The top photo is of a mother cheetah. She was searching the grasslands for something to eat. The middle picture is of a leopard we saw that had just killed and begun to eat an impala. The bottom picture is of a lioness that we saw only fifteen minutes after driving into the Masai Mara.
I returned last night from the Masai Mara, and all I can say is, "Wow." It is the most beautiful place I have ever been. I took so many pictures with the intention of capturing this place's beauty, but my pictures don't do it justice. It is the East Africa of my dreams - large, open grasslands of golden tipped grass that sway when the wind blows. The swaying gives the illusion of a sea of gold. It made me think that Eden must have looked something like this.
All throughout the park are large herds of Thompson's and Grant's gazelle, wildebeest, giraffe, elephants and plenty of predators to hunt them all down. The migration has not started yet, so I did not see the large herds that I hoped to, they are still down in the Serengetti, but I did see some amazing things. I saw a mother cheetah and her two kittens, two groups of male lions (two a piece), a leopard with a freshly killed impala lying in a tree, a lioness with three baby cubs, and so much more. I even saw two elephants mate. That was something interesting to say the least. I saw the complete "Big 5," which consists of elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, and rhino. In short, it was an amazing experience even though I didn't get to see the great migration.
The only thing that I really disliked about the park is that you're allowed to drive pretty much anywhere you please in the park. You can go off the road if you like or if you see an animal of interest from far away you can go and basically chase it down. After we left the mother cheetah and her kittens, a bunch of cars drove up and surrounded them. I counted eighteen cars making a semi-circle around them. It's great being able to get so close, yet it seems very unfair to the animal, especially when that animal must rely on hunting in order to survive.
We stayed at a Maasai tented camp right outside of the park. Our guide, Wambua (Vincent is his Christian name), gave me a Kamba name. I am now called Kioko, by him and some other Kenyans. The name means born in the morning. I feel just that much more Kenyan now.
That is all for now. I have to finish my paper for my MSU Study Abroad. It is due in a few days and I haven't finished it yet.
Take care.
Jordan
i think you should publish this blog when you get back. i would buy it.
ReplyDeleteThat is some amazing stuff. Those pictures blow my mind. Keep it coming bud,
ReplyDeleteBen
I think you and I saw East Africa the same way - while I absolutely loved our trip in South Africa, it wasn't until I arrived in Tanzania and got settled in there that I found the Africa I had always dreamed of. And I know it's probably frustrating that your internship hasn't started yet, but the locals always told me that "there is no hurry in Africa", so take that with a grain of salt, haha. Enjoy the ride while you can - sometimes a disappointment can unexpectedly yield a great experience you wouldn't have otherwise had. Like when my Kenya trip fell through last year, it actually led to the fact that I was in Africa for 3 months, instead of just the original 6 weeks I had planned.
ReplyDeleteIf your internship still isn't working out for a while, maybe take a trip down to Tanzania, where I found the Africa of my dreams - the Serengeti (probably just like the Mara since they're connected), Ngorongoro Crater, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar.... such a gorgeous country. Some of my friends recommended Uganda and Rwanda too - you can go track the mountain gorillas and chill like 10 feet away from a silverback.
Love the blog, keep it up - it takes me right back. :)