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 In the Fall of 1995 I took the most amazing vacation: to Kenya, Africa. I went with my parents and we visited my younger sister. My sister was living in Kenya for two years as a member of the Peace Corp. So my parents and I basically had a guide on our vacation. That was sure handy for us. Of course we went because we wanted to visit my sister... but also figured it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was! I experienced many fascinating things on this excursion, including a wildlife safari through the Masai Mara National Reserve.
The first day of safari was mostly driving--to get out to the Masai Mara Reserve. Most of the companies use the same basic vehicle--it's a very large van (or a very small bus.) The top pops up so that you can stand up and look out at the animals, take pictures, etc. Most of the companies depart from Nairobi, as ours did. We entered into the Reserve sometime in the early evening. We saw such animals as zebras, wildebeest, giraffes, cape buffalo, and gazelles. The next day was the most incredible day. This was on safari, in the van, all day long basically. We set out early in the morning, and after driving for only a while stumbled upon the most incredible scene! It was the aftermath of a kill. Apparently two lionesses had killed a cape buffalo sometime in the middle of the night. They had already stuffed themselves and were done, but were hanging around. When we got there the vultures were swarming in attacking the carcass. They're brutal! The lions sat back and ignored the vultures. However, when the hyenas came along it was a different story! I've always heard that lions and hyenas hate each other--because they're always stealing each other's kills. Well here was proof. When the hyenas approached the carcass one of the female lions chased it off. A second hyena then distracted the lion so that the first hyena could make off with a leg. The lion decided to let that go. I think the lions were too full to bother too much... plus one of them was very obviously pregnant! Later on we saw male lions. They do nothing but bask in the shade all day. They move around trying to find shady spots. That's about it! From what I understand, though, the males are the designated "hyena killers". The females hunt and care for the cubs... at least the males do something. Oh, and "King of the Jungle" is a bit off. Sure, they're king--but of the Savannah, not jungle! What lion lives in the jungle?! That would be a tiger. The lions are one of the few creatures that paid very little attention to us. They would acknowledge our presence--I swear one male was looking me in the eye as he casually walked by behind the van. Just ambling over to another shady spot. But they were not afraid or cautious or anything. They don't know fear... nothing preys on them (besides man, of course--but there are very severe poaching laws now finally.) Baboons paid attention to us. They came right up to the van looking for handouts! Apparenlty too many tourists feed them. Most of the other animals were a bit skitterish and wouldn't let us approach them--especially the zebras and antelopes. But if lions hunted me I suppose I would be a bit skitterish, too... We came across a few different herds of elephants. They heeded a bit of attention to us--at least the females did. Naturally this was just protective maternal instinct. The males are solitary--no friends! Kinda sad. A huge one walked by not too far from us but wasn't all that interested in us. But one mother elephant fronted us and gave us a good snort and stomp. Needless to say our guide peeled out of there rather quickly. The guides know the animals and their behavior well, and know when and how to react. We came across some hippos as well. Many people think of the hippopotamus as being a large, gentle, docile creature. Not so. Well, the large part is so. But you would be foolish if you didn't believe them to be dangerous. I guess they have pretty bad tempers, too. If they feel threatened they are likely to attack. The ones we saw were basking in muddy water in the middle of a river. They weren't about to move. They make the most amazing sound! A cross between a grunt and a roar--and it's loud. One of the last scenes of the day that we saw was one of the best. As we were driving across the Savannah we saw a big congregation of vans off in the distance. There must have been five or six of them all crowded around something. So of course our driver floored it--it had to be something good! What awaited us was two female lions--and their cubs! And they were so at ease with all these vans circling them. If you think kittens are cute then someday you just have to watch lion cubs playing with each other and their mother. It was too much! Just adorable. The cubs would play with each other, then once in a while one would crawl up on mama and bite her ear a little bit and that's when the lounging mother would let out a rooooooar! "Play with your siblings and let me snooze!" Our safari ended the next day. We drove back to the entrance of the Masai Mara Reserve. Saw a few more antelopes, etc. Then we had to drive back up to Nairobi, and thus end our remarkable safari adventure.
See more Safari Photos...
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There are many companies in Kenya that cater to tourist safaris. There are various packages you can buy, which vary in length, accommodations, and of course price. We went with a company called Savuka Tours and they did a very good job. It was a 3-day, 2-night safari and our accommodations were pretty basic. We slept in large canvas tents that were on a wood platform, with cots in them--they had a camp that they use all set up in the Masai Mara.