The Maasai Mara

Africa is so surreal - you can be driving along in pastures that looks remarkably similar to the paddocks sheep used to graze in our farm.  I could be on a farm in Australia I thought to myself.  Little did I know that two minutes later, we would come across two Cheetah that have just killed and feasted on a Gazelle and are moving away fast before the other bigger scavengers smell the carcass.  Moments after we'd stumble across a pride of Lions resting at the base of a tree.

So there I was, driving across the pastures that so reminded me of my childhood.  However, this isn't rural NSW, its the Maasai Mara, and its all that's left of the great migration - we missed it by about two weeks - but the impact of a couple of thousand wilderbeast is clear enough - the grass is mown short and there are droppings everywhere. We arrive at the Mara river to see a great many hippos lazily basking in the sunshine, Crocodiles never far away, and a few stray Wilderbeast trying to find a suitable spot to cross.

We see herd after herd of elephants, several with quite young babies and very protective mummas.  We see a great number of giraffe, and an even greater number of lion.  We were fortunate enough to briefly see Hyena, ugly as they are, during the day when they are traditionally nocturnal animals.  And everytime I saw a warthog I had to refrain from singing Hakunah Matata.

The Mara is a spectacular expanse where horizens are big and bold.  Bernard took well over 500 photos during our three days.  The rains caused us a little bother the first late afternoon drive.  One of our three vehicles got bogged not far from a pride of lions, then the second vehicle also got bogged trying to pull the other out.  At this point my nerves are shot and I can no longer hold back my nervous tears.  I have a healthy respect for wild animals and this pushed me just a tad too far.  We slip slide all over the place getting out as well as getting our view of the lions, but in the end no one was harmed, and we had such an amundance of good game viewing that this early mishap has become an amusing anecdote for all involved, nothing more.

And when you need to let nature take its course, then its better to pee and be seen, then to pee (behind a bush for example) and never be seen again!!!

I'm not sure how I felt when we interacted with the Masai.  I suppose I feel a great deal of respect for these proud hard working people and that I am just another imposter interfering with their traditions - staying at a campsite that would otherwise be their grazing lands.  That said, many of the women were ruthless trying to sell their wares. They can be as entrepreneural as any other African I have met thus far.  We interacted with lots of boys and males who were minding their cattle. I hope that the nomadic lifestyle will still be relevant to the younger generations.