More on the Masai Mara

I’m back in Nairobi after three nights in the Masai Mara National Reserve. The trip was absolutely fantastic with lots of wildlife to be seen. I think already wrote an entry from the first couple days, so I’ll just tell you about the last day. We got up early so that we could do the drive to the Mara River where the wildebeest and zebra do the crossing. There was a couple from England that were catching a flight so we needed to make sure we could get them to the air strip for their flight. Anyway, the crossing is probably a good 12-15 miles from our camp and it’s not like you can go 30 miles an hour. Plus, you never know what wildlife you might see on the way. We had both a bush breakfast and lunch packed for us.

The mornings really are beautiful. It can be a bit chilly so layering is a necessity. We watched the sun break over the horizon and slowly make its way up into the sky. The Maasai boys and young men were bringing their cattle back to the homesteads after a night of grazing. Mornings can be quite chilly so you have to dress in layers. We watched 5 hot air balloons drifting over the Mara.

I should back track a bit and explain the difference between Masai and Maasai. The Masai Mara Game Reserve is often called simply "The Mara" which is the Maa word meaning "Mottled" - a reference to the patchy landscape. Both spellings "Masai" and "Maasai" are acceptable although the latter is more usual when referring to the people. The Maasai people are only 2% of the population but are widely recognized because of their proximity to the Mara and promotion within the tourism industry of Kenya.

As we slowly made our way to the river, we saw an abundance of warthogs, zebras, wildebeest, Thomson gazelles, topis (larger gazelle family) and more. We came across a lion and lioness. Because they were not with the pride, we knew that they were mating. In the distance we saw a large gathering of vehicles (8 or so) and knew that there must be something interesting there. It was in a large and very rock savanna area with lots of wildebeest. By lots, I mean thousands scattered across the horizon. These wildebeest had already made the crossing of the Mara River.

We were at the bottom of a large hill and could see the heads of three cheetahs using our binoculars. The cheetahs were at the crest of the hill. The vehicles were at a pretty far distance because the hill was really rocky making it difficult to drive up even with 4 wheel drives. Our driver, Jonathan, slowly found a path up the hill. There were only 2 other vehicles that were able to do the same thing. The reward was spectacular. We were able to get within about 15 yards of the cheetahs. Jonathan knew the trio as three brothers. They were just laying on a little mound and sunning themselves. They’re absolutely beautiful animals and so regal looking. The younger males will generally group themselves into about three or four. This was an exceptional grouping as they were brothers to begin with and had survived childhood. We watched for a good 15 minutes before deciding that we needed to pull ourselves away and continue on.

We drove down the backside of the hill and found a good tree to have our breakfast under. It’s strange to pitch a picnic blanket amidst a bunch of wildebeest and zebra. They weren’t extremely close, but still, pretty amazing. After a great breakfast we continued toward the river.

Next, we saw a lioness who appeared to be going off for a hunt. And, within 30 seconds, we saw that she left behind another lioness who was watching four cubs. They already had a fresh kill of a wildebeest. Only one cub was eating the wildebeest. I think the other cubs and lioness were already full. The youngster that was eating was so full. His tummy looked almost bloated it kept on pulling away at the meat of the hind quarter.

We only had about an hour before having to turn back towards the airstrip so we made our way over to the river which was only a few hundred yards away. There was an area on a small cliff where we were able to get out of the car again. (I guess I should mention that generally you can never get out of a vehicle. That being said, there are a few exceptions to the rule but the driver/guide will still maintain a good lookout) We could look down into the river where there were probably about 30 hippos and some crocodiles. The hippos are funny as they take turns raising their snouts out of the water and take deep breaths before sinking back down in.

We could see wildebeest and zebra gathering on the opposite side of the river but it didn’t appear that they were going to make a crossing. Reluctantly, we decided that we needed to leave to head back. No sooner had we pulled away from the bank than we saw wildebeest starting across the bank at a location about 200 yards from us. We quickly drove over and were able to watch a medium size herd starting across. It was a mixture of zebra and wildebeest. I have to say that it is a pretty aggressive movement. The animals plunge into the river and start swimming across. All of the sudden you could see one of the wildebeest struggle to swim. It’s head would suddenly drop under the water for a few seconds and then come back up. It was apparent that a crocodile had gotten it from underneath. The animal was putting up a good fight. As the herd on the other side saw this, they began to slow their entry into the water. Those already in, just seemed to swim faster. Pretty soon you could see another crocodile swimming towards the struggling wildebeest. That was the final straw. Once the crocodile reached the wildebeest, it opened its jaws and took in the whole head. The crossing had stopped for a while and we had to continue on.

After dropping of John and Wendy at the airport, we had our lunch and then slowly drove back to the camp. It was about 2:30 and most of the animals are in the trees hiding from the full force of the sun. We were back at the camp by 4PM. It was a really long day but was not over yet. The other couple was hoping to get some Maasai bracelets and Jonathan had agreed to find them outside of the curio shops. I asked if I could ride along with him and he agreed.

We went to the village where his future bride lives. She is in school and so I didn’t get to meet her. Jonathan confided that he wasn’t sure if he wanted her but she was chosen for him by his father. There were about 15 small children and I was the novelty. We were invited into a small boma. They are different from those in Western Province. They are still made of the same mud material but are much smaller (headroom) and smokier. I had to stoop to get in the door. We sat in a tiny vestibule that had a door into the main room and then a door into the corral where I could see some baby sheep.


From there we drove to Jonathan’s homestead. It’s always hard to keep track of relatives as the extended family is treated differently from the way we handle them. For instance, we met an uncle on the road who referred to Jonathan as his son. That’s the way it’s done since the extended family unit is so strong. As best as I can figure it, Jonathon’s father has 3 wives as does his grandfather. Jonathan is one of 10 children but I’m not sure if that is the total among the 3 wives or not. The family compound is a group of homes arranged in a circle. Around the perimeter is a circle of shrub limbs than from a protective barrier. Within the outer circle is another circle of shrubs. These “fences” are there to keep out the lions, hyenas, and other predators. It is dangerous to live in this area. At 20, Jonathan was attacked by a lion while out herding the cattle one night.