For Days 1-3 & 7-13 - our Nairobi, Galu Beach and Kisumu Village Experience - Click Here
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With only 3 vacation days available I knew a trip outside of the US wasn’t possible…but as soon as I put the days together with the Thanksgiving holiday week – I instantly had a full 9 day vacation! Perfect – Europe here my mom and I come. I got flights and hotels booked, and then played the waiting game for the next few months. Thankfully I was really busy at work in the months leading up to this vacation, so I ended up not planning a single thing. I know some locations require more planning than others…but for this trip it really worked out perfect to just wing it every day and make our plans as we went (usually involving me with my iPhone at night in the hotel room doing a bit of research and putting together a rough idea of places to see and/or restaurants to try the next day by “star-ing” them in google maps).
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Our group on safari in Masai Mara
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Trip Highlights
Day 4 - September 8
This morning we woke up at 6am, David made us breakfast at the apartment and then the safari guide picked us up at 7am. We had to drive across town to pick up the safari organizer, Steve, and since it was morning rush-hour traffic it took forever! Finally around 9am we had our driver, the trip organizer and our chef for the trip and we began our long drive to Masai Mara. We drove for an hour and stopped at the Great Rift Lookout point for a view of the impressive valley. From there we drove another 2 hours and stopped in Narok for lunch.
This morning we woke up at 6am, David made us breakfast at the apartment and then the safari guide picked us up at 7am. We had to drive across town to pick up the safari organizer, Steve, and since it was morning rush-hour traffic it took forever! Finally around 9am we had our driver, the trip organizer and our chef for the trip and we began our long drive to Masai Mara. We drove for an hour and stopped at the Great Rift Lookout point for a view of the impressive valley. From there we drove another 2 hours and stopped in Narok for lunch.
It was a very small buffet of local food...so needless to say I didn't eat much. After lunch the "fun" really began. 2.5 hours of driving on insanely bumpy dirt roads. Our guide called it a "free massage"...oh my! Here's a small taste of the drive:
Finally at 3pm we made it to Mara Sidai Camp, which would be our home for the next 2 nights. Our tent was surprisingly nice - not like any camping I've done before.
We had a king bed plus a twin bed. And in the back of the tent through a flap, there was a real sink, toilet and shower. You only had electricity for about an hour in the morning and a couple hours at night...but it really wasn't needed except to charge up your camera battery. We had an hour to relax and then at 4 we headed out for a introductory game drive. Our safari van had a pop-up roof, which was great to both feel safe that an animal wasn't going to attack you and also to stand up and take photos. The driver drove all around (more bumpy roads!), stopping at any time we wanted to take photos. That afternoon we saw wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, cape buffalo and lions. The lions were the best part of the day. We caught 2 lions and 3 cubs relaxing on a rock. The mom was nursing her cubs - it was really cute. And the cape buffalo just cracked me up - those horns...it looks like a bad wig! To finish off the day we lucked out with a great sunset just as we were leaving. We got back to camp at 7pm and dinner was at 7:30. After a very long day (the core workout from that bumpy drive is nothing to joke about!), I showered and was asleep by 9pm.
Day 5 - September 9
Our full day Safari! I was really excited about this day...as it was one of the main reasons I was going to Africa. And to be there in September during the Migration was extra exciting. We were up at 5:30am, breakfast at 6 and we left for safari by 6:40am. We entered the game reserve just like the day before but today as we had more time they really went back far into the reserve, which provided more animal sighting opportunities. Basically from 7am to 4pm we were in the van, driving over more bumpy dirt roads, and stopping continually to take in the sights and capture photos.
Our full day Safari! I was really excited about this day...as it was one of the main reasons I was going to Africa. And to be there in September during the Migration was extra exciting. We were up at 5:30am, breakfast at 6 and we left for safari by 6:40am. We entered the game reserve just like the day before but today as we had more time they really went back far into the reserve, which provided more animal sighting opportunities. Basically from 7am to 4pm we were in the van, driving over more bumpy dirt roads, and stopping continually to take in the sights and capture photos.
Cape Buffalo
Memorable events of the day:
- 8 hours in a van with bumpy roads and being amused at the crazy 'road obstacles' our driver never ceased to amaze us by driving through with ease
- Finally after 6 hours, our guide scouting out an area to ensure no lions (I guess) and letting us use the restroom behind a bush
- Witnessing the circle of life - from all the baby animals - to fresh kills
- Learning about the animal hierarchy. Noted...when the hyena is feasting, the jackal and all the vultures patiently stand by waiting their turn. (You can watch the feasting here)
- Eve continually comparing all events to The Lion King movie! (btw - our chef's name was Simba)
- Seeing 4 of the Big 5 - Lion, Cape Buffalo, Leopard and Elephants. That darn Rhino was hiding!
- Amazed at the sheer volume of wildebeest and zebras that were all going in the same direction as part of the migration
- The unbelievably lucky timing for our van to pull up and spot the elusive Leopard right out our window
- Spotting some crazy blue and red gigantic lizard, which I referred to as such until I finally figured out the real name - Agama Mwanzae
- Times when our driver just parked the van for a while, and we stood there looking out our pop-up roof into the vastness of the mara, completely quiet with only with animal sounds in the distance, and having the privilege of witnessing the animals in their natural environment
Overall, our total animal list we saw that day - Wildebeest, Zebra, Cape Buffalo, Lion, Leopard, Giraffe, Elephant, Hyena, Gazelle, Vulture, Ground Hornbill, Jackal, Crocodile, Hippo, Warthogs, Baboons, Topi, Ostrich, Agama Mwanzae.
Here are a few of my favorites photos (more amazing animals are in the full Flickr album) from Masai Mara -
Here are a few of my favorites photos (more amazing animals are in the full Flickr album) from Masai Mara -
Zebras
Lion
Elephants
Leopard
And a couple videos to try and give you a taste of driving around in the Masai Mara.
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Day 6 - September 10
Today we got up at 6:30, ate breakfast and packed up the van with our bags. Just before 8am one of the Masai village guys met up with us and we walked over to his village. The walk was just over a mile, which was nice after sitting in the safari van the last 2 days. Along the way he showed us some plants they use for various things like deodorant, sand paper and brushing their teeth. Once we got to the village the guys performed a welcome dance for us. And then Ryan and David got to join in and hilariously attempt to jump as high as the Masai guys were. I'm pretty sure the Masai guys were not even trying. Inside their village we saw their cattle, sheep, how they make fire and got to go inside one of their homes. It's truly hard to believe they live in those tiny mud homes. The women also performed a dance for us at the end. BTW - the hat the guy is wearing in the photo is from the lion he killed. You cannot get married until you kill a lion. Guys...aren't you glad you live in America?!
Today we got up at 6:30, ate breakfast and packed up the van with our bags. Just before 8am one of the Masai village guys met up with us and we walked over to his village. The walk was just over a mile, which was nice after sitting in the safari van the last 2 days. Along the way he showed us some plants they use for various things like deodorant, sand paper and brushing their teeth. Once we got to the village the guys performed a welcome dance for us. And then Ryan and David got to join in and hilariously attempt to jump as high as the Masai guys were. I'm pretty sure the Masai guys were not even trying. Inside their village we saw their cattle, sheep, how they make fire and got to go inside one of their homes. It's truly hard to believe they live in those tiny mud homes. The women also performed a dance for us at the end. BTW - the hat the guy is wearing in the photo is from the lion he killed. You cannot get married until you kill a lion. Guys...aren't you glad you live in America?!
During the visit I was most intrigued by the little kids running around. The entire village is basically mud and cow dung and to see all the kids, dressed in their probably one outfit - dirty and full of holes - running around barefoot playing in that mess was tough. And yet despite that - just to observe how content and happy they all were. The little boys in the distance trying to mimic the older guys in the 'jumping contest'. The little boy sitting with his siblings letting out the best laugh that you couldn't help but smile along with. Or the little girl in her pink dress hugging her very dirty teddy bear...realizing at the end of the day that all little girls just want the same thing.
Masai Jumping
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Masai Village Little Girl and Teddy Bear
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It was so interesting talking to one of the guys who said the furthest he had been from his village was the city of Narok (population 40,000) and it was so overwhelming he never wanted to return. He then proceeded to ask us if we know everyone in our towns, which we all laughed at. Talk about different worlds.
We left the village at 9:45 and headed out on our long drive back to Nairobi. We stopped several times for short breaks and ate at the same restaurant in Narok that we did on the way there. We finally got back to Nairobi around 4:30. That night I wasn't feeling well after most likely eating something bad, so I stayed at the apartment while the others went out to eat dinner.