This episode describes our trip to the Masai Mara Games Reserve in Kenya. We found a safari company in Nairobi and booked a four-day, three-night package for a reasonable price. My fellow travellers were from the overland truck. It was my last adventure with them before they headed south and I stayed behind. Knowing this was my last time I would see these people I had spent nearly every waking moment for the last few months was scary. We were travelling in a minivan, which had a roof that lifted up so we had better viewing of the animals. We stayed in budget accommodation, which was not bad at all considering how we had been sleeping on the truck. The accommodation was a permanent tented site with a pair of real beds and an adjoining toilet and shower. This was luxury. It was April and we had the short rains occurring so the grass was green and high. Still, we saw lots of wildlife. Because of the rainy season, there was not as many tour groups and often we would have a wildlife sighting to ourselves for long periods.
We spent two whole days in the minivan driving around the reserve. However, knowing everyone well and being used to travelling for long periods of time, we did not mind it at all. The highlight was seeing the lionesses and their cubs winding their way past us with no real concern. However, I felt we did intrude too closely to the wildlife, affecting their behaviour. It is wonderful to view this wildlife from the safety of a vehicle but I wonder on the intrusiveness of what we do with the self-righteousness of humans detaching ourselves from the animal world as observers.
The Masai Mara is a must-see but pick your time to visit wisely. During the migration, the park is packed and it is difficult to see the animals for the people. We chose the rainy season and it was less crowded. The Masai Mara village visit was staged with the only purpose to buy jewellery. They were also ruined by tourists flaunting their dollars around. I was not impressed. I vowed I would never willing attend another of these staged "village visits" but go searching for the real experiences myself. However, you have to tune into my future episodes for those stories.
Photo source: Craig Stevenson on Unsplash
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