gravel road to the Trail Ride look like the Jersey Turnpike. It was awesome. As we are at the end of rainy season, parts of it were really muddy and our safari vans would fish tail and spin, even get stuck some times. It was so bumpy that even with my seat belt on I banged my head on the window or the back of the seat a few times. Some great turbulence! We saw several vans having to be pushed out of the mud when they got stuck, but our driver Moses is the best. He really can handle any situation. Even when we would get stuck in the mud and spin our wheels, he found a way to get us out and we would all erupt in cheers! Clearly not his first rodeo in Mara.
Driving down this road for ~3 hours we were constantly waving at the children running up to the cars. They would take a break from watching their cattle or playing with friends to wave to the cars going by. We all did our best to wave at everyone we saw as you could see the excitement on their faces as the cars went by.
Once we got to the gates of the park, we popped the roof open so we could stand and look out for wildlife. After a bumpy ~5 hours we were all happy to stand up and give our bums a break.
Once in the park the landscape was breathtaking and we immediately saw gazelles, zebras and warthogs. It was another ~1+ hour drive to our tented camps, and will remain a miracle to me how Moses is able to navigate through the park. Its not like there are signs or that google maps would help get you there on these dirt paths (roads would be an overstatement).
Our lodge is nestled in the trees deep into the park and right on the river so we could watch the hippos. We ate a big buffet lunch, settled into our rooms, then headed out for our afternoon game drive. We were so excited and on the look out in particular for elephants and leopards - the only two of the big 5 we didn't see last weekend at Naivasha & Nakuru (there are no elephants in those parks and the leopards are hardest to see).
Our excitement was quickly squashed when our van wouldn't start. It was no surprise after a 7 hour drive on less than desirable roads (and that it was the same van that broke down last weekend on the way back from Nakuru) it wouldn't start. A few minutes of CPR by Francis and Moses and the van started. We all just crossed our fingers that it would continue running and start back up when we needed it to once out in the Mara!
Pretty quickly after we hit the road we found a big family of elephants - 20 in total, even a few babies. They were awesome and I went into full #WildlifePaparazzi mode. #elephantcount up to 41 for Kenya!
It was raining a little on our drive, but we found a few giraffes and some smaller animals, but most of the animals were hiding from us. After a few hours of driving around the Mara and looking in the tall grass and the trees for the animals, Ari got Moses' attention to ask a question. The build up made it seem like she had something serious to ask, and we all bust out laughing when she said, "Moses - where are all the animals?" He assured us Saturday would be better and we would see more animals.
A hot shower felt good after a dusty, bumpy, rainy day then we all met for dinner and early to bed. While doing the nightly critter check and putting the mosquito net in place, was thrilled to find they put a hot water bottle under the covers to keep warm! As soon as I closed my eyes I don't think I moved an inch all night.
Another buffet breakfast then off to our morning game drive. It started out slow and we were all beginning to wonder if we were going to be the only people to go to Masai Mara and hardly see any animals. We were beginning to feel like experts on the types of grass and mud, but not animals! We were still having a blast though and mastering the group selfie.
At one point, we got to a muddy hill we needed to climb and got stuck the first try. Moses backed down the hill, told us to hold on and tried again. Still no luck. He told us we would try one more time, but we got stuck again. Reversed back down and we all were wondering what he was going to do when he surprised us and went full speed ahead up the mud hill, each of us flying left and right as we made it up! Have a few bumps and bruises from the weekend and I am sure one is from this hill!
Once we got deep into the park it was animals everywhere! Moses heard on the radio that there was a cheetah sighting close by so we headed there and saw a mom and her two cubs resting under a bush. They looked so soft and cute, beautiful creatures. Then back out we went in search of more animals and shortly after found elephants in every direction we looked, giraffes on the horizon, gazelles, zebras, warthogs, hyenas, birds - it was amazing! Still no lion or leopard and it was getting close to lunch time when we had to head back.
Then finally we got word of two lions close by and off we went!
Sitting up on a huge rock were two lions, as Moses described to us on their "honeymoon." It was amazing, they were just sitting up on the rock, so close to us. Then as we are all in full #WildlifePaparazzi mode snapping pictures and selfies, the lion gets up and moves closer to the lioness. All of a sudden it seemed as if we were interrupting a personal moment as they started mating! Apparently in 3 months there will be a baby lion on the way.
At this point our other van of friends wasn't there yet, so we were excited to tease them that we saw the lions mating and they missed it. We have had quite the competitive safari with the two vans and so far we are winning by a landslide!
A few minutes after they arrived and the lion and lioness were resting next to each other, they start mating AGAIN! At this point, we felt we should give the honeymooners a bit of privacy and headed out. Moses informed us that typically when they go on "honeymoon" they separate from the pride, but the pride is close by. So we circled the area looking for the rest of the pride, but they were hiding from us, so off we went.
En route back to the camp for lunch, we found another lioness, but this time in a tree! At first all you could see was her tail hanging down. Not sure if she was chased up there, went up to look out for something, or just likes to rest up there, but it was amazing to see. She became aware of the audience and got a little nervous and off balance. We realized she probably wanted to come down and the only thing stopping her was the audience, so we snapped a few photos and took off for camp. Going into lunch, the #elephantcount for the day was 63, 104 in total!
After a big buffet lunch, we had a bit of time to relax before our afternoon game drive. I read my kindle out on my "deck" overlooking the river listening to the hippos.
My van packed a few Tuskers to enjoy at sunset, and off we went with Moses to find more animals. As soon as we left camp we came across a group of 15 giraffes! It was awesome, they are such beautiful creatures.
We drove a bit before finding some more elephants and more giraffes. The goal for the afternoon was to get over to the river, but every direction we came across a section that was impassable. Moses was in and out of the car at several points checking to see if we could pass, always assessing no.
At one point, Moses decided we couldn't pass, but Francis (the driver of our other van) thought he could make it. We headed off in search for another route, and later found out Francis got stuck and they had to get towed out.
We found a spot that didn't look passable to me, but clearly I am not the expert. Moses checked it out and decided we could make it. So we all get in our positions and braced for the road ahead. At this point we have practiced emergency drills if a lion attacks and we need to close the roof, as well as positions for when it gets really bumpy - obviously standing the whole time to enjoy it!
It was awesome - as we swayed side to side in the deep grooved mud tracks, I was sure we were going to tip over - at one point we were teetering at a 45% angle for a few seconds, then quickly shifted to a 45% angle in the other direction. The tires were spinning and Moses was flooring it, eventually we made it out of the grooves and fishtailed into the mud as he warned us to "hold on!" and he floored it over a bump at full speed and we made it out of the mud and up the hill. We erupted in cheers and praise for Moses, that man is a PRO!
We made it to the river and found some more hippos and even a HUGE crocodile sitting on the bank. At this look out point we would have a great view for the wildebeest migration, if weren't about two weeks early. As I am doing a safari in Tanzania in two weeks I hope to at least see it on one side, but might miss it! Just another reason to have to come back.
Sunset was coming up on us so we went to the top of the biggest hill around and cracked open the Tuskers for a great view of sunset over Masai Mara. It was a bit cloudy, but still breathtaking. I am so lucky to be here, and with a great group of new friends. A few days together in a safari van laughing and bouncing around looking out for animals has certainly made us all very close.
Once the sun was down we quickly piled back into the van as it is about an hour drive back to camp and clearly there aren't street lights to guide us home. We still didn't find a leopard, but still have an early morning game drive tomorrow, and the drive out of the park before heading home. #Elephantcount in the afternoon was 35 bringing my total up to 139!
After a hot shower and dinner, a few of us sat by the fire pit for a bit, then back in bed for another early night.
Sunday morning our game drive started at 6:30AM before breakfast. We were out before the sun and had a beautiful view of sunrise. We couldn't take enough pictures as it was an amazing site, but clearly the pictures don't do it justice. Even the sunrise selfies don't do it justice, but luckily I have the mental pictures ;)
We made it back to the river, going through the same bumpy muddy passage (this time a lot easier) and found a whole bunch of hippos! Some were showing off swimming around, even rolling over to see their little feet in the air.
Our other van met us there, and told us all about how they were attacked by a buffalo! Apparently the driver didn't see the buffalo approaching his blind spot as they were backing out of a narrow area and he hit him! Obviously that pissed off the buffalo and he charged at the van, horns first! They backed into a tree trying to escape and doge the buffalo but luckily were able to get away with everyone unharmed and just a few dents on the van. Given our competitive nature of the two vans, it was hard to deny that they had the craziest experience. We spent the rest of the drive trying to taunt animals to attack us by telling "yo mama" jokes, but unfortunately none attacked us.
We headed back for breakfast disappointed we had not seen a leopard, but we had 3 beautiful days of safari. With full bellies we hit the road for the 7 hour drive back to Nairobi. We passed the time waving to children running along side the cars, napping, and playing heads up. Sad to be leaving such a beautiful place, but in 2 weeks I will head to Tanzania to do a safari on the other side of the Mara and maybe see the leopard there!
Molly
#Kenyeah #LivinLaVidaVannucci #safari #ibmcsc #ibm #Kenya