Maasai Mara to Nairobi to San Francisco

Maasai Mara to Nairobi to San Francisco

After a nice Skype session with Madeleine, we meet the rest of the group in the bar for the last time, and head into our last dinner. Dinners follow the pattern of soup, then go to the buffet for American/English standard fare, plus many Indian specialties, and always some local African cuisine, plus fruit and quite a few pastries. We figured out the correct way to use the mosquito netting around the bed and manage to go through the night with no bites, unlike the previous night with was a feast, albeit temporary, for one persistent mosquito.

Sleeping in a bit, we pack our bags and depart the lodge for out breakfast at the Hippo Pool. This is a beautiful setting, right near where the hippos congregate. We are welcomed with a glass of champagne, and an outdoor buffet includes omelets made to order, fruits, bacon and pork sausage, various pastries, yogurts and more.

We are seated at lovely outdoor tables with a view of their river, and we hear the grunts of the hippos in the background. We are all aware that this will our last meal together, as some will begin to split off in Nairobi: Ari goes to Dubai and Dick and Beth to Ethiopia. I think that this would be a good place to sing, after being assured by Joel that music would not cause a stampede or bother the wildlife. I selected “Gute Nacht,” Cleopatra’s lullaby to the absent Marc Antony, as the only vaguely African-themed piece I know. I begin to sing, and notice that the hippos are staying above water a bit, I can fantasize that they are hearing me a little over the sound of moving water. I think that our new friends in the group enjoy it. Finally, Ari videotapes everyone talking about what the trip means to each of us.

Nairobi is jam-packed with traffic and people. As the cars and trucks crawl along, people walk in between the lines of cars, selling everything from car mats and towels to bananas and sunglasses. It seems a bit odd to be back among so many people and so much energy. We go to the Serena Nairobi, which has external security at the entrance, Joel tells us that this is where US Presidents and heads of state stay in Nairobi, so they are very security conscious. The hotel is quite luxurious, and we have a day room to relax and take showers before we depart. We do a little repacking,  shower, have a bite to eat, and rally for the trip home. We load up the trucks one last time for the long drive to the airport. At the airport perimeter, we have to get out of the car and walk through security, while our driver goes through another security level … I gather this is in part in response to the attack at the Istanbul Airport. We go through more security in the building, then passport check, then check our bags through to SFO. We manage to get some tables at a small restaurant and get sandwiches and drinks, then wait at the gate – we are about three hours early. The flight from Nairobi to Paris is long and very crowded, but we manage to sleep a bit. Then a 2-hour layover in Paris, and a quick stop at duty free for some macarons and Otard and pâté, some additional security questioning, and we’re on to Chicago. This flight is only about 2/3 full so there is plenty of room to stretch out. In Chicago we go through customs, a dog sniffed our luggage and we had to go through a manual check, then cleared customs, rechecked our bags, and our inter-terminal train was stalled for 15 minutes. At the next security, they had to test the Otard and swab it, and then there was much discussion about the pâté and what was in the tin, one security agent asked what pâté is, and another agent explained it as being similar to Spam. I’ve brought this into the US before and it has never been a problem, and thankfully we are finally cleared and can go through. We’re hanging out at the gate with some of our group, was we prepare for the trip to San Francisco, the last of our 11 airplane flights on this trip.

This has been an extraordinary adventure, wondrous and full of surprises, with so much to learn. I am so grateful that we had the opportunity for make this trip, especially with an expert like Joel Parrott leading us. Truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Maasai Mara Day 3 Afternoon

Maasai Mara Day 3 Afternoon

We stopped by a large tree for our picnic lunch, and in the distance we see a truncated pyramidal marker of the border of Tanzania and Kenya. We all take some fun photos of couples and friends in various arrangements around the market. As we depart, we see some vultures gathered around the carcass of a wildebeest, which Sammy says was killed by a lion. Farther on, we come to the gate to the national park, and a bridge across the Mara River. As we head back up the Riverbottom Road, we hope to catch a wildebeest crossing this afternoon. For about a mile, huge termite mounds are everywhere, and nearly consume 8-10’ tall shrubs, as  the landscape undulates gently but there are few trees.

Some people who were near the river in the morning told Sammy of a leopard there in a tree, so off we go, and the leopard indeed is in a tree with its kill. The sky has darkened, and we see rain on both sides of us. And from one horizon to the other, it is nothing but wildebeests on the march, with a few zebras here and there. Back to the area of plains and acacias trees dotting the landscape, we see two male cheetahs under a tree, the cheetahs looking at some zebras nearby, the zebras looking at the cheetahs – classic. A few zebras take off with some of the young to give them a head start, going away from the cheetahs, who eventually turn and go away from the zebras toward another tree.

We’re driving toward the dark clouds of the storm now, and for 20 minutes or more, we see only wildebeests on both sides, as far as the eye can see. They are everywhere. We turn up a side road, and see 6 mongooses running along, stopping briefly on top of their den and then hurrying on. Five vultures are perched on a tree, and as they take off we can see their enormous wingspan, maybe 6-8 feet. 

We begin to smell the rain as we continue on the road, and see another family of 9 elephants, and then two more lions sitting  in the sun quite a ways away. On the way back to the lodge, we see some hartebeests, including two young ones, one of which is nursing. It has been a wonderful day, filled with our last views of many of these beautiful animals and this spectacular scenery.

Maasai Mara Day 3 Morning

Maasai Mara Day 3 Morning

Last night, we had a bush dinner in a large tent, and a group of Maasai men did a welcome song for us and escorted us into the tent. One man, armed with a rifle, stood guard outside. The Maasai men also sang a call and response version of the real Hakuna Matata which included a happy birthday verse for Glenn, who was celebrating his 65th birthday. We then sang a traditional happy birthday to Glenn, and has a delicious birthday cake.

After a quiet night - no baboons outside - we leave about 9:00am and we’re out for the whole day. Margi rubs her cheetah earrings for luck, and voila, after about 30 minutes we see a cheetah. The cheetah crosses the road and fixes on some zebras and antelope in the distance. She goes a ways, pauses and lays down, then continues on. Barney says that cheetahs cover 88 feet a second for short periods. She is still 100  yards from her prey so it may be a while. 

We continue on, to another area near the river, and hear of some rhinos ahead. We are the second truck to arrive, and we see two rhinos just where the shrubs begin. They are quite large, dark gray, and they slip in and pitot the shrubs. We see a total of four rhinos, some only for a moment, but one stays in the sun and gives us a beautiful side view so we can see the massive horns. Sammy says this maybe a family group. It is hard to believe that anyone would want to kill such a magnificent animal. Suddenly, from the left, we see a group of 12 people on horseback, and as they move forward, they seem to be frightening the zebras and wildebeests ahead of them. A ranger in a truck who is nearby takes off and intercepts them, stopping them and turning them around. But their forward movement was enough to scare the zebras and wildebeests right in front of us, and they run, full out, some of the zebras bucking as they run. What a glorious sight.

We go back to the site where we saw the cheetah earlier, and it is still there, laying down just in front of a group of shrubs. The ride is now very bumpy, and one of the other trucks is briefly stuck in the mud. Soon we’re in a drier area, and we see a Crested Eagle in a tree, with a black body, white legs, yellow rains, white beak, and piercing yellow eyes. A short ways away is a Fish Eagle in the very top of a tree, with something in its mouth, perhaps making a nest. Back on the road, we go a distance, seeing giraffes, wildebeests, antelope, and zebras in abundance.. We come to a tree and Marilyn spots something white hanging down, which turns out to be a dead gazelle, likely stashed there by a leopard, though we do not see the leopard.

We start to head toward our lunch spot, and see about a dozen vultures circling something in the distance. We come to a Maribou stork and some vultures are eating a wildebeest carcass, which we can smell from the car, and several vultures perch on a nearby tree. A group of 12 giraffes amble by in the distance, eventually crossing in front of and behind us. I continue to marvel at how many animals come really close to our truck: giraffe, lion, zebra, elephant, wildebeest. A few times they are ambling along and as the truck approaches, they accelerate up the small embankments on the side of the road cut (really just two tire tracks, not a real road). Once a group of elephants are crossing the road, Sammy slows down, all of them cross except one, who trumpets at us as she turns away from the road, then crosses behind us.

After a quick stop at the pit toilet near a hippo group, we see a few lionesses in the far distance, spotted by Sammy who has very sharp eyes. As we continue on, the vista is all wildebeests and zebras and impalas, mile after mile before the flat horizon. Nothing can compare to the scope of this. 

Maasai Mara Day 2 Afternoon

Maasai Mara Day  2 Afternoon

We had a very late breakfast, 10:00am after our very early morning ride, so we went back to the room to recharge. I worked on editing the huge number of typos in my blog, and Barney became a serious baboon-watcher out our veranda door. The door is open for quite a while, then he closes it and I ask why. He’a been watching the baboons through his binoculars, and saw a large male cover about 25 feet of grass in about 2-3 seconds and then jump about 6-8 feet into someone’s veranda. Luckily it was closed, but we realized that we need to keep a bit of a sharp eye out. But now they seem to be playing in a little puddle below the rooms, splashing each other, then several run up into a tree, where one goes far out to the end of a branch before it slowly bends to the ground. They are certainly playful. We alternate watching the baboons and reading our books, very relaxing.

We load up with Sammy and we’re off for the afternoon. We see the same lion sleeping in a set of bushes, the third time we’ve seen him. We approach the Mara River, where the wildebeests are gathering and may cross. A huge number of hippos are gathered, maybe 12, all quite close to each other; it seems like hippo happy hour. We see several wildebeest carcasses in the river, casualties from yesterday’s crossing. A crocodile waits across the river, camouflaged on the beach. We hear thunder in the distance, and can see the rain starting to the west, and the wind is from the south. We hope we can stay here until somehow the herd mystically decides to move. After about 15 minutes, part of the herd turns and goes back up the hill. Slowly, more and more of them stop moving forward, pause, and turn around. Still some are moving forward, one takes a few steps, then pauses, then another steps forward, and the herd moves bit by bit. Three times the front of the herd moves to the edge of the beach, with the whole group pushing forward toward them and, then three time they pause, and retreat again. On the fourth round time, even the leaders at the front of the herd turn around, so we move on. 

A lioness has been behind us most of this time, crossing back and forth, and she goes to where we saw several lions yesterday with a wildebeest kill. The male is there, tearing at the leg of the wildebeest, we can hear him crunching the bones. Another female is nearby, resting, while the other paces.

So no wildebeest crossing today, we will look a bit more for a rhino, and we see a group of waterbucks, who leap across a small gully, one by one, and behind them, two young Thomson’s gazelles are literally bouncing vertically, playing with each other. A small herd of elephants filter in and out of the tall shrubs that mark the transition from grass to trees, becoming nearly invisible in moments. The rain seems to have passed us by. We continue our search for the rhino, even encountering some rangers who saw rhinos yesterday, but no luck. Further on, we see a trio of mongoose, with a lioness nearby. The thunder returns and a light rain begins, and there is a partial rainbow in the background. 

Soon we see that there are seven lionesses in total, two of which are sound asleep, one which is watching us, and four pacing a bit. There is also a young male lion without a mane yet. He is posed in front of the double rainbow, which is quite special. Suddenly, two of the lionesses take off, and run down a wildebeest. We catch up just as they’ve downed it, and the wildebeest is still thrashing around. The young male approaches and instead of joining in the kill, he literally throws himself down on the puppy pile, not the least bit interested in eating. The lionesses too seem only  a little interested in eating, as they seem full. Clearly, this was a practice kill.

We’ve seen some wonderful sights today, and as the sun sets over the mountains, we head back to the lodge.

Maasai Mara Day 2 Morning

Maasai Mara Day 2 Morning

We awake at 5:30am, had some coffee in our room, and prepared for an early morning viewing drive. For the first time it is chilly enough to to wear an outer layer. I notice how the rounded roofs of the main building and the rooms are rather like the roofs of the homes of the nomadic Samburu that we saw over that past few days. We see the beautiful African sunrise next to a big cloud bank, leftover from the rainstorm. Joel notes that for the animals, “having a good night” has a different meaning than it does for us, for them it is about surviving the attack of predators for one more dark night. The morning sun turns all the grass golden, and the air is so fresh from the rainstorm.

We drive only a few minutes, and come to  the spot where we saw the big male lion, and we see him again, off in the distance, in the brush, barely visible against the sunrise. We stop at the place where the group of lions were eating the wildebeest yesterday, and see some of it still remaining. A hippo ambles his way to the river, afraid of no other animal. Joel says that hippos are very fast, he was once out at night and they spooked a hippo, which started to run and they clocked it at 30 mph, pretty fast on those little legs. He notes that they are nocturnal, feeding at night and staying in the water during the day, so it is unusual to see one out at this time of the morning. Further on, we see three more hippos, a long way from the river.

Along the road, we see two Ground Hornbills, silhouetted against the rising sun; they are larger than others we’ve seen, almost two feet tall. We see several large  groups of wildebeest grazing, perhaps thinking about when today they will try to cross the river. We must see several thousand here; these are the ones that made it across the river, We continue on, Joel says we’re now in black rhino country, and they are very hard to spot, being quite skittish, as Barney notes, understandable given how they have been hunted almost to extinction. I take a panoramic photo, we are surrounded 360 degrees by wildebeests. Their variegated coloring and tan “beards” are beautiful individually and stunning en masse. Joel notes that as relatively hairless, upright species, we evolved to take advantage of this environment. The hairless body, so different than the chimpanzee or ape, allowed early humans to dissipate heat more effectively, and standing upright allowed them to see over the  grasses.

We continue on, see a family of jackals by their den, and one stays out to watch us. A Ground Plover cackles and runs by us on the side of the road, and some Egyptian Geese scurry by. Suddenly Sammy spots a large male lion, sleeping by the side of the road; his belly is quite full, and he is deeply asleep, afraid of no one. He looks so peaceful, occasionally moving his foot, just like a house cat. It is amazing how the characteristic movements of the big cats are like domestic cats, and the smooth, efficient trot of the jackal is like the trot of the domestic dog.

Around a bend, we see a group of lions by the riverbank. One lioness comes quite close to us, Joel notes how thin she is in the waist, and that she is on the hunt. A young male and a female pose on a small hill, where they have a good view. Besides the lions, here we can see Cape buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, elephant, Impala, buzzards, and an eagle, all in one place; this truly seems like Africa. Another lioness approaches, Joel says that the group might be brother and sisters, all from the same litter, as the mother will push out the youngsters when she has a new litter. They move along the riverbank, on the hunt for breakfast, and cross behind our truck. We  now see three lionesses on the hunt, as they triangulate around some possible prey, Impala, or wildebeest, or warthogs are all options. They hunt slowly, widely spread apart, taking long breaks as they watch their prey. The hunt may take hours, as the prey are distant, so we move on.

Well past the area where we saw the lions, we see some large herds of zebras, grazing but always with a few sentries on the watch. The trees here are deep green and well-leafed out, so seeing leopard and birds will be very tough. We come across another lion, though there are probably others, laying about 5 yards away from the kill, perhaps resting from eating a while.

Turning back toward the lodge, the view is filled with Acacia trees, but a different type than the Umbrella Acacia we saw in the Serengeti. These trees dot the landscape, and give it its local name, as Mara means “spots” in Swahili, which is how the landscape looks from the hills. We are rocking and rolling on the way back, getting stuck momentarily in the mud a few times. We see the sleeping lion we saw earlier, who has moved under another tree, and briefly raises his head. Farther on, we pass another huge herd of wildebeest, in a long line; driving about 40mph now, it takes us 30 seconds to pass this whole herd, which is a lot of wildebeests. We turn onto a two lane dirt road, the main road, for the 11-mile drive back to the lodge.

Maasai Mara Day 1 Afternoon

Maasai Mara Day 1 Afternoon

We head out to an area near the river to see a wildebeest crossing, we hope. Sammy picks a spot and suddenly the area comes alive. A lion and a lioness have a kill in the bush above the shoreline, which looks like a wildebeest. At least 7 hippos are snorting in the water, and a large crocodile lurks just under the surface. We see the lion turn over the wildebeest and head toward another lioness. Looks like lion happy hour. The other lioness marks the territory, and then comes approach the sign. One comes close to the small ravine on the other side of our truck, goes down into the ravine to check out the carcasses in the ravine, then comes out again, crossing right behind the truck. At one point, she turns back toward us and looks at us with her golden eyes. She proceeds to lay on the cliff, about 20 feet from the other truck, then heads back toward us and crosses over to the sign.

Continuing on, we see the sky beginning to darken, and a bit of lightening. A gray heron is just ahead of us on the road, and flies off. We come near the river and see a huge Nile crocodile, and then more, a total of 8. Then off to the left, we see 8 more crocodiles laying on the beach, as if just waiting for dinner. They do not really hunt or travel together, Joel tells us, but rather they congregate in the same place when it is a good hunting ground. A herd of zebras approach the beach, and two of a crocodiles start heading, submarine-like, toward where the zebra might drink. But the lead zebra is watching the crocodile, and after some minutes, they wisely decide to retreat up the slope to call it a day. The crocodiles remain in the water, waiting. We hear the thunder, and feel a few drops. We can see the rain coming behind us, and we close the pop top for now. More thunder and lightening, and we come upon the lions we saw earlier, gnawing on the wildebeest. One lioness in particular we can see well, and she is tearing at the wildebeest, whose thick skin, Joel tell us, is hard to get through. At times it seems that the lion is actually licking the wildebeest carcass, rather than eating.

It begins to drizzle again, and them just as it really starts to rain and darken, we hear of some wildebeests crossing the river. We drive over quickly – really quickly - and most of the herd has crossed already, but we do see four last ones jump in and start swimming. Two large crocodiles wait for them slightly downstream, ready to pounce, with a group  of 14 hippos a bit further on. .Joel tells us that the crocodiles grab the wildebeests by the throat, latch on, and twist the animal’s neck to tear through the hide. This time, though, the four wildebeests make it, which cheers us. Somehow, while seeing a lion eating a wildebeest is OK, no one wants to root for the crocodiles. 

A little wet and  a lot excited by everything we’ve seen today, we head back to the lodge. It has been an exciting day.

Maasai Mara Day 1 Morning

Maasai Mara Day 1 Morning

Because it rained here yesterday, everything is fresh and green. We arrive at the Maasai Mara Serena lodge, which is large and spacious, with a lobby and outdoor terrace overlooking the Maasai Mara with spectacular scope. We head out, and see some resting Cape buffalo and a herd of Impala. 

We come to the Mara River, which is flowing quickly, and has some small rapids upstream of about 8 hippos. We hear them talking to each other a bit as they rise and sink in the water. Farther once see a huge herd of wildebeest which Joel says may be getting ready to cross the river. We creep toward the river and see a large, male lion in the bush. There is another male nearby, two guys hanging out until they find their chance to take over a pride. We turn toward the river and see about 6 hippos in the water, bobbing about. We see two Cape buffalo skulls, and our first carcass that is not actively being eaten, a dead wildebeest laying over a rock. Suddenly the other lion emerges from hiding the bush, and he joins the other, both posing perfectly for us, a thrilling sight. Joel thinks they have both eaten recently, as their bellies are bulging. In the far distance we see some Maasai giraffes, including two males who are fighting by whipping their necks around each other.

Farther on the road, we see a family of elephants in the distance Notre let, and two giraffes on the right. We draw closer to the elephants, a herd of 12 females and babies. One in the center is nursing, and after a while the mother turns around so the calf can nurse on the other side. Like primates, elephants have their breasts up near their front legs, so the mother moves her front leg toward for access, while most other animals have their breasts farther back. Joel points out a large female with two of her young, a very young calf and an adolescent; often families stay together like this. We see 5 adult females and 8 youngsters of various ages, and we’re very quiet, so they begin to head toward our area slowly. This fresh green grass seems to make them rather satisfied.

Then something amazing happens. The big female, the matriarch, starts to head toward us, munching along the way, two adolescents close by her. We are the only truck here, and we all become very quiet so we can actually hear them ripping the grass up to eat. They come closer and closer, until they are finally only about 15 feet away. Joel speaks about being accepted into their world, that they are comfortable coming so near us, and we can see into their eyes. This is a very special moment, something Joel says is quite exceptional, for elephants to come to us.

We continue on the road, and see a lone male Maasai giraffe, with his head down in a hole drinking. It looks like such an awkward position. We continue on to the Hippo Pool, where wee an astonishing 34 hippos, in the deep water and sunning I the shore. Two rhinos are quite close, just the other side of the river, buts toward us and punching each other. They are so close we can see the texture of their skin.




   


Cheers, Theresa Nelson