Safari diary part 1: Masai Mara
I went to Kenya on safari for our honeymoon in October - it was an incredible experience and I wouldn't even know where to begin trying to describe it. Seeing zebras, elephants, wildebeest grazing together in their natural habitat; seeing massive herds of animals crossing the road infront of us, kicking up plumes of the African dust, sometimes so fast that I barely have time to get a photo with the right framing; seeing predator and prey in the wild- it's nothing like a day out at the zoo.
I thought the fact that stepping out of the vehicle could result in me being quickly and unexpectedly eaten by a lion also made the safari oddly exciting- we're not in Kansas anymore Dorothy.
Phil brought along his Washburn travel guitar to our trip, which made him very popular amongst the staff at the lodge. Most of the restaurant and bar staff had a turn at playing it.
One morning during breakfast, a monkey came in through the window to the restaurant and stole a couple of sachets of sugar from the nearest table before leaping back into a tree. I thought this was HILARIOUS, but the waiters weren't amused (must happen a lot).
While we were travelling we had the opportunity to visit a couple of Masai villages close to the national parks. I really enjoyed walking around and taking in the bright colours of the traditional dress against the earthy palette of the houses, tree branch fences, and wattle trees. They showed us around the village and took us inside their homes, and performed a traditional Masai jumping dance.
Phil felt like we were ripped off during both visits- there was a 30USD per person entry free for the Masai village (roughly a 15min visit), and we were asked to purchase trinkets at the end of the tour for highly inflated price. He's probably right about us being ripped off, but I wasn't too bothered by it- they opened their homes to complete strangers (who are wealthy enough to travel) and allowed us to take as many photos as I wanted- paying a little too much for that is ok by me.
Masai Man: "This is my daughter"
Me: "Oh isn't she cute! I want to take her home with me!"
Masai Man: "Go ahead, I have 12"