Exodus

Above are pictures from the wildebeest crossing I witnessed at the Mara River.

Warning: this will be a very long post, but read it as it was an amazing experience.

I just got back this afternoon from visiting the Masai Mara. I went back with one purpose and only one intent - to see the world's mightiest migration of animals. It was the Great East African Migration, an exodus, where the animals move up from Tanzania, cross into Kenya, then cross the Mara River in search of better grazing pastures.

The initial drive into the park was basically the same as the previous time I was there, plenty of lions, elephants, and gazelle. It wasn't until we had driven something like two hours into the depths of the parks that I saw what I came for. After rounding a bend in the road, I asked the guide, Wambua, where we were going, because it seemed like we were in the middle of no where and there had been no animals insight for a while. He leaned back and said, "We're going there," then he pointed towards a far off black mass in the middle of the grassland. To me it looked like a cluster of trees, but when I concentrated on it for a while I quickly realized that what I thought were a cluster of trees were moving. These were the herds from Tanzania.

As we drove closer I could clearly see the separate herds, all with their heads down, eating until they got their fill. It's weird because I always thought the migration was one large group of animals, but really it's a bunch of herds that move together through the region, not together through the same specific area.

Every which way I looked I'd see herds and groups of animals. Some numbered in the hundreds and many numbered well into the 1,000+ range. I never thought I'd see this in my entire life. Animals in every direction. Valley after valley held thousands and tens of thousands of animals. It's simply unbelieveable. Each turn we drove around showed more animals, each hill we topped uncovered more animals, and when you thought there couldn't be any animals left, there are thousands more.

The herds that make up the Great Migration are borken up into groupings, but when you get high up on a hill or ridge and look out over the valley, you realize it's one enormous herd that's blanketing the grassland. It's like nothing else I've ever seen and completely unbelieveable. My words hardily do it justice.

Seeing all these animals was great, but the real prize is to see a herd cross the Mara River. So we headed to the river and on out way, very near to the river we saw a grouping that numbered close to one thousand. We stopped, watched, then proceeded on our way to the river. Along the way we saw more and more wildebeest. More animals everywhere. This was to be the herd I photographed above.

We got to the river, crossed it, and went to the ranger station. There we met a ranger named Joseph. Joseph said that he thought they may cross that day. I was hoping they would do so, and maybe five minutes later they started to. They went to the right of the bridge, got half way down, but no sooner did they do this then a hippo came up out of the water and scared them all back. Wildebeest, when it comes to a river crossing, are very scared and jumpy. So, they went to the left side of the bridge and attempted to cross, and as my guide Wambua said, "The best part about wildebeest crossing the river is that they always go the worse way."

Sure enough, they went the worst possible way. Joseph took me and my fellow travelers, 10 total of us, on foot to watch the crossing. We hid behind a rock, so as to not alert and scare the animals before they crossed. We sat there and just watched them fill the far shoreline.

Watching was great. The wildebeest filled the shore and just stood there. They looked around anxious, nervous, calculating, and very, very scared. They kept cycling through. Some would leave the shore, just to have their position filled by more. I really didn't think they would go, then the greatest thing I've ever seen happened. I watched one walk down and just jump in the river. As soon as the first had gone, the crossing was on. Within seconds, the rest followed and the river was filled with wildebeest.

When the first crossed and came out I was so thrilled because I was getting to see the migration. However, I had no idea how badly we were positioned. We were standing on foot right in their way, yet slightly above them on a rock. Joseph, the ranger, yelled, "Quickly, get on the rocks!" We all jumped up, and I looked backward to see all the rest of the wildebeest streaming by. Once they came out of the river they ran left and right of us. A few even tried coming up and over the rocks we were on, only to have their feet slip. When their footing gave way they tumbled down again to the river shore, taking out other wildebeest as they went.

It lasted over ten minutes and it was the greatest thing I've ever seen. Hundreds crossed at a time. They feared and struggled for their lives as they did so. Here I was watching the whole thing, standing on a rock, just a few feet above the action with my friends, watching the greatest migration on planet Earth take place, and completely surrounded by terrified wildebeest. I, honestly, can't even explain it. All I can say was it was the greatest thing I've ever seen and been apart of.

In total, something like 4,000 wildebeest crossed in front of us. Unfortunately, none were eaten by crocodiles and none drowned, but it was still wild to see. Joseph told us afterward that they hadn't seen a crossing in nearly two weeks, and that we were lucky to see one, especially on foot.

If I'm ever asked what the greatest thing I've ever see was, I won't say Great White sharks in South Africa, or the Redwood tree, I'll say, "The Great Exodus. The migration of East Africa."

Take care.

Jordan