Sunset Massacre - A Safari Adventure!

We decided to save the best for last! East Africa is forever linked with its wild life such as lions, zebras, wildebeests, cheetahs, leopards and rhinos. After some much needed R&R in Zanzibar, we were recharged and headed out for our 4 day in the Masai Mara Game Reserve on the northern border of Kenya.

We spotted a herd of elephants less than 10 minutes after we entered the reserve.

There were countless zebras, gazelles, topis and wildebeests roaming the vast Mara grassland. We even came by the curtest baby giraffe who normally is hidden out of our sight by its mother. By the Mara River, we didn't see the great migration. However, we did see the after math. One poor wildebeest didn't make it over river and became a feast for the crocodiles and vultures.

Down the stream, we also spotted hippos napping in the sun.

Morning of our last day in Masai Mara, we visited a Masai village. The Masai are semi-nomadic people who don very colourful clothing and jewelries. Their unique lifestyle has caught the curious eyes of the world. Despite education, civilization and western cultural influences, the Masai people very much have clung to their traditional way of life, making them a symbol of Kenyan culture. Our guide Samson said the lions will not come near a Masai since tradintionally, a Masai boy becomes a man after he kills a lion. These days no more lion can be killed on the reserve, but I guess the fear still lingered.

Before coming to the Mara, we were warn that leopard was very rarely spotted during the day. Leopard catches its prey by jumping out of the trees that they sleep all day in and drags the prey as big as a Thompson gazelle into the tree. With a great digestive system, Leopard can even process meat that has rotten; so this means they will always have plenty to eat. We couldn't believe our luck when we came across this majestic spotted predator hanging out in a tree in the late afternoon hour of our last game drive.

Shortly after we left the leopard, we came across an interesting scene that looked like it was right out one of those animal kingdom documentaries. It was a pride of lions (including 4 or 5 cubs) stalking a buffalo. Samson told us normally lions would not dare to challenge a buffalo, however, it looked very old and was alone. The lions would most likely make a move after dark since the playing field would be more leveled. We watched this intense stare down for about 1 hour and had to head back since the reserve did not allow night game drive. Now we will never know what happened...

Although we didn't spot any rhinos or witness a kill, we did score very well by seeing a leopard and baby giraffe.

Landed in Kenya after Almost 30 Hours

After 19 hours in the air and 8 hours in between, we finally landed in Nairobi! I think I have been the most tired of all the long international flights I have taken. It might have something to do with the crying baby and large man who decided to extend his elbow to my seat.

We had a 4 hour layover in Amsterdam and had a chance to check out the downtown area. It was actually really boring since we were there 7AM in the morning. Nothing was open, not even MacDonald's. But there were a few ladies in the red light district working the early shift.

We landed in Nairobi after dinner. It was a bit chilly (14 deg) since it is winter here right now. But I couldn't help love the smell the burnt wood in the air. We headed to bed after some tea and biscuits. I was so tired that as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light. However, my sleep didn't last that long. Around 2AM, I was awake wondering where was Michelle who was surpose to arrive 7 hours after us. I woke up every hour thinking it was already mid day! Around 6AM, Kat slipped me a note before going to work to let me know Michelle had missed her connection and was stuck in Cairo for 24 hours.

Ruby Roads is going to Africa

Ruby Roads is going to be on the same continent as the World Cup 2010 very soon! We will be blogging from Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania for the next 4 weeks. There will be mountain trekking, talking to locals, souvenir shopping, hanging out on the beach and of course, animal watching. Please stay tune!