The Masia Mara

We reach the Masai Mara just before launch, at the end of a road that degenerates from bad to just about non-existent. The drive down was uncomfortable but afforded us the opportunity to see the great drift valley.

We find elephants everywhere, traveling in small herds with their young. We see a number of giraffe. We discover three separate kinds of giraffe during our stay in Kenya. Though they seem ungainly while still, they move with a grace and fluidity much greater than their form suggests. I enjoy them as much as the zebras, which watch us shyly through dark eyes, with tails swishing.

The Masai Mara itself is a phenomenal backdrop for its exotic and amazing denizens. The horizons are broad and open, and the sky overhead is immense. From our vehicle we can see for kilometers and yet we only perceive a fraction of the life that surrounds us. Still, it is there: monkeys in the treetops, gorgeous sapphire-colored birds flitting from the branches, gazelles bounding across the hillsides, while lions lay in wait.

Its most blatantly visible aspect is the wildebeest migration, which we are lucky to be present for in September. They are too numerous to count. The sound of their hooves tramping, with no obvious leader and yet moving in a coordinated way that resembles a river of flesh, forms the drumbeat of the plain. They have traveled north from the Serengeti, and in a few months will return to where they began.

With no exceptions, the animals we see are healthy and well-fed, from gazelle to oryx to cheetah. Even the Masai, who we encounter briefly, seem to be doing well overall.

What an experience! Debbie and I plan on visiting this beautiful part of Africa again.