From Lake Nakuru we drove 6 hours over rough Kenyan roads to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. In some places you could barely call it a road.
Along the way we witnessed some very rough living conditions.
Our driver stopped to buy firewood from this family with 9 kids (that we saw) 8 boys and a girl.
The Jordan Hotel is a luxury hotel in this part of the world.
The Maasai Mara are noted herdsmen of cattle, sheep and goats. They are a very interesting people with a unique culture and customs. For more info I suggest the following link, www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maasai_people
The spear he is carrying is not for show, they often have to defend their herds from wild lions, leopards, etc.
After a long day on the road we were treated to a nice African sunset.
Our tented camp site here seemed quite nice with a concrete floor and metal roof, compared to what many of the local people live in.
Again no internet and only generator powered electricity in the mornings and evening. We did have hot showers though. The water was heated in a barrel over a fire. Located adjacent to the Reserve wild animals are seen frequently roaming through the campgrounds. Maasai warriors stand guard 24/7 with their spears to protect the guests. This being the low season, again we were the only meals I mean guests. I guess we can now say we have had personal body guards. We are somebody now.
The Maasai Mara National Reserve contains about 373,000 acres or 583 square miles. It is the most famous and most visited Reserve in Kenya. It was the location used for the 1985 movie "Out of Africa".
The number of wild animals here is amazing. We saw all of the ones we saw at Lake Nakuru (except rhinos and flamingos) plus many more new ones.
Lions
Ostrich
Hippos
They were barely visible in the water unless they stood up. They remain in the water during the hot days to stay cool then come out to feed on grass at night.
Hippos are the second most dangerous killer-animals of humans. They are very territorial and can become quite aggressive if approached. They are very fast for their size both in water and on land. I wonder if that little bird has any idea what it's standing on?
Crocodiles can be found lurking in most waterways of Kenya and many other African countries.
Someone is going to get a surprise if they step on that "log".
This big croc is thinking about having duck for lunch.
Black-faced velvet monkey
Wildebeest
And of course elephants. Can you spot the elephants in this photo?
Know any good "How do you hide an elephant" jokes?
The grass was rather tall but it was hard not to see these enormous creatures.
As with all of the animals, it was wonderful seeing them roam about freely. I sure thought about the poor elephant we saw chained up at that temple in Sri Lanka.
This is a Maasai giraffe. It has a darker color than the Rothschild giraffe seen at Lake Nakuru and the spots go down to its feet.
Topi, a type of antelope.
The male Topi likes to stand on any raised surface, a termite mound here, in order to keep an eye out for predators.
But the sight of the day was coming across a very recent lion kill. These 2 female lions had just killed this unlucky buffalo. They were still panting from the effort.
Four cubs were also present. This was probably a how-to-kill lesson for them.
Fortunately for us, having just set down for a nice warm meal, these lions were not interested in the contents of our "mobile lion lunch wagon" parked near by.
The next morning, while heading out for another early morning game drive, we met another pride of lions on their morning commute.
They passed us by without giving a second glance.
Some people chose to take to the sky to view the animals, but we preferred the view from the ground.
After 2 days in the Maasai Mara without being eaten, we headed for Tanzania and Lake Victoria. Along the way we passed countless young kids, each waving and smiling at the pale strangers.
Next stop Lake Victoria in Tanzania.
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