Back from the Masai Mara

Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, June 2, 2010

Back in Nairobi, via a Safarilink flight that went very smoothly (even for Robin who, amazingly, slept most of the way), after spending the better part of three days in the Masai Mara. Which was also amazing. Yes, Kenya is indeed full of wildlife of all sorts and the experience of seeing the animals in the wild was unforgettable, but difficult to describe in words – pictures serve much better, so we’ve uploaded some of our favorites to flickr.

It might not be obvious from the photos (because we were frequently zooming in with the camera), but we were usually able to get very close to the animals. Most of them would let us get within 5-50 feet before eventually wandering off.

The Intrepid camp was great, if not as luxurious as Joy’s Camp. We became (as usual) particularly fond of hanging out in the bar, which overlooked a river. That, as it turned out, was fortuitous because it led to a very interesting evening on our last night there.

We met Marcus and Remy, from Germany, and newlyweds Doug and Michelle, from New York, in the bar and were chatting about the day’s game drives, what we had seen and where we had been while in Africa. Dinner was already well under way al fresco on the patio when we decided it was time to eat. As we rose and headed for the dining area, the six of us were pulled aside by one of the attendants and told to follow. He said that, as we were the last in the bar, they had something special to show us but he couldn’t be persuaded to impart any more info. So we headed off down a dimly lit pathway toward the outskirts of the camp.

After a few minutes walk, small luminarias came into view defining a pathway forward as we left the main part of the camp behind, still with no idea where we were going. We suddenly turned a corner into a clearing along the river, lit with candles and a fire. An elegant table was laid out for us, next to an open-air kitchen. We soon found ourselves seated and served with wine and beer, the smell of roasting meats wafting our way and the sound of flowing water as the background music…at least until the Masai warriors showed up.

Midway through the meal, we heard them approach down the same path that we recently tread. In full Masai dress, five or six of them entered the clearing, dancing and singing as they came. As the group provided a background chant, each took a turn to raise his voice higher in a tribal melody. This went on for a few minutes and then they invited Remy and Tom to join them in their performance, which included a bout of competitive jumping - the higher, the better. We were told later that whoever jumps highest gets the most women, which didn’t sit well with Robin. Fortunately, they didn’t bring any women with them…

It was a magical evening and we lingered long in the clearing with our new friends, chatting and laughing, before returning to our tents late that night. All in all, we couldn’t have imagined a more delightful end to our safari in Kenya.