| Masai Mara National Park/ Reserve Kenya | | | | can offer game walks as well as night game |
| Masai Mara is the most popular game reserve in | | | | drives. Animals, however, are not confined to the |
| Kenya. It is an extension of the Serengeti Plains in | | | | Masai Mara reserve and are also found in good |
| Tanzania, and offers the best game viewing in | | | | numbers outside. You are also likely to see human |
| Kenya. On these wide open rolling grasslands of | | | | habitation, especially Masai with their herds, when |
| Masai Mara reserve, you can often see an | | | | you stay outside the mara Masai reserve. |
| incredible variety of different animals at one time. | | | | Visits to a Masai Manyatta can be arranged from |
| Perhaps a cheetah sits on a termite mound with | | | | many of the Masai Mara safari camps or lodges. |
| her punky looking cubs, while beyond, gazelle, | | | | Another popular "excursion" is a romantic Kenya |
| antelope and zebra placidly graze. | | | | Masai Mara hot-air balloon trip and safari where |
| Giraffe might peer curiously through the trees, | | | | you view animals from above and then touch |
| while elephant pass on silent feet and vultures | | | | down for an extravagant breakfast in the bush. |
| circle above. Every year millions of wildebeest | | | | Pricey but memorable. Another day or overnight |
| migrate north from the Serengeti to the green | | | | jaunt offered from the Masai Mara reserve is a |
| grass of the Masai Mara Kenya. This exciting | | | | flying trip to an island camp on Lake Victoria |
| spectacle in your Masai Mara safari usually occurs | | | | where you fish for giant Nile perch |
| sometime between July and August of every | | | | You are likely to go on at least one or two |
| year. | | | | games drive a day when you stay in the Masai |
| Even when animal are not highlighting the Masai | | | | Mara. Early morning and evening drives are the |
| Mara scene, the views by themselves are worth | | | | most popular-they can also be very cool, so |
| the trip. Imagine bright oblique rays of evening | | | | remember to pack some warm layers along with |
| light slanting under blue-storm clouds. The rich | | | | your hats, suntan lotion, binoculars and malaria |
| golden expanses of waving grass are brilliant in | | | | medication. |
| this light, and the solitary flat-topped acacia tree is | | | | The growth in places to stay in and around the |
| dramatically spotlighted on the crest of a hill. | | | | Masai Mara also means that there are more |
| Beyond rise the steep smoky blues of the | | | | visitors and more minibuses. Although you are still |
| Oloololo Escarpment-such distances, such | | | | guaranteed to see a lot of game, there are times |
| breathing space. | | | | and places in the reserve when vehicles jostle for |
| At sunup you may be hanging on to the open | | | | position around an animal (usually a cat), and the |
| overhead hatch as your land cruiser plunges down | | | | sounds of video cameras and revving engines |
| a rocky track to ford a rushing stream in your | | | | destroy the peace. Many visitors have their |
| Masai Mara safari. Your hands feel frozen solid, | | | | hearts set on seeing "the big five". |
| and the steep climb on the other side looks | | | | After spotting Masai Mara lion, the minibuses rush |
| impossible. You loosen your knee joints, tighten | | | | off in search of mara elephant. (It is rare to see a |
| your grip and grin inanely-what fun! | | | | rhino here). Remember that there are great |
| The abundance of game and easy game viewing | | | | rewards in switching off the engine-just watching |
| has led to an explosion of lodges and tented | | | | and listening to the everyday life of this |
| camps in and around the Masai Mara reserve. As | | | | marvelous part of Africa. |
| a visitor you may have attractive choices. You | | | | Travellers to the Masai Mara arrive by plane |
| can choose to stay in a Masai Mara safari luxury | | | | (there are several small landing strips) or by |
| tent with no electricity, where animals are free to | | | | vehicle. The trip from Nairobi is long, bumpy and |
| wander into camp, or you might opt for the | | | | spectacular. Those driving by minibus tend to |
| opposite extreme- the solid walls of a lodge with | | | | concentrate in the south eastern part of the |
| a swimming pool. | | | | reserve. The masai mara camps farther from |
| Some of the Masai Mara safari camps and lodges | | | | Nairobi attract more flying customers and tend to |
| are within the reserve itself, others are outside. | | | | be better equipped with their own game watching |
| To enter the Masai Mara safari reserve you must | | | | vehicles. During the rainy seasons the roads |
| pay a park fee. Places outside of the Masai Mara | | | | become very difficult, especially where there is |
| reserve do not have to adhere to park rules and | | | | black cotton soil, notorious for trapping vehicles. |