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Nature -Masai Mara
Narok
Masai Mara- 8th wonder of the nature world
After two unsuccessful planned attempts, we finally got everything set for one the most enchanting places in the animal world- Masai Mara national reserve- renowned for the annual migration of wildebeest fondly tagged the 8th wonder of the world by nature lovers. The migration usually occurs from June to October between Masai mara national reserve in Kenya and Serengeti in Tanzania.
The trip started very early in the morning. I am more of a night owl, therefore waking up early for any reason is one of those things I don’t look forward to. Thanks to the boss himself TAO my senior PhD colleague & countryman, his phone call managed to alert me and on time. Before long, we had arrived Nairobi the starting point of our journey where we were joined by an elderly couple, and a younger family comprising the parents and two teens – young Trevor who looks 13 to 14 years of age and little lady Tamika who should be about 10 or 11 years.
All eight of us including the driver embarked on the journey southwest of Nairobi and as usual, treated to the beautiful landscapes of the east Africa rift valley. We even had a brief stopover. A couple of hours later we got to the town of Narok- known in the world of anthropology as the region where evidences of the earliest known human conflict were uncovered. We arrived Masai Mara conservatory before noon but it took us another two hours’ drive through large swaths of tropical Savannah dotted with shrubs before getting to our destination – Masai Mara national reserve. We got to Manyatta camp where we sojourned throughout our stay at about pm.
Manyatta camp, is a unique camping site with good tents. Tao also commended their food- they didn’t disappoint. We were welcomed by a middle-aged man dressed in Masai clothes by the name Joseph. Later on, another friendly and highly hospitable middle-aged man took over the pleasantries. He invited us to the eatery for lunch where a large Asian family and some few other tourists were there present, either still enjoying their meals or just chatting. For our accommodation, I had earlier imagined small red-coloured tents, the type used in “Ultimate search” a popular reality show in Nigeria. On the contrary, the tents we were led to were quite bigger and semi-permanent in nature with each one named after an animal- zebra, tiger…
View link for the full photo album: https://loisforthisgen.wordpress.com/2016/11/14/nature-masai-mara/
Ours had the name “Topi” or could it be the shortened form of Topista’s name- one of our colleagues from Uganda. We later learned “Topi” is an animal in the same family as the antelopes and also one of the animal species which take part in the annual migration. We both drifted into sleep shortly after settling down in our “Topi” tent but woke up just in time for the evening game drive. Our first phase of sightseeing in the national park.
On arrival at the entrance, we were bombarded by Masai traders selling their traditional wares. Afterward, we drove into the park, covering large expanse of grasslands. The savannah grasslands looked perfect as football pitches save for the fact that, you never know what could appear from nowhere if you dare play football on such nice, relatively flat fields. We could see the innocent looking antelopes, the tall male ostriches with black and white feathers, and the smallest species of antelope known as “dik dik” which were no bigger than baby goats. There were also the “Elands”- largest species of antelopes which were about the sizes of an average cow. There were the thick skinned, big headed buffaloes who prefer to hide behind shrubs, the female lions looking indifferent and minding their business, the long-necked antelopes in a distance amongst others. We were surprised to see Masai kids, some of them little more than 3 feet tall, leading herds of cattle in this same place tourist dare not come down from their vehicles. We were told Masais do not fear wild animals.
As twilight approached, it got windier and colder and after about 1 ½ hours, we retired to our into our ‘Topi’ tented camp
The game drive started much earlier the following day. By 8am, we were all set and it lasted for about 8 hours. Lunch had been packed into the vehicles for everyone before leaving the camps. Some of the highlights of our sightseeing were a team of four lions feeding on a prey they probably killed last night. By the way, it seems like the animals in the park are all used to seeing safari vehicles and clicking of cameras. There was the mother lion with her three innocent looking cubs. Yet these are the same cubs that will grow into big wild lions. There was the shy mother elephant with her two big babies. She wasn’t entirely pleased to see us, as her babies tried to hide behind bushes while she wouldn’t stop swinging her tusks and stamping the ground.
There was the big male lion who kept following a female lion around. A cheetah who had just had a kill- a medium-sized gazelle. He laid just beside his kill, glancing at us intermittently with indifference. And the rarest of all, a big lion lying lazily beside his Queen, surrounded by safari vehicles just a few feet away. They decided to entertain us by mating right before our very eyes. It wasn’t even a case of being “caught in the act in the act” this is pure nonchalant “I don’t give a damn”. A mating which barely lasted 15 seconds before the male lion let out a loud roar. We were told all the lions in Masai Mara belong to the famous Lion Notch of the marsh pride. They own the whole of Masai mara territory.
Just when we thought the day would be ruined because of a heavy rainfall, we spotted another group of male lions. Right in the rain, the biggest of them with a big halo of black mane did well by standing and squatting in the right positions for our nature photo-shoots. The typical lion king’s posture in his full majesty.
Our tour guide reiterated that; coming to Masai Mara without seeing a lion is like visiting Paris without seeing the Eiffel tower
On several occasions we encountered large groups of wildebeests, and zebras in their thousands. Sometimes, you might be tempted to think they are small dotted plants if you are watching them from a distance due to their large number.
The most unique of all is the wildebeest. A wildebeest is a distinctive animal in that it’s like a hybrid evolution of several other animals- the horn of a buffalo, the face of a bison, the back of a rhino, the beards of a male lion, the tail of a horse and the rear of a warthog.
It was amazing seeing these animals move in straight files as they journeyed in groups back to Serengeti national park in Tanzania. The other animals besides the wildebeest taking part in the migration are the graceful but fearful zebras, the dark horned Topis, the coke hartebeests, and the earth colored Thomson gazelles.
On our way back, we were shown a cairn erected in loving memory of a European tourist who was stamped to death by an elephant. We were told he assumed the Elephant was harmless, moved too close only for the elephant to attack him. This is a reminder to us, that no matter how elegant and beautiful a wild animal is, a wild animal is still a wild animal.
Overall, this is my most enchanting nature experience till date and it will linger long in my memory.
Thanks to TAO, the boss for being my adventure partner and making the whole trip worthwhile.
View link for the full photo album: https://loisforthisgen.wordpress.com/2016/11/14/nature-masai-mara/
EXPANDING YOUR SCOPE 