After a somewhat rough week in the hospital I enjoyed a much-awaited
experience of a lifetime last weekend—Safari!!! I had been looking forward to
this for many years ever since I decided I wanted to come to Africa for medical
missions. It was truly an incredible experience in many ways and I constantly
had to pinch myself to believe that the experience was real! Totally newly
inspired to watch the Lion King!
We wet to the Maasai Mara reserve, one of the largest in
Africa and one of the prominent Safari locals in Kenya. It is in a region
occupied by the Massai tribe, a well-known warrior tribe and probably one of
the tribes that still strongly identifies with its culture and has been least
westernized.
I went the trip with two other short-term medical missionary
couples, one of which had a 1-year-old son. Great to enjoy the experience
together. I was on call the night before and slept only an hour or so but had
plenty of caffeine and adrenaline to keep me alert. We took a van the 50 km or
so from Tenwek to the Maasai Mara reserve. It was a long and bumpy road, very
rocky and unpaved, but thankfully quite dry despite the substantial rain over
the past couple weeks. The drive was so much fun. We passed through rural
villages that were so quaint and picturesque. Lining the road were small farms,
with tall cacti serving as fence posts around the parameter. On each farm were
mud huts with thatched roofs or wooden homes with tin roofs. Throngs of goats
ad cattle walking along the road were a frequent siting. Every time we passed
children they smiled gleefully and waved as if we were celebrities! Many groups
of children ran alongside the vehicle shouting “Jambo, Jambo!” (Hello in
Swahili). They were quite enthralled by the little one-year-old White (Mzunga)
baby in the van. The landscape gradually
changed and became more widespread grassland and soon we began to spot the
trademark Balanitie trees aka "Desert Dates" (small lone trees seen in classic depictions of safari's, see many below). When we soon
spotted a throng of baboons and then a herd of zebras from far away. I couldn’t
believe we were actually seeing wild zebras!! Soon I realized they were just as
numerous as cattle in that area, but the first siting was just too unreal!
As we pulled into the Fairmont Lodge after a 4 .5 hour trip
to go 50 km we entered a beautiful, luxury 4 star tropical lodge and were
greeted with such hospitality. The cool refreshing towels soaked in lemon juice
were just perfect after the long, hot, dusty trip. The various flavor infused water
(tree-tomato/mango, cucumber-mint, ad lemon-lemongrass) were wonderfully
refreshing. The lodge inside was just breathtaking, warm earthy tones, leather
couches, dark wooden beams, and impressive artwork and décor honoring the local
Massai tribe. A sharp contrast to the hospital and rural village of Tenwek.
The lodge is settled along a tributary of the Maasai River
and is comprised of about 50 luxury “tents”. The tents resemble typical large
canvas tents from the outside, but inside are beautiful hotel rooms with
beautiful beds, tile floors, and local artisan décor. They are complete with
shower, bathrobes, coffee bar, etc. and at night the room attendant puts a hot
water bottle in the bed to keep it warm! There was a nice porch overlooking the
river, which is inhabited by hippos. At night and early morning the grunts and
splashes of the hippos can be heard from inside the tent!
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My luxury tent! |
We were then greeted by a delicious 5-course meal, which was
characteristic of every meal while we were there.
That afternoon we went on the first of 4 game drives. The
drives took place in awesome Safari vehicles with a pop off top. Our driver,
Ashford, was with us for all 4 drives and he was a true encyclopedia of
knowledge about he landscape and wildlife. He actually trained for 4 years to
be a Safari guide! He also saved us many times from sticky situations in the
mud where I though we’d surely get stuck.
Soon after we set out we came upon a large group of giraffes.
They are so majestic and graceful and so beautiful in person. They, likely most
of the animals, seemed completely un-phased by our presence and would walk feet
from the vehicle seemingly unaware by our presence. We saw many vibrantly
colored zebra, which were one of my favorites. No matter how many of them I saw
Is still have a hard time believing that their stripes were not painted on!
There were many wildebeests (which I was at first afraid of due to the visions
of the stampede from the Lion King! Haha). On that drive we saw many gazelles,
antelope, warthogs (actually nicknamed “Pumbas” here!), ostriches and jackals
(like foxes). We were lucky enough to come across a group of elephants in the
bushes. They are so massive were busy tearing up the trees with their
trunks. The best siting however were the
lions!! We heard a throat roar from the bushes and soon found a lioness resting
in the shade. After a while she came out and walked around a bit and then the
male whom she was calling to came walking over! I couldn’t believe what we were
witnessing. Apparently quite rare to actually hear/see the roar. The male
walked around our vehicle, just feet away from us. Also seemed to be completely
unaware we were there. We saw another male lion a bit late after that as well.
At this time of day when they are simply resting and trying to stay cool from
the shade they seemed so gentle and docile, like big house cats that I wanted
to pet! Hard to believe they are vicious hunters at night. Interestingly, the
females are the primary hunters/breadwinners, although it’s the males who get
first privileges at eating the kill! Also, FYI, Simba is the Swahili word for
lion.
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Graceful Giraffe. |
One of my favorite aspects of that drive, and all of the
game drives, was experiencing landscape of the Sahara with the setting and
rising of the sun. The contrast of the pinks and oranges of the sky with the
blue hazy mountain peaks and the greens and golds of the savannah grasses
cannot be captured by words. The acacia trees spotting the landscape and
wildlife in the foreground was just spectacular and I truly felt like I was in
a film or painting.
That night there was a Maasai dance before dinner, in which
we watched local Massai dress in the traditional red plaid gowns and elaborate
beaded jewelry and dance a very energetic routine for about 30 minutes! They
sang a low-pitched chant during the song, led by higher pitched singing and
chanting by the lead warrior. Part of their
dance involves jumping as high as they can in the center of a circle, and their
“verticles” are quite impressive! Tall very slender men clearing 3 feet or
more! Apparently jumping is a long held tradition competition at dances and
ceremonies among the tribe. I’m thinking many of our NBA players have roots in
the Massai tribe… At the end they invited us all to join in the lively dance
with them, which was tons of fun but quite exhausting!
After a wonderful night’s sleep in the comfy bed (and much
needed) we set out on the early morning game drive just as the sun was coming
up. Can’t forget to mention that our wake-up call included coffee and cookies.
Can I have this kind of wake up call everyday at home?
Again, one of the most memorable and breathtaking aspects of
the Safari was watching the evolution of the colors and textures of the
landscape with the rising sun. The fog that settled over the land from the rain
the night before evoked an even more magical aura. That morning we saw many of
the same animals, including a pair of lionesses that I spotted in the bushes,
gracefully licking their paws like housecats. Hard for the cat-lover that I am
to resist!
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Storm clouds rolling in late evening |
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Wildebeest |
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Family of Pumbas! (Warthogs) |
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Sunset on the Sahara |

After the drive we enjoyed a “Bush Breakfast” by the river.
When we arrived tot he site we were greeted by the cooks who had already prepared
a gourmet buffet breakfast for us! There was even an omelet station for made to
order omelets! We sat at table overlooking the bank of the river while enjoying
our breakfast. What a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Afterwards we gazed at the
hippos submerged in the river and a couple lazy crocodiles. We mostly saw only
the hears, nostrils, and eyes of the hippos but occasionally got a glimpse of
their large jaws and teeth. We learned quite a lot about hippos during the
Safari actually. They are in fact considered to the Africa’s most dangerous
mammal, even more so than lions, do to the fact that they are quite aggressive
if threatened and have crushing jaws and sharp teeth. They spend all day in the
water to keep cool and can hold their breath for up to 6 minutes! At night they
come out in large groups to feed traveling up to several kilometers along muddy
trails to reach grazing areas. At about 6 am they head back to the rivers.
That afternoon was spent enjoying the sun and relaxing at
the lodge, a delicious buffet lunch, and then another fun safari drive in the
evening. This time we were taken to see the rhinos, a high endangered and now
very highly guarded species. On the reserve there are only two White Rhinos,
which are guarded 24/7 by game rangers. Actually named for their "Wide"
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Bush Breakfast! |
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White Rhino |
mouths used for grazing ("White" easier to say?)There are only handful of them
remaining in the world today due to decades of poaching. They were huge, very
pre-historic looking animals. Sad to think they were killed just for the price
of their ivory horns. I imagine that the game rangers who guard them are
extremely protective and feel a strong bond (and respect for) the animals.
The next morning we had one last game drive before heading
back. Despite much searching we were still unable to find the elusive leopards
or cheetahs. I was longing to see a cheetah and her cubs, but that just means
I’ll have to return for another Safari in the future! Otherwise it was a good
game drive by the Safari standards as we saw 4 of the “Big Five,” the five
animals that were the most heavily prized during the hunting days: lions,
elephants, rhinos, water buffalos, and leopards.
On the way back to Tenwek we again passed through the same
villages and were greeted and chased after by many children going and coming to
school. So thrilling to think that seeing us made them so elated and overjoyed!
Their bright eyes and huge grins never cease to make my day. I also found myself so surprised at how fast
they could run and how much energy they had, despite knowing the chronic
malnutrition that afflicts them.