Safari

So, I’d say that going on a Safari would be towards the top of the list of the coolest things I’ve ever been lucky enough to do. It was a pretty awesome experience all around, and make sure to check out this photo album to see some of the pictures. More pictures from each of us that went should be added over time, so check back every once in a while.

We started out Friday being picked up in the morning by our driver Paul. Our safari vehicle was a matatu specifically made for safaris. It has a lot of space inside, and the roof also rises so you can stand up inside and look outside. Here is a picture from google of what one looks like:

We set out immediately and our first stop was at a view point over the Great Rift Valley. The valley is a large rift between continental plates that extends from Lebanon all the way down Africa through Kenya and further south. The view point gave a pretty awesome view, and we were able to look many miles away into the valley. After taking a few pictures we were back on the road to a town called Narock where we ate lunch. The place we ate at was called the Dream King Restaurant. It is an all you can eat Kenyan restaurant that has many deals with different safari groups, so it was filled with white tourists which was kind of unsettling at first. After lunch we were back on the road.

A little bit outside of Narock we hit this really awful road. It was so rough going driving on the road, that it was a smoother ride with half the wheels off road and driving in a ditch. It was a pretty uncomfortable stretch of road as it constantly felt like we were about to tip over on our side which would have been pretty unfortunate. At one point one of our tires was punctured and we had to stop to replace it with a spare. After some bumpier driving, we eventually reached the Masai Mara area.

The first thing we did when getting there was to go on an afternoon game drive for a couple of hours. We had to stop at a gate and Paul paid our park entrance fee ($80 a day per head), and then we were in the park and were immediately greeted by our first pack of Wildebeest of many that we would see across the rest of the trip. I’m not really sure what to write about the safari itself. I don’t want to write too much about just what it was like, and what I felt. Instead, here is a list of observations and things I saw from all three of the game drives that I did. Then I will explain the accommodations and the rest of the trip.

•          There was so much open space. You could just look and all around you in each direction was just empty land filled with animals.
•         We were in the park during the great migration which is when wildebeest and zebra travel into the Mara north from Tanzania. The migration is peak safari time, as there were literally millions of them walking around. You would just look out, and every dot you saw was a wildebeest extending far into the difference. A remarkable thing about them is that they travel in almost straight lines when they walk which is neat to look at.
•          Our Tufts bred need to see elephants were more than satisfied. We saw probably dozens walking around, eating, drinking, all mostly in families.
•          We saw tons of giraffe too.
•          Lions were pretty cool. We saw the most on the third day. Normally they would just lay around in the shade to avoid the heat of the day, but a couple times we saw them more active. Once we saw one chasing after some wildebeest down into a ditch. When we got to the other side of it, there was a dead wildebeest at its side. Another time we saw a lion feasting on its prey. It then started to carry it away from some vultures.
•         Vultures and storks are really nasty creatures. We saw them eating a few carcasses. One vulture fresh at a kill site ate the scrotum of a wildebeest and then proceeded to stick its head and long neck entirely up the hole where the scrotum used to be into the body. It was pretty disgusting.
•          You never see in any pictures of animals, that whenever there is something interesting, dozens of safari cars rush to the scene. You know there is something interesting when you can see a group gathering in the distance. You then rush up to them to see what they are looking for.
•          Other animals we were gazelle, water buck, antelope, impalas, and a lot of different birds.
•          Unfortunately, we were not able to see any cheetah, leopard, or rhinos. All three are very rare.
•          Sunrise over the African Savannah. Just think Lion King.

There is so much more to talk about the safari, but I would not do it justice by writing here. Feel free to ask me about it in person next time I see you and I will be glad to explain it some more.

The place where we stayed at night was called Rhino Safari camp. It was not a great hotel or lodge, but it was comfortable enough. Accommodations were either tents under a roof attached to a bathroom, or small hostel type rooms. We stated in the latter though the first night there was a snafu with the lodging, and two of the group had to stay with strangers. All was well though. The food was also pretty good. Again, standard Kenyan food, but that is not a bad thing.

This is a long post so I am going to stop here. I have a lot more to talk about safaris, but I will leave that until the next time I see you in person. All in all, it was an incredible trip, I would recommend it to anyone, and I would definitely do it again.