The school where we volunteer was having eighth grade exams a couple of weeks ago. The process is so secretive that they have guards and don't allow anyone but the headmasters and teachers of that grade on campus. It is to guard against cheating and leaking of information because all eighth graders in the whole country take the same tests. So we decided it was a good time for us to take a safari to Masai Mara. Two of the other volunteers we work with also went. Our fifth passenger was a young woman from the Netherlands who was working on a project for school in a town near Lake Victoria.
The journey took about 5-6 hours, most of that over horrendous roads. It is a miracle that vehicles manage to stay in one piece around here! The paved roads are sometimes worse than the dirt roads! Anyway, we arrived around 4:30 p.m. at the campground where we would be spending the next 3 nights. It is on Masai land and is run by the Masai. It was really a great campground and we were provided with tents and foam pads and blankets. They even had hot water for showers! The water was kept in a barrel under which a fire was lit each night. We were served excellent food and enjoyed lively conversations by the campfire at night. The Masai there were very well educated and spoke English very well. It was very interesting to get their perspectives on their country, especially since a major vote to change their constitution is coming up on Nov. 21. The country is very split on the issue. The 2 factions are known as the Oranges and the Bananas. We are rooting for the Banana team, which would approve the new constitution and give more rights to women and provide more social services for the citizens.
Anyway, back to the safari...
We went on 2 evening game drives, 1 all day, and one early morning. We saw so many animals! The lions were in abundance and lots of cubs as well. We had hoped to see all of the "Big 5" - lion, buffalo, rhino, leopard, and elephant, but the rhinos (there are only 20 in the whole park, which is many thousands of acres in size) and leopards remained elusive. We also saw ostrich, giraffe, antelopes and gazelles of all types, baboons, zebras, wildebeest, jackal, vultures, cheetah, and tons of hippos! The hippos were in the river and we got out of our van and were led by an armed ranger to go and see them. Apparently a tourist was recently killed by a hippo. We were right on the border of Kenya and Tanzania and could see where the Masai Mara joins the Serengeti Plain.
We also had the opportunity to visit a Masai village or "manyatta". We were given a tour by the chief of the villlage nearest our campground. It was fascinating to see how they live. We were treated to a dance by the men and another song and dance by the women. We were invited into the home of the chief, where we met one of his wives (they sometimes have up to 15!). The homes are made out of cow dung and mud. They have huge circular corrals for their livestock to protect them from lions. A Masai, complete with spear, protected our camp at night from wayward lions!