Day 2
Our second
day at the Masai Mara was dedicated to a full-day game drive. Starlings,
swallows, robins and even a couple of bats gave us company as we took our
breakfast overlooking the river. With a packed lunch we were ready to spend the
day out in the wilderness. We traversed different terrains, from open plains to
riverine forests, looking out for the Mara's diverse wildlife. We were not
disappointed.
Our first
stop was the Masai village. We were treated to songs and dances by the
villagers. The rhythmic tunes and dancing without the benefit of karaoke or
tracks in full throated deep voices told of ancient tales of people at one with
nature. They showed us how to make fire from flint, took us around the round of
huts. the women of the village had speedily laid out colourful wares made of
beads, clay, ivory, wood, leather for us to view or purchase. After the
colourful interaction and a bit of shopping we continued with our game
drive.
Next, we
came across the showstoppers of our trip. The guide took us to where lions had
been spotted. We saw a pride with their kill. It was a tableau lead out before
us to look at with awe. Two lionesses were near rhe kill while the third
partook of it. A fourth lioness kept a pack of hyenas at bay. The hyenas would
retreat and then regroup and come after the lioness shooing them away. Someone
from the pride would then again join fray against the hyenas. The hyenas kept
adding to their forces and kept circling the lions. The tableau consisted of at
least 6 lionesses, 20 odd hyenas and a male lion at a distance having eaten his
fill. It was fascinating and awe-inspiring.
Lunch at
the Mara
The guide
Peter then led us to a lone tree right in the middle of the Savannah and set
out a table and cutlery for lunch. We had a Kory Bustard for company, strutting
about, a herd of elephants and giraffes on the horizon, ostriches in the
distance, spreading their wings, pecking, trotting about and of course swarms
of butterflies, sparrows, finches around.
The desert
date tree which provided our canopy dots the landscape. Mara in Swahili also
means spots. the date trees scattered around apparently make it look like a
spotted land! However, there were not really that many of them in our sojourn
into the mara. They were few and far between.
Other than
the animals, we kept a look out for birds as much as possible. We are not
professional travellers, and as such did not have any cameras or binoculars
with us. Peter lent us his binoculars at times. Luggage restrictions meant we didn’t
carry ours. I feel binoculars are necessary even if not cameras. There are
plenty of beautiful photos available online but one can really watch the
habits, pick out birds and animals from a distance through field glasses. I
guess there's FOMO at work here!
The long-tailed
widow bird travelled with us on our journey. The hopping flying bird kind of
reminded me of a kangaroo on wings. We paused at times to watch it hop up and
down like on a trampoline. Peter's binoculars came in handy as we picked out a
Martial eagle and a white backed vulture on tree tops, both majestic in their
sizes.
A pied kingfisher watched us as we crossed a stream. It seemed to be there the next day too in the company of a monitor lizard and a heron! We saw plenty of Egyptian geese, some guinea fowls, native to the place, and beautiful crowned cranes along the way. There were storks on baobab trees while Cork Hearty Beasts grazed underneath. The giraffes meanwhile entwined their long necks to get a view of everything around them. Hamerkops were other birds that swept across the landscape, Ibises, cormorants, ducks, herons, geese and egrets swarmed around water bodies. We spied a lot of beautiful blue Rollers and a few Secretary birds. There were several bishop birds too. Peter was knowledgeable enough to stop, pause and show us the birds as well as tell us the names. Google did the rest in identifying them.
I asked Peter if he felt bored taking out the same trip every day. he said every day was different. I saw what he meant. While we came across more of warthogs, antelopes, gazelles, zebras, topis, giraffes, buffaloes, etc, the landscape changed, the scenes changed and the deeper we went into the reserve the more we were engulfed by its magic.
We returned to the camp sated
but still not having seen two of the big five, the Rhinos and the Cheetahs,
both elusive, shy and few in numbers. The evening was spent listening to the
gurgling stream of Mara and watching some of the Hippos finally make a move out
of the water. We missed the gorgeous Mara sunset as rains and thunderclouds
gathered across the sky.
