PART I
Today we started our hiking trip to Masai Mara. We plan to spend a whole week in the bush surrounded by lions, elephants, giraffes and other savannah inhabitants. The wildebeests are yet to arrive from their annual southern adventure. The long rain has just started and with it comes all sorts of herbivores to feast on the lush greenery that spreads as far as the eye can see. It’s celebration time in the animal kingdom. The herbivores have plenty of greenery to feed on while the carnivores will have plenty of fattened prey.
We decided to take a different route to the Mara to explore different grounds. The western side approachable from Kehancha is unspoilt as there are fewer tourists who venture this far. It’s not the easiest of roads to drive on in our four wheel truck full of camping gear. But the scenery is breathtaking. The Mara is an expanse of vast grassland teaming with all sorts of animals. The skies are laden with rain clouds and we’re caught in a downpour.
A couple of kilometers later, we are forced to stop to allow a herd of elephants the right of way. They cross but wait by the side of the road obviously for others to follow. As the world’s largest land animals, they can be so silent that it never fails to amaze me how close they can get up to you unnoticed.
Welcome to Masai Mara. It’s already show time yet we are just entering the park.
This park is renowned the world over for its exceptional game population, but mostly because of the immense annual migration of the wildebeest every September and October. Situated in south west Kenya it is a continuation of the Serengeti national park in Tanzania. The whole park is within the Great Rift valley, and most of the wildlife is to be found in the swampy western border of the Masai Mara, and because this area is the furthest away from Nairobi, it is the least visited compared to the open grasslands of the east that sees the greatest concentration of tourists. The park is well known for lions, but all the other members of the 'big five' are to be found here. The dominant inhabitant however is the wildebeest, and in July they migrate north to the Masai Mara from Serengeti, and then go back south again in October.
Our mission is to explore deep into the western parts of the park, especially this part that is less visited. But first we shall have to identify the best location where to set camp that will act as our base. The challenge is to identify a safe place because most of the animals here are not used to seeing humans and can be aggressive.
Although we have been driving on rough road the enchanting atmosphere and the exciting encounter with elephants a while ago has sparked our traveling spirits. Morgan, our driver is no longer complaining. With the renewed energy, we have all agreed that lunch will be eaten at the camp site that is barely twenty kilometers away.
N. G. Maroa
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