Maasai Mara

Once breakfast was finished and the certificates for ‘venturing aloft’ had been written, Carol reunited us with our cameras and set off at a rate of knots to meet Charles at the agreed time and place. Then it was over to him to find us the best sightings of the day. We were to see lions, a leopard sprawled out in the shade, tons of giraffes, elephants and more! Unfortunately, rangers were not happy about tourists getting close to some areas, so we missed the lion cubs, but we saw a cheetah group of five young males feasting on the cadaver of a zebra they had killed. Then the hyena came in and stole from the cheetahs before the vultures arrived.

Back at Ilkeliani that evening we enjoyed another amazing four course meal, beautifully presented and topped off with one of the chefs celebration cakes, presented with style to the young Danish girl who had been on the balloon flight: we were intrigued that they didn’t sing ‘Happy Birthday’ so asked what the occasion was. Apparently, just before leaving for Africa she had qualified as a Marine Biologist so the hotel decided to congratulate her.

Back to the tent overlooking the river to find chocolates on our beds and hot water bottles under the sheets! Another good night’s sleep led to another day in the Maasai Mara. This one started with a walk along the river with Emmanuel, one of the reception staff and a Maasai warrior himself, explaining about the various trees and their uses. There were trees for medication, to produce dyes ( especially the traditional red colour) and to light fires. It struck me that God makes provision for different people in different ways through creation.

We walked to the village nearby where we were greeted by the chief and a few warriors performing a welcome dance and showing us how they jumped for girlfriends before taking us into the village where Emmanuel showed us inside one of the houses. They gave us a ‘dancing club’ to hold as we walked through the village as you should always have something in your hand. Very simple, it reminded me a bit of the arrangement of houses in the Middle Ages where one room was actually a bed for the children but at the side of the main room where the parents’ room was. The bathroom, Emmanuel said, was behind- i.e. outdoor bucket showers would be the norm.

When we left the house the men demonstrated fire-lighting: very clever! Again, they gave us the equipment they used – but this time, asked us to pay for both ‘to support young Maasai warriors’.

The women danced and sang for us. One came late. She had a beaming smile and when I asked her name later she told me it was Maria. She is a Christian as is Emmanuel. He walks about 5km to church every Sunday. Then, before moving to the shopping, we had the children come to get the crayons and pencils we had brought. Emmanuel organised them well, having them sit in orderly lines, just as they would at school, no doubt!

Then came the shopping at the edge of the village with traditional crafts ready for us to buy. Although I spent more than I had intended, I was very happy with the things I bought and will enjoy them at home.

Ten o’clock and we felt as though it was already midday! But now we were off to the conservation area again, animal spotting with Charles in charge.