Not unlike car journeys involving maps, putting up, taking down and living in a tent can be a potentially fraught experience for a couple. Throw in mud, sleepless nights and pre-dawn starts and you’re guaranteed some early morning grumbles over who pushed the tent pegs in so far we need an extraction team, or how is it that the large, obvious rain cover was left out while everything else was packed away, and why is only one of us covered in mud after the effort anyway?
So while each day of our East Africa tour proved mind-blowing and the experiences unmatched, after two weeks rolling out of a sleeping bag each morning, it was with something approaching glee that we finally dismantled our 2×2 canvas condo for the last time…and found ourselves another tent, only this time a tent that someone else had put up.
With sixteen packed days in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda behind us, we figured a ‘long weekend’ was in order before heading back to London. One tiny prop plane and a 45-minute flight out of Nairobi later and we were scattering a herd of elephants to land on a dusty airstrip in the documentary dream that is Kenya’s Maasai Mara.
Soon after disembarking we were bouncing around in an open-roofed jeep with Masek, a lean, red-bedecked and brightly-beaded Maasai man – our safari guide for the next couple of days and, as it turns out, a tracker with an uncanny talent for spotting hidden wildlife in the brush and grasses of the Mara. Barely minutes after leaving the airstrip, we were parked next to a young leopard, our first enthralling wildlife sighting on what must be the most extraordinary airport–hotel transfer in the world.
Our lodge, a rare find on the more affordable end of the safari lodge spectrum, was a beautiful little hideaway on the river Talek, with camping areas and a handful of permanent tents overlooking the river and the park. After roll mats and squats, our lovely big green tent, with its netted beds and sitting toilet was a welcome spot of luxury, even if the slight rain leak by the door was heavier than our shower.
And although squarely in the bush, apart from a huge centipede, hippos roaring in the night, and an army of squeaking mongooses swarming around the tent the afternoon we arrived, the only really disconcerting guest we encountered was a mystery critter that occasionally turned up on the roof when it rained. Whatever it was, the hilarious sight of John racing around the tent following the sound of scurrying feet, hoping for a glimpse, was worth any minor concerns I might have had about waking up with a bush rodent nibbling my toes.
Despite heading to the Mara for a four-day ‘break’, we quickly fell into a busy routine – up at dawn for safari, followed by a massive breakfast back at the camp, a couple of hours on the tent porch spotting birds and crocs, an enormous lunch, an afternoon/evening safari and a huge dinner, before crashing for the night and then doing it all over again.
Wildlife spotting from the porch between safaris
Arriving towards the end of the great migration, we were surrounded every day by endearingly ugly wildebeest as far as the eye could see. With super-spotter Masek at the helm of our little safari truck, we passed many happy hours trundling through the savannah and brush under magnificent skies and parked within arm’s reach of lions, cheetahs, leopards and elephants.
Lions and cheetahs and wildebeest, oh my!
On our last day, we varied the itinerary to join Patrick, another Maasai guide, for a walking safari to a local Maasai village – a slightly nervous endeavour given the local cats are bigger than we’re used to and Patrick took great delight in pointing out elephant poo and hippo tracks along the way.
While the visit was certainly geared towards tourists, we enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time with the men, women and children of the village, learn about their traditions and village life, and laugh together at John’s efforts in a Maasai jumping dance.
Maasai moments….
It all just went too quick, a Maasai Express. But it was a superb finale to an amazing African adventure. And best of all, we didn’t have to take the tent down at the end.
Good to know
We stayed at Aruba Mara, a lovely, low-key safari lodge at Olkiombo in the Maasai Mara. Just a handful of private, permanent tents overlooking the River Talek and its fat crocs. There are also campsites where you can set up your own tent. The food was plentiful and excellent and the local staff charming. We went on two jeep safaris each day, and a walking safari; our guides were outstanding.
The Maasai Mara National Reserve has a daily entry fee of USD$80 per adult, which is separate to lodge safari inclusions.
Check out our post Masai Mara Safari: Photo Gallery for some of our favourite pics from this trip.