Up, up and away!
Hello from the Masai Mara! We arrived in southern Kenya Tuesday morning and immediately began our off road game drive - and in doing so, we have officially given "off road" a new definition to include driving through river beds! These have by far been the bumpiest roads, if you can even call them that, but it has allowed us to get much closer to the animals than we ever have before. So close in fact, that we actually were able to see a mama ostrich sitting on her eggs! We also stopped by the "hippo highway" on our way to our lodge - here we saw at least 30 or 40 hippos sun bathing who had all made it down into the Mara River via a bumpy little hippo highway, pointed out to us by our drivers.
We then checked into our "elegant tents" at the Mara Safari Club - and I must say, we really were roughing it! :) From the outside, our lodging does look like a big tent with a zipper "front door" and all, but as you open the zipper you find 2 four post beds, beautiful seating, dressing tables and yes, even my favorite rainfall shower head! This is certainly my kind of camping!
Wednesday morning was the big day - we were told that the previous day, Tuesday, the hot air balloon ride had to be cancelled due to strong winds, so we were hesitant as to whether or not it would actually happen. Admittedly, this was one of the things I was most looking forward to in Africa, so I had my fingers crossed that all would work out. And it did. When we woke up to our 4:30am wake up call, we hoped out of bed, grabbed from coffee and hit the road to find a silent and quite still Masai Mara! By 6:45am, we were in the hot air balloons and gliding over the endless plains. To say it was gorgeous is a huge understatement. For the past week or so, we had visited various national parks and were able t view the animals relatively closely, but we had never experienced this aerial view which simply put everything into perspective. It was great to see the wildebeest, zebras, and yes, even a male lion, walk around the Masia Mara Conservancy. Amazingly, the height of the balloon didn't bother anyone and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves - the champagne brunch in the bush afterward was the perfect way to end this great experience!
After the balloon ride, it was decided that we would head into the Masia Mara National Park's southern most point to try to see the Great Migration in action. This was a hike - about 2 1/2 hours driving through legitimate river beds, but well worth the trip. Within minutes after entering the park, we found a mama lion with her two babies walk across the road and set up camp below a tree. Shortly thereafter, another mama lion came walking by with her 4 little cubs. It was great watching these animals protect their kin with such love and care - we certainly do have a thing or two to learn from these animals, even if they rule the land!
We then found a spot along the Mara River and immediately saw the wildebeest - not only were they lining the edge of the riverbank contemplating who would take the first plunge into the waters below, but the amazing sight was the miles and miles of wildebeest who were simply filing in one after another. Wherever you turned, you could see the faint outline of the animals that looked more like ants, all gathering down by the Mara River to take part in the 8th wonder of the world, the Great Migration! Now unfortunately, we missed the actual crossing of the 500 or so wildebeest we saw lining up as the group needed a lunch break (after all, food is priority #1 with Tauck!) but to me, it was more important to see the before and after - and know that thousands of wildebeest were on their way to make the trek! Our drivers told us that apparently this year's migration is a bit later than usual - ordinarily the migration takes place June through August, but this year it had just begun because there has been so much rain in Tanzania and the grass has been so good, there has been no need for the animals to move on to greener pastures - literally! Now the million dollar question - how do they know when to migrate?! Simply put, there is no rhyme or reason. They just do. Go figure.
In the afternoon, we headed out of the Masai Mara and said one last goodbye to all of or favorite animals - including an elephant who apparently thought our safari truck was a bit too close and decided to send us a warning sign by charging toward us with a loud elephant roar. And we certainly heard his warning, loud and clear! As a final goodbye, we met as a group one last time out in the bush for cocktails around the campfire where we all went around telling everyone what our favorite memories are from the trip. It was a great way to end the perfect day - not only did we have a wonderful itinerary for the trip, but we had an amazing tour director, drivers, staff and other group members. We could not have asked for anything more!
Thursday morning we head to Nairobi where we will decompress for a few hours before heading out to the airport. Once we return stateside, I will write a wrap up post for the entire trip, which truly has been life changing! So stay tuned!
