to the Mara!

Day Six - Wednesday, 10 June 2015

Today we woke up early and packed a small bag for our two night safari excursion. We laughed at dinner last about how little I knew to anticipate about this part of the trip. For whatever reason I didn't really play out what an African safari might be. And now, as I sit in my tent looking at a few zebra grazing in the distance, I can't help but chuckle to myself at the incredible adventure I seem to have stumbled into. Or maybe I'm hallucinating with the best type of African fever. To be decided.

We drove for about two hours from the CFA house this morning to the Air Kenya airport for our departure to the Masai Mara. On our way to the airport we drove past one of the largest, highest concentrated slums in the world, called the Sumara I believe. It was a huge expanse of tin shacks - as far as you could see. Not unlike what we'd seen in previous days, just much more expansive. We also saw a family of baboons on the side of the road, which seemed strangely fitting in the midst of all the other new things I was seeing.

Once we arrived at the "airport", we checked our bags and went to get coffee and breakfast. Our plane was a Twin Otter (is that a plane type, dad?) maybe twenty seats or so. Taking off out of Nairobi we had a great view of Nairobi National Park, which is just adjacent to the downtown area. Its a strange thing to see safari land and city in the same landscape.

Our flight only lasted about 40 minutes, and in that short time the landscape changed drastically. We flew over hills, mountains, rivers, and as we approached our airport we could see small Masai villages with herds of sheep, cow, and who knows what else. In amongst the animals you could see tiny dots of red, which were the Masai shepards watching the flocks. I believe in our forty minute flight we also transported back several hundred years.

As we landed (on a dirt runway, no less) there were many zebra and wildebeest surrounded the "airport". Our safari trucks were waiting on us when we arrived, and as we loaded in to them we were given cool beers to drink on our trip out to camp. The weather was sunny and breezy. I am currently wearing chacos, jeans, and a light long sleeve shirt and I was perfectly comfortable. There were a lot of flies but the breeze did a great job of keeping them away.

We saw giraffe, gazelles, baboons, elands, impalas, ostriches, and wildebeests all on our journey to camp. The other vehicle got a flat tire, which is apparently a very common occurrence, so we had to pause for a moment while the tire was patched. We forded a small stream and took many circuitous routes to avoid pot holes and spot more animals. The whole thing was just unbelievable. The most challenge part to comprehend was the reality of it all. Ive seen so many pictures, movies, videos of safari lands that my brain wanted to categorize all of what I was seeing as imaginary. I had to constantly remind myself that I was living this and experiencing this. It was (and still is) a very strange feeling.

Arriving at camp was a welcome experience, as the jostling of the jeep and the refreshing beverage left me in a relatively urgent bladder situation. The toilets (which are American flushing toilets, even out in the wilderness) were a beautiful welcome site.

We were greeted by the kindest of camp staff, a family from South Africa, and several Masai men. We were given a honey lime drink and towels soaked in essential oils upon arrival. Our bags were taken from us and carried to our tents, and we sat down in the main area for our briefing on camp and then to enjoy lunch.

And what a lunch. Buffet style quiches, salads, teas, and fruits and ice creams...all in an open tent facing the Mara. From my seat I could see zebra, wildebeest, and a few gazelle off in the distance. We were then walked to our tents and briefed on the amenities. There are flushing toilets, refillable bucket showers, electric lights, and the most comfortable beds you can imagine. There is a sitting area at the front of the tent, and all the sides can be rolled up so that no part of your view of of the Mara is blocked. From the chaise lounge that I sit on right now I can see a few Zebra, am antelope, and occasionally a few small rodent-like things run up. No idea what they are. The rules of camp include never walking off the path during the day, and only walking with a guard at night. There is a flash light in each room to signal for a guard when needed. All sorts of animals are known to roam around camp after dark.

Our instructions were to go to our tents and rest up before tea time at 4, and then we will be going on a sun down drive. Its simply too good to be true. Its just too good.

And it was too good. Tea time included lemon poppyseed cake, and then we loaded back into the safari jeeps for a ride. We saw dozens of giraffe, gazelles, (including Thompson Gazelles, which our guide called Tommy G's), zebras, wildebeest, and warthogs. The highlight was finding a lioness taking care of her three cubs. We sat and watched them for quite a while. The guide said her cubs were about five months old, and they were able to play and romp around easily. Mom yawned a lot - I guess having five months old is tough for any species. We spend sunset on a plain drinking wine and watching the wildebeest all around us. There were several different thunderstorms off in the distance, and as it got darker the lightening got more and more beautiful. We took many pictures and laughed and over and over I said "this is real this is real" because it really did take a constant reminder.

When it was almost dark it was starting to rain so we loaded back in the jeeps. Our guides gave us fleece lined ponchos to wear and we used a large red spot light to look for animals in the dark. We spotted a bush baby, the smallest primate, in a tree, and the two more lioness on hunt! It was awesome. Meanwhile the lighting is flashing and the rain is pouring and the jeep is sliding around in the mud. It was just incredible. Incredible.

We got back to camp just before dinner, so we all sat around the glorious fireplace and drank beverages they brought us. Dinner came in courses and included pumpkin soup, chicken and rice, snap peas, and carrots. And wine imported from South Africa, which they trickily kept refilling before you glass was full. Who knows how much I ended up drinking.... We finished off with coffee and dessert and then sat around the fire place for a while talking to the owners. Since there is no internet everyone is completely off of their phones and completely focused on everyone else. Its quite a step away from normal life and it is wonderful.

Our showers were drawn for us as we were escorted back to our tents for the night, and despite having to turn the water off and on in order to conserve, it was a very warm and refreshing experience.

And as I type this I am back on the chaise lounge in the front room of our tent. I can hear birds and beetles and wildebeest and maybe a zebra or two? Not sure. I don't know what to expect for tomorrow, but I do know at dinner they told us they would wake us up at 530 with coffee. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow holds.