Kenyan adventure: The wild is calling

Sometime you choose the place you wish to travel to and at other times the place chooses you. Africa was definitely on my wander”list” but I could have never imagined that I would make this expedition so soon. An amusing life incident combined with a desperation to travel later I found myself in the grasslands of Africa all prepared for my first Safari experience.

My fascination with wild life started with it helping me cope with one of the most depressing times of my life  3-4 years ago. A breakup with a strange example of a human being led me to jiggle between Discovery, Animal Planet and Nat Geo with more finesse than a circus joker.

The very overwhelmed and emotional wreck me who either cried tears or reached out for her barf bag at the slightest display of human emotions found solace in the company of these animals and their behavior. I would watch them for hours feeling amused at the Alaskan penguins’ amphibian abilities, widow spider’s sexual cannibalism, Barbados’ flying fish’s flying frolics, cheetah’s territorial antics for his feline mate and tortoise nesting & egg laying practices.

I felt I was a part of the action waiting for the slightest movement to happen in the dark of the night when the leopard would pounce on its unsuspecting prey and tear him apart.

Kenya was an easy choice due to its visa on arrival policy and its reputation as the home to big 5.

10 minutes after we moved out of Nairobi airport my eyes popped out as I saw 2 zebras standing on a green patch right next to the road. Our guide explained to us that they have probably crossed over from Nairobi national park. I guess seeing Zebras on African roads is probably like seeing stray dogs on Indian roads.

Conquering a very bumpy road, we arrived at our Maasai Mara lodge settled in midst of the jungle around lunch the next day. In evening the gates of the lodge opened and led us straight into the jungle.

Kenyan jungle isn’t very dense as it is on the grasslands and has semi-desert topography with scattered trees, giving it the name Maasai Mara which means spots in Swahaili as if viewed from above, the trees look like spots on the plains. This makes it much easier for the eyes to spot wild animals in this African savannah as the canopy is open. The objective was to scout for the big 5 – lions, elephants, rhinos, buffalos and leopards. We had been spotting wildebeest, deer, zebras, antelopes, raccoons and wild pigs aplenty. What our eyes really wanted to see was the king of the jungle. The general sentiment of the group was that it’s too ambitious to ask for it. But what would you call it when you not only manage to see a lion couple napping in the afternoon sun but also witness them indulging in some “wild time”.

The “lovers”

It’s like a hard core screening of Nat Geo with you holding a front row ticket and when the lioness starts roaring ( or moaning?) you realise that the families with kids have some explaining to do as it has suddenly evolved into an X-rated show. A lion couple mates for 4 continuous days and every 15 minutes. This particular couple that graced us with two thundering performances was very brave to stay put as they usually run into the bushes on spotting humans. Our tour guide informed us that these lions are not man eaters and would attack us only if we stepped out of the car as they would consider us to be a threat in that  situation.
Needless to say, I was quite content with the selfie I managed to take with the royals from my ride itself.

While returning we spotted another lioness with 2 cubs. With the African sun slowly setting over Maasai Mara and the silhouettes of animals etched against it, a deep sense of accomplishment came over.

The next day we started early for an almost full day of safari. Today, we went deeper into the jungle and saw a huge population of zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, impalas and antelopes. We also came across hyenas, elephants, hippos, raccoons, wild buffalos and an ostrich that was a peculiar mix of pink and black shades. All the herbivores animals could be seen co-existing together peacefully. You realise how slow life truly is here when you find the giraffe or zebra standing in the same position unflinchingly for a good 10-20 minutes while you as a human cant even sit still like that for 5 minutes.

A few miles into the jungle we spotted vultures feeding on a dead animal. About 100 metres from them lied the predators – cheetah with her 2 cubs. Another treat for the wildlife enthusiasts. The vultures were probably feeding on the left overs.

Around noon we stopped for lunch under a blue bird tea. It was quite an experience to be having a picnic in the middle of the forest while knowing that there might be a lion, cheetah or leopard lurking right around the corner.

While we were having lunch our driver cum guide asked us to get inside the car real quick as we were supposed to reach the river where the wildebeest had started their seasonal migration from Serengeti National park in Tanzania to Maasai Mara. It was a déjà vu moment for me as we reached the site as I had seen the exact same scene on Nat Geo sometime ago. What I didn’t realize at the moment was that it was about to turn even more identical.

Referred to as the great migration this phenomenon has acclaimed the status of being the biggest wildlife event in the world as every year close to 2 million wildebeest and zebras migrate from Serengeti to Maasai Mara in search for greener pastures. A host of predators make the most of this lucrative opportunity and wait for the right time to strike. The animals need to cross the Mara river to go over to the other side where a crocodile quietly waits.

 

The river was some depth from the plains making it a challenging and scary task for the wildebeest to cross over as they faced the risk of sliding while going down the slope. Our guide told us that sometimes they take hours or even days to start the crossover process. The wildebeest jumped into the river in great numbers making us all reach for our shutterbugs and capture them live in action.

Suddenly we noticed that a crocodile had caught one of the wildebeest in his sharp and deathly jaws. The crocodile usually kills its prey by drowning it and once it has made a meal out of an animal of a decent proportion it does not hunt for the next 3 months. The struggle to survive in the jungle got real as the wildebeest put up a brave fight by not giving in easily for the 30-40 minutes we stayed there. Initially I too tried to get some shots of the wild scene but then I realized it’s a show for us while a living creature is writing in pain, fighting for its life.

 

A feeling of this being unethical behavior on my part grew over me and I sat down in the car again. But then again, that’s life maybe. Someone’s pain is others’ show and this was nature – raw and unabashed at its best.

As we moved away, at another stretch of river we saw zebras and wildebeest crossing the river in both the directions. I felt they have suddenly gone cuckoo or probably this was just a regular case of “grass is always greener on the other side”. A zebra stepped on a crocodile and ran for its life but the crocodile didn’t budge even slightly as it was probably full and quite content with life.

The next 2 days were all about getting really up close and personal with these wonderful creatures and literally living with them.

Our next stop was lake Naviasha with a visit to Crater Island where many movies have been shot including Tomb raider and Out of Africa.  This is the only walking safari in Kenya where you can watch animals while walking.

On reaching our resort at lake Naviasha, I saw a deer standing on the vast grounds of the resort, quite close to the lounge and walkway. I stared hard trying to understand if it’s a statue or real. The next moment it blinked and then turned its head. I squealed with joy finding it impossible to believe that the deer was freely roaming around the property. As I ventured further to explore the vast expanse of the resort “garden” I found many animals like zebras, giraffes, wild pigs and impalas that crossover on a regular basis from the nearby reserve and almost stay with humans in the same facility.

A Kenyan sunrise is like a medley of the voices of its many  wild inhabitants in its pure air. Every morning was accompanied by chirping of birds and the sonorous sounds of its other residents. Thanks to our tight schedule, I mostly woke up quite early and managed to see many beautiful sunrises.

The only morning I spent at the resort, I found it impossible to turn down the temptation of going for a run with these wild ones. On seeing me approach they became quite alert and stared at me curiously to make an estimate if I was a miscreant. I stayed away from their path so as to not disturb them.

Our last destination was a beautiful country club atop a mountain. Words fail me when it comes to describing the charm and grandeur of this place. In this place peacocks too gave humans company and deer come to feed at the flowers of the resort. A short walk would again land you in the midst of zebras and antelopes.

 

 

The last aim of our sojourn was to go on night safari in search of a leopard but this was the part where luck didn’t favor us and we missed. But I still can not complain as interacting with some Kenyan locals at the resort lounge after a tiring day of animal watching, on sharing my experiences with them they informed me that inspite of being from Africa even they had not seen what all my group had managed to see in 5 days.

Many of us write off or don’t even consider Africa in lure of more exotic destinations. But Africa is where you will encounter nature at its best. I would personally call it as one of the most rewarding and enriching vacations of my life. My advice to you would be to book that plane ticket already. Adventure is waiting and the wild is calling.