As my time in Kenya comes to an end, I can’t help but reminisce on all the adventures I was able to go on while working here. One of the most unforgettable experiences I had was getting to go on a safari through Maasai Mara National Reserve. This trip had no shortage of beautiful landscapes and wild animals that I never thought I would see up close.
The trip started in Kisii, Kenya where our driver picked us up at 5am and drove us to Narok. My excitement picked up when we saw a harem of Zebras trotting by on the side of the road. This was my first time seeing Zebras up close and they were just as beautiful as I had pictured them to be! Our driver slowed down the car so we could get a better look.
Once we got to Narok, we were greeted by our tour guide, Samson. Samson was the best tour guide we could have asked for. With over 30 years of experience giving tours, we knew he would be the best person to show us around (we were right!). After switching over to the safari van that was going to take us the rest of the way, we got started on our long and rocky journey to the Mara!
After eight hours of travel, we got to our lodge and had a chance to freshen up, eat lunch and put our things down. We stayed in large tents complete with full sized beds and a bathroom with a shower.
After lunch, we got back into our safari van and got started. Samson had extended the roof and rolled down our windows so that we could stand and get 360° views throughout our game drive.
Once we entered the reserve, we saw many animals including buffalo, more zebras, gazelles, antelopes, land cranes, and ostrich! Everywhere we looked, there was a new animal I had never seen before. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience.
Within the first 30 minutes of our drive, we saw a herd of giraffes. Samson taught us how to recognize male vs female giraffes and stopped the car so that we could watch them as they walked past. They are much larger and more beautiful than I ever imagined.
As we drove further into the reserve, we kept our eyes peeled for cheetahs, lions and elephants. We were determined to find them during this trip. After a few hours of driving we saw a group of other safari vans driving past, so Samson decided to follow them. To our surprise there was a whole heard of elephants walking by! It was incredible to see these majestic animals up close. Elephants are my favorite animals so seeing 12-15 African elephants all walking together was a great privilege.
Just when I thought the safari couldn’t get better than this, we stumbled on a pride of lions. Samson drove right up to lions as they were basking in the sun. I always imagined that they would be active and curious if we ever ran into to them, but they did not seem to care that we were there watching them. We turned off the car engine and just watched them in silence. The pictures below are unedited and not zoomed in. We were so close! I still cannot believe we were able to experience this.
We then kept driving and looking out for more animals. We saw more elephants and Giraffes. Samson surprised us by taking us to Tanzania where the Serengeti begins and Maasai Mara ends.
As the sun began to set, we drove to the final spot-the Mara river. We saw hundreds of crocodiles and hippos swimming in the river. We were told that as soon as the sun sets, everyone has to leave the area as all the hippos come out of the water and roam around on land. The colorful hues of the setting sun made the river look both alluring and terrifying.
There aren’t enough words to explain how this experience changed my perspective of nature and the world. While we came to Kenya for a practicum, we also gained adventure and a list for more travel in the future. I am so grateful to have gotten this experience and especially to have gotten to do it with my incredible friend, Kait, who also interned with me this summer!
Shriti
