Brush with the wild

A seven-day safari ride in Masai Mara in Kenya is a treat for adventure lovers, writes R. P. Devgan

MASAI Mara in Kenya is an unusual holiday destination. The African Safari to Masai Mara, Naivasha and Nakuru lakes and the world-famous Aberdares tree top hotel is worth a trip.

The landscape all along the Mara and rift valleys is more than just picturesque and the climate very pleasant. The lodge at Masai Mara, five-hour drive from Nairobi, known as the Keekorok, is one of the finest in the region. It boasts of more than 40 cottages, a swimming pool and resident wart hogs, baboons, zebras and even hippos.

Two nights and two days are enough at Masai Mara to see the cheetah and lions make a kill. On our first day, a cheetah brought down a gazelle after a swift chase. Three other cheetahs joined in to eat.

A day later a lioness chased a wildebeest towards another lioness who waited in ambush. The wildebeest was attacked and killed. A lion from the same pride joined in the feast. A little later three huge lions picked up the scent and gate crashed the party and chased the lion and the lioness away, a truly awesome sight.

Driving across miles of Savannas grasslands is an experience in itself. Game can be spotted from great distances, especially the giraffe. Regular sighting of gazelles, impalas, zebra, wart hogs, hyenas, waterbucks, elephants, rhinos, ostriches and other wildlife is a treat for nature lovers.

Another memorable trip is a visit to Masai village. The Masais always dressed in red, are a fit lot. They walk and run miles in a day looking after their herds of cattle. One can now understand why Kenyans dominate long and middle distance running in world athletics.

Visitors are greeted by a welcome dance, first by the men and then the women of the village. The villages are small; just five or six thatched huts made of mud and cow dung. Their staple food is blood mixed with milk got from their own cattle. Their wealth is known by the number of cattle and wives and children a man has. Dowry is given to the girl’s father.

Leaving the Mara at 5,000 ft above the sea level one moves to the lakes, Naivasha and Nakuru, also above 5,000 ft above the sea level. Motorboats take you into Naivasha lake and one is greeted immediately by the grunts and snorts of the hippos in the middle of the lake. Some hippos come out of the lake and laze on the banks.

The lake is covered with hundreds of pelicans on the one side and thousands of flamingoes just a couple of hundred metres away.

The grassy plain of the lake is full of wildlife. A surprise packet here was a huge white rhinoceros with a calf. The Sarova Lion Hill lodge in the Nakuru National Park over looking lake Nakuru is better than the one at the Mara.

Last stop on the trip is the tree top hotel in the Aberdares National Park. This is the place, where in 1953, the then Princess Elizabeth went up to the tree top hotel as a Princess and came down as the Queen of England. It was here she got the news that her father King George VI had died.

The entire lodge is made out of wood and has three levels. In front and at the back are two water holes where the animals come all day and night for the salt lick.

At night, when animals come to drink, there are bells in every room which are sounded to inform the residents, different rings for the big five. The entire seven-day safari is a must for nature lovers. Kenya with its people and the wildlife is truly a fascinating country, worth at least a visit.

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