Masaimara Game Reserve - Life in the Jungle

Temperature variations are vast given the proximity to the equator. Tropical regions almost always have rains that come down with a gusto, absolutely unannounced. While June to October are the best times to go in terms of climate and the wildebeest migration, January and February are the driest time of the year and therefore animal sightings are supposed to be the best at this time as they’re all out hanging around near the watering holes. Masai Mara bushlands are definitely the region with the lowest rainfall as compared to the rest of Kenya. However throughout the year the extremes between day and night temperature are huge with days getting very hot and nights being cool and comfortable year round.

As you approach Masai Mara, expecting to see a typical jungle, all you will see is an expanse of grasslands fading into the horizon on either side of you. The tyres of our car were causing whirlwinds of mud in the air, loads of which was in our mouths and stuffed in our nostrils - not a pleasant feeling but if you brace yourself for what’s to come ahead, you'll get by really easily. At the official 'gate' of Masai Mara, we found ourselves being greeted by dozens of Masai women trying to sell us some beautiful beaded bracelets. We soon realized they had decided to force them upon us whether we wanted them or not. They literally threw them into our car and it was only when the cars had to move forward that we threw them out again.

    
    The beautiful bracelets
    
    
    
    Greeted by a Wildebeest head at the Mara Gates

   
    
 The Kenyan Flag close to the reserve gates
    
    

 The vast expanse, which is only a fraction of what Masai Mara really is

Our first game drive was at 4pm and after stretching ourselves out and straightening our legs, we got back into our 2 jeeps – 4 in each. Stretched out over a 1500 square kilometres, Masai Mara looks beautiful with its various shades of green with its occasional trees here and there. It lies at an altitude of around 1600 metres above sea level and forms the northern part of the Serengeti National Park which is located in Tanzania. At this time of the year, the grass in the Serengeti has started to dry up due to the winters and that is the reason the wildebeest start migrating towards the north into Masai Mara.

The orderly queue of wildebeest

    Among the highlights of this region, are the black maned lions. However it was not quite evident to me why the lion is called the ‘King of the Jungle’ because all the entire lot of them do, is sleep. It is infact the lioness that guards the pack, hunts, bears the cubs and takes care of them. I guess I haven’t quite stayed in the jungle long enough for the locals from the Masai tribe will tell you that if the lion roars under a tree, a monkey sitting atop it would shiver and lose balance and fall right into the lion’s mouth.

    The lion doing what he does best

Since it was our first game drive we didn’t know what to expect but were swept off our feet by the sheer expanse of the grasslands and the possibility of what it might contain. The fact that lions randomly lay sleeping under bushes here and there only heightened our excitement.
   
    At the end of day one, we had seen giraffes, zebras and impala grazing here and there, we had watched tons of wildebeest walking in a queue so orderly, they would give humans competition, we had heard a sleeping lion let out the slightest growl, but to top it all we had seen the lion’s harem of nine lionesses sleeping in the grasslands not too far away from the pair of lions. Not long after, the sun set on our first amazing day at Masai Mara.

    One lion’s harem of nine females
    
    

 The picture that defines a Masai Mara sunset

    Day one had set the mood for Day 2 in Masai Mara. We set out early in the morning soon after breakfast and were to spend the entire day there. Some eggs, bread and potato wedges from breakfast had been packed into little lunch bags for us as we had to travel miles that afternoon and have our lunch in the jeeps on the banks of the Mara river. It is usually said that in Masai Mara it is possible to see the ‘Big 5’ during a morning game drive and our eyes were absolutely peeled. I’ll alleviate your tense muscles right away – yes we did see the big 5. The day started with a fair amount of bird sightings – Guinea Fowl, Vultures, Southern Hornbill, Violet breasted Roller and many others. Apart from 95 species of mammals, Masai Mara is home to almost 500 species of birds making it a favourite haunt for bird enthusiasts as well.

First sight of the morning – Guinea Fowl
    
    

The vultures seek flesh

 The nonchalant Southern Hornbill

Unmatched Patterns and Hues

      Funnily enough, after the number of lions we saw the previous day, it was the jackals and not the lions that had us gasping. We then passed by a herd of elephants with lots of young ‘ones’ hidden safely in the shrubs. The sight that left us completely was that of Cheetahs atop a jeep. While it is believed that they do so often, our guide exclaimed that he had been coming to Masai Mara for over a decade and had never seen such a sight ever before. Luck was totally favouring us for not one, not two, but three cheetahs perched themselves on top of the jeep and the entire audience went ‘Click Click Click’.

The Cheetahs trying to identify their prey from a slight height

 The six cheetahs finally set out on their mission

 Around 40 – 50 tourist vehicles lined up around the area where the kill was likely to take place but Carlos, our very knowledgeable driver decided not to stay. While we were quite upset at having missed a possible live hunt sighting, he assured us that the kill either didn’t happen at all, or even if it did, it would have been too far away for anyone to have caught a glimpse. Still slightly grumbling, we approached the Mara river. Our excitement was peaking yet again as lined up on the river bank were thousands of wildebeest that looked ready to cross. And that’s not all. Waiting sneakily down below, was the crocodile getting ready for his lunch!

 Crocs getting ready to feast

 The rumbling engines of the cars and garrulous chatter of the tourists scared the wildebeest so much that they walked all the way down to the river, the crocodile snuck into the water to become invisible, the wildebeest stepped into the water, but then decided not to cross.

Will they? Won’t they? Gaaahh!! They won’t!

    Fortunately, after about another hour of waiting, we saw the entire herd of wildebeest heading northwards, possibly to another part of the river where they would cross. And yes, then is when we witnessed Africa’s greatest wildlife spectacle – the migration of the wildebeest across the Mara river. While the total population of wildebeest that migrate is around 1.4 million, the sight of a few thousand of them crossing the river made us completely speechless. After that, the calm that settled itself throughout the rest of the drive back was one that is only witnessed in religious places with a huge amount of positive vibrations in the air.

    The rush across the river

   
    Rejoicing the arrival onto the other bank

  Another spectacular experience to be had in Masai Mara is the Hot air Balloon ride where the hot air balloon soars only about fifty feet above the ground across the grasslands, thereby allowing for excellent game viewing – sometimes the balloon travels so low, you feel you could even touch the giraffes’ head. We missed out on this experience as it is required to book atleast a week in advance, and since we were only there for 2 days, the balloon rides were sold out. However, priced at between 350 and 500 USD, this is a must-have experience.

Most hotels and camps in Masai Mara are owned or run by Indians and therefore will definitely offer Indian cuisine. Dals, Rotis and Indian ‘Sabzi’s’ are quite common on the buffet menu of hotels here. They will almost always have one local dish on the menu which gives one an opportunity to sample the local fare. Contrary to what most might think, game is not the most popularly served meat, it is actually chicken. In order to add spice to the culinary experience, almost all of the camps have live counters making pizzas and pastas at dinner time and have bonfires around which the meals can be enjoyed.