Here comes the story of our warm welcome to the Maasai Mara reserve. Karibu!
Getting to Masai Mara
The day started with a rich breakfast in the hotel in Nairobi. We said goodbye to the gourd on our floor, glad to have figured out a way to unlock the door of our room without the help of the staff (by hacking it). We were so excited to start our safari journey through the country (Kenya is one of the best safari holiday destinations in the world!).
Tony and Robert (of Go Kenya Safari) waited for us at exactly 7:30. After we settled our account in the shelter of the safari van (we are in the dangerous Nairobi after all) we were informed about the itinerary for the 6 coming days. Then we set off with Tony towards the Maasai Mara National Reserve. I was quite surprised when I learned that we were going to sleep in great cabins instead on a camping site (Nace wasn’t surprised, he knew where we were to sleep, but he still doesn’t know about our sleeping plans for the second part of the trip in Kenya, we’ll see if he’ll be this charmed then).
We left Nairobi and crossed the Great Rift Valley on a nice asphalt-paved road. The view of Mount Longonot was impressive. Narok was the last big city, even a district capital with crowded streets and many people busy with their daily activities.
A bit later the show was on the road. It became red dust with bumps and holes everywhere. This was the first massage of our kidneys and bottoms in Kenya. We started spotting giraffes and zebras along with the cattle.
Welcome to Maasai Mara Sopa Lodge
After the internal massage of the kidneys on the red dusty road, we reached Maasai Mara and our lodge. There we were met with warm towels, juice and tasty lunch.
We explored the complex – there are signs everywhere warning us of the dangers of the wild animals and we took a walk along a path which led us to a small village with several Maasai women who had organized a mini-mall. We didn’t have money with us and we were left with watching and smiling.
The Maasai have interesting customs and houses, but tomorrow we’re going to visit their village and get acquainted with them more thoroughly.
First game drive at Masai Mara
At 16:00h we started an afternoon “game drive”. We hopped in our safari van, which awaited us with an open roof.
We started seeing many animals from the beginning. They were not hard to spot at all. Later we had to stare and search, but for two hours we stood straight and waited impatiently to get closer to observe the animals. It requires some effort to stay standing beneath the roof, but we didn’t consider even for a moment sitting down and looking out the windows. We liked the bruises and the wind in our hair…
The zebras like showing off their bottoms, while the gazelles train for speed.
There was a ruckus around several lionesses on a hilltop, but we didn’t see them in action, they were just relaxing.
The giraffes in love were very cute.
The buffalos ate grass calmly and it seemed as if they lived in a world of their own and didn’t care about what happened around them.
It was getting late and we had to go back and arrange the memories in our heads. It was time for a little rest before the bigger excitement…
So many emotions for just half a day in Maasai Mara! We can’t believe we spotted the Big Five in just a day! Next time we visit, we’d love to explore the reserve from above – flying with a hot air balloon over the Masai Mara is an unforgettable experience!
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