Kenya safari

May 8, 2018

If there is a way for an adult to feel like a kid again, it is in safari. It is so magical and surreal to see all the wild animals walking freely in their natural surroundings so close to you that you could almost touch them. Sometimes it is frightening, but mostly it’s exciting. Whatever your status in life – happy, depressed, annoyed, excited or bored, full of energy or apathetic – African safari is a therapy that allows everyone to recharge. Watching the animals amidst the yellow-green fields of the savannah gave a profound sense of relaxation, a boost of energy and inner calm.

When people say that African safari is some hours of torture and some minutes of pleasure, I do not know what they are talking about. In my experience, animals were everywhere, lots and lots of them. The heart beat more strongly when lions approached, and happiness sparkled when we spotted another and another giraffe, elephant, zebra or other animal. I did not calculate how many minutes it was from one elephant to another one, but it was never boring.

The first day, when driving towards our safari camp, we saw some giraffes in the distance – maybe 1 km away from us. The driver seemed not to care at all and was a bit annoyed to stop and wait while we jumped with joy and tried to zoom in with our binoculars to the two tall figures in the distance. What a strange guy, I thought. Two days later we were passing in our camper-van through the savannah with all the animals surrounding us. If they were not closer than 50 meters from us, nobody even bothered to stand up to see them better. This is how quickly we humans get used to new situations.

On the last day, when we came back to Nairobi (the capital of Kenya), that same evening sitting in a local cafe, I felt completely lost in that urban environment. Looking through the window to the dusty, busy streets, I kept questioning myself: “Was I dreaming that lions walked all around me?”

Our Kenya trip plan

We arrived in the capital Nairobi and started with a three-day safari in Masai Mara National Park, then passed through Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru national parks, before returning to Nairobi and taking a bus to Tanzania. All together it was a short, 10-day Easter vacation passing through Kenya and Tanzania with the main focus on safari.

Nairobi giraffe centre

Firstly we visited Nairobi’s giraffe centre. This is nice entertainment if you have got a half-day free in Nairobi. On the other hand, if you have an early morning free, another exciting place (which we did not see) is Nairobi’s Elephant Orphanage centre, where you can see baby elephants. However, it was open for visitors only for one hour at midday. These places are not zoos. The animals live in a more natural environment; however, yes, they are trained to be fed by humans. The Elephant Orphanage centre helps baby elephants who lost their parent elephants, usually killed for their tusks to be sold in the ivory trade. You can become a sponsor of one little orphan elephant.

Let me introduce to you my African lover.

Here is the rest of him/her, plus a little friend from the Madagascar cartoons. I could not fit it all in just one photo.

Masai Mara National Park safari

Safari camp

Let’s start with logistics. During our safari days, we lived in a camp within the National Park. It is a closed compound of comfortable little houses. Even electricity is available during some hours, and hot showers on lucky days.

We also had our meals in the camp. The food was very healthy and good quality.

Tip: Be prepared with backup solutions for your camera or phone batteries in case there is a problem with electricity.

Amazing for kids

In the same camp, but a different van, there was a family with triplets of around seven years old. Such a safari tour for kids of such an age would be like the best adventure ever.

The only challenge might be stomach problems. In such cases, not only kids but also adults would have to skip the day’s safari. During the tour in the savannah, it is not permissible to get out of the car. We found the food very good, and I have not heard of anybody having problems, but still, it is a new place with new types of bacteria.

Transport

We travelled by safari van. This photo was taken during the single event when we were allowed to leave the van and sit down on the savannah ground. The prices of these tours differ greatly depending on agency. The only difference in value that I could imagine is whether there is only driver to take you around, or a professional guide able to give a lot of information about the animals.

We travelled in April which was low season, so fewer safari cars around. The weather was perfect. It was not too hot. We could have stayed comfortably outside the whole day. Consider that these safari cars have no air conditioning; the roof is open for you to stand up and observe the animals.

Safari animals

The big five. The smaller ten or eleven. I did not calculate, but we saw a lot of them – lions, giraffes, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, various antelopes, wildebeest, rhinoceroses, buffalos, baboons, hippopotami, and I have probably forgotten to name a few more.

It was never boring. It never seemed too far to go or too long to wait. This was the best of the best experiences for nature lovers. Super exciting. A fantastic adventure.

I remember early one morning we all met for breakfast at our camp and the conversation went something like this:

-Good morning, what happened at night that the dogs were barking?

-Ah, don’t worry, it was just lions coming close to the compound.

-Cool. Can you pass me the sugar, please?

I miss those “nothing special, just lions around” safari chats.

Our guide told us that leopards ar actually the most difficult to find because they live alone and hide perfectly. It was beneficial that the safari vans have a radio system, so they talk to each other once some animals are spotted.

Can you see a leopard up there?

Although it is not a zoo and these animals live in their natural environment, there is something utterly strange about how much they ignore the cars and people around – not just during calm nap periods, but we saw lions mating, hunting and fighting with hyenas for the food just around the tourist vans.

Tip: Decide what camera you want to bring. My images are from a simple smartphone, and though this light travel solution satisfied me during most of the trips, on the savannah, I was sorry not to have a better gadget for that beauty. I think that a safari tour is one of those occasions perfect for photography, because most of the rides happen at the best light at dawn and sunrise, and you can bring a big heavy camera. Most of the time it is sitting in a car, and whatever camera you have, it does not weigh around your neck.

Maasai villages

Although these days it is very commercial experience, once in a lifetime this is interesting to see.

The Maasai are an ethnic group, living in central and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are known for their very different looks, ancient lifestyle, and in-depth knowledge of wild savannah animals.

The Maasai are incredibly tall people. They wear a colourful red outfit and have their particular traditions. During the visit, you will hear some of their songs, learn their dances, and have an opportunity to purchase handmade (probably) handcraft. Even more interestingly for me, they told various stories about wild animals, and how they behave if they get attacked, even though it does not happen often. The Maasai are very well trained in how to spot, hear and behave around wild animals. This is why even today safari agencies prefer to erect a camp for tourists somewhere near a Maasai village and hire them to protect the compound.

I was surprised that the Maasai do not hunt for food. No wild animal is in danger from these traditional tribes. They keep domestic animals like sheep, chicken, and cows for food. The only situation when they would kill a lion is if lions come after their livestock. It does happen.

Some interesting facts I learned about the Maasai lifestyle:

Grown-up boys, before getting married, have to leave their village and survive in wild nature on their own for some years.
The tribe changes location every five years, and it is the women’s responsibility to build new houses.
They eat (at least in old times) a mixture of boiled milk and blood. This way a poor cow provides more food and for a longer time without being killed.

Kenya’s and Tanzania’s governments have had various programs for how to modernize the environment of these tribes, to help them to adapt to new urban society, but nothing worked. The Maasai tribes prefer to continue their old lifestyle.

I don’t know how much of this is true, as from what I saw they have perfectly adapted to modern tourism. They wait for tourists with a comprehensive program of songs and interactive dances, give you their traditional costumes to try on, show you around the village, and women quickly arrange a market of handcraft to sell. Then a correctly English-speaking member will tell you a legend for every souvenir with which you will become healthier or wealthier. Maybe, indeed, there are still tribes living like they did 1000 years ago, but these, I guess, are not accepting bus tours of tourists every day.

Lake national parks

After Masai Mara national park safari we spent some days on safaris around the lakes. It was nice but far from Masai Mara’s safari joy. So if you have little time, I suggest concentrating on the savannah experience for 3-5 days. But if you have more time, Kenya has much more to offer: different safaris around the lakes, and also the mountain area and beautiful beaches. We did not do that, but I can share some pictures from lake safaris.

Lake Naivasha

The main difference of a lake safari is that you see animals from the water.

Lake Nakuru National park

We went to Lake Nakuru park mainly to see pelicans and flamingos. The advertisement offered a lake almost pink from the density of flamingos, but we actually found just a few. Some days are more lucky, some days are less lucky.

Great Rift valley

On the way to Nairobi, we stopped at the Rift Valley: the place where Africa is slowly dividing into two pieces, as shown on the map below. What you see standing there is a broad valley between two highlands. As well as the view, it is exciting to stand in a place which one day will probably become the new edge of the continent.

Nairobi

With three million inhabitants, this is a big, busy, dusty city. It does not have the reputation of being very safe, so after the dawn, we stayed in our hotel.
Within an hour’s walk is the modern centre area of the city with a lot of shops and bars around. I cannot say much about the rest. It seemed very noisy and chaotic outside the centre.