Maasai Mara

One of the big attractions of Kenya is the Maasai Mara National Reserve. I wanted to visit it and heard that people can do a game drive as a self-drive, and that seemed very intriguing. In the past, I had gone to Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Lake Manyara in Tanzania, where I always had a tour operator take me on such drives.

I was told that a 4x4 was required to go on this game drive. In Nairobi, I was able to negotiate a 7,000 Kenyan shilling a day Nissan XTrail rental. I started driving towards the Mara. Along the highway were many vendors selling fruits in small stands. The fruits looked exotic to me. I got a bunch of them to keep munching on during the 4-hour drive.

The drive is beautiful and shows the natural beauty of Kenya as soon as you leave the city.

Soon I drove by the Great Rift Valley, and saw many lookout points. The rift valley is vast and spans many countries of eastern Africa.

A store owner offered to sell me coffee and trinkets and showed me the small tablet he had created which documents his version of this geographical feature. I had a cordial chat with him, gulped down the watery coffee he made, and continued driving through the long, winding, dangerous, single lane highway where massive trucks kept overtaking each other to gain an inch at every opportunity.

Most of the times, the highway had a good view of the valley on the left side and since the travel speed was slow, I could take some pictures while driving.

A small town in the valley looked pretty from the distance.

The unique looking cacti in this dotted the landscape.

Large flowering trees, mountains and trucks comprised this part of the journey.

The pleasant weather turned ominous soon with huge lightning bolts, thunder and heavy downpour. I decided to stop on the way in a small village of Narok about 200 kilometers from Nairobi. It was quite a tricky task to find the actual location of the Airbnb in Narok as the owner had put an incorrect location pin for his property. This caused me to end up literally in a garbage heap, getting stuck in mud and thereby appreciating the 4x4 capabilities of my rental SUV.

The Narok stay turned out to be really bad because the road to it was extremely bumpy and there was no easy way to get there. The Google maps did not take me to the place, probably because it was incorrectly marked. After several calls to the Airbnb owner, I finally managed to get to the property. The whole task was made more complex because it was raining heavily, and the streetlights were non-existent in Narok.

Early the next morning, I woke up and had coffee in the Art Caffe, which is a new and popular coffee place that I saw in Nairobi in a few areas. The acacia tree next to the café had hundreds of birds making bird noises. I started to drive towards the Maasai Mara National Reserve.

Beautiful landscapes were everywhere and led me to a Maasai village with many local traders and herders.

A few villagers were excited to see me and came to talk to me.

These folks told me to use them as a guide to the Mara and go in their Land Cruisers. They said that my private vehicle was not allowed in the national reserve, which was very surprising to me.

They were offering their services for 20,000 Kenyan shillings for a day of game-drive. They even offered to sit in my car up to the entry gate of the National Reserve so I could verify what they were saying was true.

I did not believe them and continued driving until I reached the official gate.

The guard at the gate said it the entry fee for foreigners was $200 per day for a game drive, and confirming what the Maasai people said, told me that my 4x4 was unacceptable in the reserve. A year ago, the government had turned the reserve back to the Maasai tribe, who had changed the rules disallowing people in private cars to drive.

Negotiating with the Masai people was pure cacophony, since there were so many of them at the entry gate offering their services, I finally chose Simon, who seemed to speak English well, with vibes of a decent person and he claimed that was a professional guide who owned his Land Cruiser.

After negotiating with Simon, I decided to go on a two-day game drive, knowing I could only enjoy a half day in the reserve today but the whole day tomorrow.

For Simon's services, we agreed that I would pay him 25,000 Kenyan shillings in total. In order to start the game drive, I had to follow Simon and drive about 30 kilometers on a really bumpy road to the Mara Duma camp where I had my overnight stay. The camp had tents for accommodation, had a beautiful setting and the Talek river was literally 20 feet away from my tent.

The game drive started from the Mara Duma camp. After half an hour of driving, Simon took me through the Sekenani gate, where they inspected my ID, collected $200 and let us through.

At the gate, many locals are trying to sell souvenirs to visitors. They swarm the safari vehicles. This lady was 60 years old and made a living by selling the different artifacts.

The first sighting we had was of many Impalas hanging out. On the way there were many cows and Maasais grazing them.

Soon I saw the Thompson's gazelle, which is the smallest deer species, and it looks very cute with its beautiful horns and long ears.

There were many groups of zebras and giraffes. The driver stopped by whenever another Land Cruiser passed by and talked to its drivers to learn of nearby animal sightings.

While he was talking to drivers, I would talk to the passengers. I discovered where they were visiting from. There was a Japanese couple, an Indian couple who lived in Kenya and others; all were very pleasant to talk to.

It was good to see that the Mara was very green with a lot of brush everywhere. The grass was well grown and many Balanite trees were dotting the area.

I saw many big Topi gazelles, and the guide said their hind legs shows the map of Africa. I didn't recognize it as the African map, but each Topi Gazelle did have a blue region above the rear legs.

Along the way, there were some warthogs, including a family with a mother and her three babies running around.

We passed by many guinea fowls in a big group next to a bunch of mongooses, some of which were standing up and looking around.

Groups of Zebras were huddled together, a common sight in the Mara.

There was the grand gazelle with two of them in a pair. The Thomsons Gazelles were everywhere.

The driver was excited as he pointed out the biggest antelope, the Eland.

The Eland looked like a mix between a cow and an antelope and was quite majestic.

The Topi Gazelle was ubiquitous too.

As we drove, we saw a couple of Land Cruisers on the grass, and it seemed like they must have seen a lion. We waited for them to depart so that we could take that same spot.

Sure enough, there was a lion, a bit hidden under a brush.

The lion was quite well hidden. Since the park rangers were around, we could not get too close to the lion as safaris are required to be on the path and not drive on the grasslands.

There was another lion and lioness nearby, one had an injury. They all looked sleepy; they must have had a meal recently.

Sighting the lion was the biggest hope I had in the Maasai Mara.

However, it seemed like the Mara had other plans for the rest of the day. It started raining heavily and all the paths were flooded rapidly.

The driver was skillful and kept trying to keep moving through huge columns of water and slippery, muddy paths.

It was quite scary as the 4x4 kept getting stuck and spinning out of control. So far, it was only 90 minutes in the game-drive.

The driver requested we conclude the drive for today and I was a bit annoyed.

The $200 entry fee I paid only applied for today till 6:30PM. It was 2:30PM now and it was unclear if the storm would subside.

I saw the driver was wiping the inside of the windshield with his hands, the visibility was poor, and he struggled to keep the car in control.

Reluctantly, I relented, and we started to drive back.

A hyena was following us and a group of gazelles looked at us as we drove by. The driver was continuing to drive like a madman. On the radio, we heard that another Land Cruiser could not navigate a small river in the flood waters and although the occupants survived, their belongings washed away. It seemed like we had made a good call to turn back.

The hyena took shortcuts and kept us company as we continued on the return path.

The guide proposed to start tomorrow at 6AM and promised we will see all the animals. He asked for a $100 payment even though we had agreed to settle his payment at the end of the service. He seemed like a good guy, so I paid him.

Finally at the tent camp, I could relax a bit. Dinner was to be served in a few hours.

The easy chair on the patio of the tent showed the river view and the Maasai Mara that I had just been on.

From the chair, I could see the animals on the Mara across the river, especially the gazelles.

The next morning, I was ready to go at 5:30AM and waited for Simon to show up. He did not show up and by 6:35AM, I realized, I was duped. All the other 16 people in the tents nearby had left. I did not have Simon’s number as he was going to meet me at dinner last night and had not shown up.

The camp manager was his friend but did not have his contact info. I decided to give up and go find another guide/driver. A Ugandan driver of the bus with 16 missionaries who were in our camp said, your guide is not a good person.

Just as I drove past the front gate, the guy Simon showed up, redeeming himself. He said the river flooded where he was staying overnight, thereby delaying him.

Without arguing, I got in his vehicle, and we started the game drive. It was a sunny and beautiful day, and I was looking forward to seeing amazing wildlife. The Land Cruiser seats were wet, and it was cold on the open savanna. He got me a Shuka. I asked him why he didn’t pick up his phone when the Camp manager was trying to reach him. It seems he camp manager supposedly a good friend of Simon, didn’t have Simon’s correct number.

As soon as I passed the first gate, there were lots of animals just going by their business just like yesterday there were different types of gazelles, some birds, and a hyena even passed by as we were entering. There were a whole bunch of monkeys with a mother carrying a small baby on its back.

Everywhere you looked around on the savanna you see the different animals just grazing or looking at you. I saw hundreds of Topi gazelle walking around and a hyena was next to them. A secretary bird crossed a Topi gazelle, and I was lucky enough to get the picture of them together.

Some tour companies offer a hot air balloon ride to view the Maasai Mara, and they take off in the early morning. There were several hot air balloons up in the air visible on the horizon looking very pretty against the backdrop of the mountains.

The birds and gazelles were enjoying each other's company.

A family of Egyptian geese passed by.

Due to the rains last night, some of the paths were very muddy and the 4x4 was spinning out of control on them.

We saw a bunch of Land Cruisers at a distance, and it indicated something was afoot.

The driver followed the increasingly muddy path to catch up with the parked tourist vehicles.

Once we reached the spot, the guide said there were cheetahs in a distance. I did not have binoculars and could not see them, however, with 25x zoom on the iPhone, I was finally able to capture their picture. The two cheetahs were sitting next to each other, just chilling in the morning sun.

We stopped at a spot where there were a lot of land cruisers representing many Safari outfits, and it seemed like there was a leopard in the tree ahead, but I couldn't see anything for a while and so after a waiting for a bit, we left.

As we were wondering what to do next, the driver announced that the car had broken down and could not be driven any more. He started calling his friend to figure out how to fix it. We waited by the side of the road while the driver tried to find a solution.

After half an hour, he negotiated with another Land Cruiser driver to give me a ride. There were three Spanish girls from Barcelona working for an NGO in that vehicle. In the new group, we drove around the savannah and saw an ostrich strutting around. Many of the usual animals were thereby as well.

Again, we came to a group of Land Cruisers and spotted a family of lions lounging around.

This time we could go very, very close to them and they did not seem bothered.

The driver went in circles around the lions and we could see the lions relaxing. They were not bothered by us.

It was quite exciting to be so close to the lions and observe them unhurriedly.

Sometimes they sttirred or moved around.

Sometimes they perked up.

A family of warthogs was nearby and could be the food for the lions.

In the meanwhile, my driver returned with another 4x4 and brought along another driver he said his vehicle was taken away for repairs.

It was 10AM and the driver setup my breakfast packed by the tent camp on an anthill.

As I was enjoying a picnic breakfast in the Savannah, I could see the lion family chase the warthogs. The drama was unfolding and soon the lions were feasting on the freshly killed warthog.

Many vehicles were gathering to see this primal display of the hunter and the hunted.

After hanging out for a while, I started with the two drivers to another region and for the first time in the Mara, I saw a large group of African elephants.

The elephants looked majestic with their beautiful tusks.

The driver said they probably walked in from Serengeti. I was unaware that Tanzania was so close and the Serengeti was just next to us. In fact, we were straddling the border between Kenya and Tanzania.

Due southwest from my location was the famed roof of Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro.

The ‘big five’ group of animals all game drive visitors want to see include the big water buffaloes and there were many that I saw.

Another stop, another set of lions were seen. These were males and looked pretty ferocious.

They were also not bothered by us and we just admired them for a while before proceeding.

A bit further, was an overloaded truck on its side awaiting rescue.

We spotted many giraffes and carried on.

Soon we were at the official border between Tanzania and Kenya.

It was denoted by a triangular marker with TZ and KE on two faces.

A beautiful multicolored iguana was sunbathing.

At the border was the Mara river and in it were probably twenty or so giant hippos.

Baboons were inhabiting the grasslands and observing us keenly.

I was on the game drive for six hours by now. The agreement with Simon was to do a morning drive, followed by lunch at the tent camp and return to the national reserve by 3:30pm for the evening drive.

Sammy, the second driver was now calling the shots. He said the game drive was now over and demanded payment in full.

Simon’s promise was to do the morning and evening drive today and a three hour early morning one tomorrow to make up for yesterday’s very short drive.

An argument ensued and we had to get the camp manager involved. Luckily, he was on my side. We decided I will pay them half of the remaining money after they took me on the evening game drive.

At 3:30PM, after some rest, I was excited to visit the savanna again and we got going.

Half an hour drive later, we saw many vehicles near a tree.

Looking carefully, I could see the leopard carefully balanced on a branch.

It was well camouflaged.

It seemed to be lounging around in a very chill fashion.

Sammy, the new driver traded places with other vehicles every few minutes so I could get glimpses of the leopard from various angles.

I wanted to see the leopard‘s face and it was quite hard due to its position.

At one point I could see it a little bit.

After shuffling around, the leopard was facing me.

Its eyes and face were visible now.

Its sharp teeth were in full view as well. On another branch was a small deer that it had just killed and partially consumed.

Finally I got the picture of the full leopard and it was awesome looking.

Excepting the rhinos, I had seen all the animals I had hoped for. They could be seen in the morning tomorrow, Sammy said.

An hour with the cheetah was satisfying enough and we proceeded to drive further.

Now at a lone banatine tree, we spotted another family of lions.

They were enjoying each other’s company and walking between subgroups.

The lions were resting, they seemed sated.

One male lion was petting and licking his brother constantly.

The smaller lion seemed to enjoy the attention.

We were just three feet away from these lions and they had accepted us as a part of their surroundings.

Many times I could see the lions directly gazing at me and the others.

Every so often, a lion would get up and walk around.

After an hour, it was time to go as the park gates were closing soon.

We drove back to the gate and saw beautiful groups of guinea fowls, Egyptian geese and the Ugandan national bird.

At the camp, Sammy insisted I pay him the entire amount instead of the agreed upon half part. With the great day I had enjoyed, I did not want to argue any more. I paid. Simon and Sammy took the money, promised to come at 6am tomorrow for a Rhino sighting game drive.

That was the last I saw of Sammy and Simon. The next morning, after waiting till 6:30am, I realized they had no intention of showing up.

I had a very good time in the Mara and felt lucky to have seen so much wildlife, I decided to get an early start on my long drive to Amboseli national park, over 500km away, which would take the whole day.