Witnessing the Great Migration on Masai Mara

Masai Giraffe

Kenya probably rivals South Africa and Egypt as one of the most famous of African nations and it was only a matter of time that my sojourn in this continent would pass through it.

As a country its quintessential African unlike say South Africa which commonly suffers from ambiguity if it’s really a region of Africa or a country by itself. This could well be due to the fact that its name borrows heavily from the continent while Egypt on the other hand, although a fundamental part of today’s Africa seems closer to the Middle East rather than Africa.

This wouldn’t be my first time in East Africa; my earlier journey through Ethiopia and to a lesser extent Djibouti were my first forays into this region but any visit to East Africa and Africa for that matter would not be complete unless they included the great savannahs of Kenya or Tanzania. My first preference between these two nations would probably have been Tanzania as Kenya seemed to have the ‘touristic’ tag associated with it plus Tanzania also has the added attraction of Mt. Kilimanjaro that I wish to climb someday, but this trip was going to be different. This one was for the family!

It was long overdue I shared some of my adventures with the family and as my mom reminded me later, the last time we as a family travelled together was in the summer of 1995 to the tea growing hill station of Ooty in India.

Peeling back some pages from the past it seems such a long time now; I had just graduated from high school and had my pre first-shave stubble; none of us had a cell phone and I had never heard of the thing called as the Internet. Now, the family has grown from five to seven with the addition of my sister-in-law and nephew and all of us except the kid have a cell phone and all the planning and reservation for this trip from booking the safari to reserving vehicles and hotels was done thanks to the same thing called as the Internet.

Coke's Hartebeests

Except my dad and brother, who have both traveled outside India once before, all else were going to be passing through the immigration gate for the very first time. It was such a diverse group that coming up with a plan to keep all of them interested seemed quite a challenge.

Topi...a type of ungulate

Eland...the biggest antelope in the world

Considering the inexperience of folks traveling internationally in our group, I figured that Kenya would be a better fit as the country was reputed to be tourist friendly and the people I had heard are very welcoming. This was certainly going to be an interesting trip as unlike my usual self where I run away from anything touristic this time it was what I was looking for.

We met up at the Jomo Kenyatta airport flying in opposite directions and knowing fully well that after a red-eye flight and with my hyperactive nephew in tow they all would be pretty worn out, I planned the first day with no plans.

The next day we boarded a minivan heading south-west from the high altitude central region of Kenya where Nairobi sits to the Masai Mara National Reserve closer to the boundary of Tanzania. The timing of our visit was chosen so that it coincided with the annual migrations of over a million Wildebeests and Zebras (and some other ungulates like Topi, Thompsons’s gazelles, and Elands) from Tanzania’s Serengeti Plains to the bountiful grasslands further north in Kenya’s Masai Mara.

On the way we passed through some stunning views of the African rift valley and it was discerning to see the vegetation and temperature change from crisp to slightly warmer while the eucalyptus trees of the highlands gave way to grass. It was not the first time I have gazed at the rift valley that is slowly breaking apart Africa having previously been lucky enough to see it at the tip of Africa on the coast of Djibouti.

A typical Acacia tree on the savannah but hiding a leopard's kill (an Impala)

Having grown up fed on a heady mix of wildlife books and videos depicting this colossal migration, I was absolutely thrilled to actually have the chance to witness it. The hope was also to see the crossing of the wildebeests across the Mara River passing the gauntlet of some of the biggest crocodiles in the world.

Hippos on the Mara River along with dead Wildebeests and vultures

Unlucky one that drowned while crossing



Four hours into the drive and the road turned bad after the town of Narok. To me, it signified that we were entering the domain of Masai Mara which was confirmed by casual sightings of gazelles and impalas and I could not contain my excitement of what was to come. We got to the camp situated right beside the Talek River around 4:30pm and it was too late to go on a game drive that evening. I was a little disappointed.

My favorite animal



Secretary bird

Had the wildebeests crossed the river that evening, I would have been extremely saddened but it was confirmed later in the evening by some of the other guests at the camp that the wildebeests had indeed not crossed that evening.

Our accommodations was to be in bush tents and although initially anxious as to how comfortable they would be for the family my apprehension was allayed when I saw that they were actually fairly big and with very comfortable beds.

Nile crocodiles of the Mara River

The next day a quick breakfast and off we were into the Mara guided by our Masai driver. No sooner had we even gotten to the edge of the reserve than we spotted giraffes, wildebeests, impalas, gazelles, warthogs and the cocky looking secretary bird. This was just a precursor of what was to come. Through the day we saw an astonishing amount of wildlife and I am not even going to attempt to describe it. A quick count of the species of animals and birds we saw was well over 25. I have been to Kruger National Park in South Africa and Mara completely blow it away in comparison. The highlights for me were the sighting of two of the big cats, the cheetah and the lion. If I had to rank then the sight of a wild cheetah and its cub was the best but that could be because it’s my favorite animal. I have always been a little partial to it.

Stalking the Zebras

For most others, unsurprisingly the lion sightings were the highlight and we got a ring side showing of a pride staking a herd of zebras through the tall dry grass with the typical savannah backdrop of herds of wildebeests and the odd acacia tree standing in the distance. There was too much distraction from the vehicles in the reserve that day for them to affect a successful kill but with the reserve being closed after 6pm, it meant that they would get plenty of opportunities later than night.

The undertakers of the Mara...Vultures and Maribu Storks

Masai dance

The elusive leopard was another cat that gave us a skip but all in all we saw a lot ignoring for a moment the fact that we did not see the famed crossing of the wildebeest across the Mara River. I guess they were not in the mood for a dip!

The following morning a balloon safari over the savannah was planned and the desire for this ride was planted one lazy Sunday afternoon back when I was still in Nashville. As I lay flipping the channels on TV, I paused to see Travel channel’s Globetrekker series and the host was describing this balloon safari and that’s when I wished that someday I could do it too.

The balloon ride was in the wee hours but waking up was not a problem when the alarm was of a trumpeting elephant across the Talek river right by our tents. Although I thought it was awesome, I am not so sure my family felt the same way. Later I met our Masai watchman who told me that he makes sure that the wild animals are kept away from tents at night and he does all of this with just a spear and a long knife.

View of the massive herd of Wildebeests from the baloon

The ride in the balloon gave a completely different perspective of the migration. From the vantage point it was breathtaking to witness the sheer numbers of wildebeest on the savannah who sometimes gave the illusion of a swarm of ants. The ride was followed by a sumptuous breakfast in the bush and although we could see lions and wildebeests in the distance they probably wanted to stay as far away from us as we did. After the breakfast it was time to head back to the camp and then on the long journey back to Nairobi.

Thompson'sGazelles...in the background
are Masai dwellings

Dik-Dik

Overall it was extremely satisfying to having finally visited the Masai Mara and having fulfilled another of my childhood dreams. As for the family, I had planned for just 2 days in the reserve not knowing if they shared the same passion for wildlife as I did but at the end of the journey they told me that they would have preferred to have stayed there for a couple more night…I guess that means they had a good time too.