Had enough yet? Yeah, me neither.

So, before Bekah DC left Kenya, she wanted to do it all, and I got to be the travel buddy! Which basically means I had a three-day break after my Tsavo excursion and then we were off again to the western part of the country, home of Maasai Mara, the Great Rift Valley, and Lake Nakuru.

There were some interesting adventures along the way. We rode the bus from Mombasa to Nairobi - on the highway commonly known as the best road in the country. Ironically, much of it was under construction, so our smooth ride was diverted to the bumpy dirt roads we've come to know and love. But no worries, we made it safely to our safari car and our old driver, Ombwayo. We've gotten to know him pretty well over the last week. He's really into politics and wants to be the mayor of Nairobi in 2012. And you know what? If I lived here, I'd probably vote for him. He says when he gets elected, he's going to send us an invitation to the Mayor's palace. We told him he should come to DC after he takes office and we'd give him a tour of our town.

Ombwayo proved his savvy on the ways of the world when our car broke down 3 different times. The first time was favorite - the engine is on the inside of the car in the middle console area, and at one point we literally had a geyser of water (?? I think it was water) spewing out, hitting the ceiling and the windshield. Who decided putting the engine on the inside was a good idea?? Luckily, we were in the middle of the hilly Rift Valley and he managed to jump start it. Such were our experiences, and thanks to them we also became quite familiar with the town of Narok and its friendly mechanics.

Q: How many Narok mechanics does it take to fix our safari car?
A: About 7, plus Ombwayo

In addition, these car troubles allowed us to make friends with a nice Australian couple living in England who was kind enough to share a couple of their game drives with us while our car was under repair. Such was our introduction to the savannah grassland wonder of Maasai Mara. Much more densely populated with animals than what we'd previously seen. The landscape and animal sightings really are as good as all the guide books say.



One morning, as we were leaving, a bat flew into our room. Ombwayo says that's good luck. The day before, a monkey had jumped in an open window of our car and stole the shiny wrapper that it probably thought was food. Turns out, it was laundry detergent. Sorry, little monkey. Let that be a lesson to you. I just wish I'd gotten to watch him "enjoy" the fruits of his thievery.

We happened to time our visit such that we got to see the wildebeest migration. You just cannot imagine the masses of these animals we saw running across the grassland. Thousands upon thousands of wildebeests crossing the plains and the Mara River. And the funny part is, these animals aren't too bright, so they may run in one direction for awhile, and then something could set them off and they'll all go tearing back the way they came. They hang with the zebras because their eyesight isn't so great...I can't imagine how the zebras tolerate it.

Among all the animals we saw, my favorite was the CHEETAH!! We saw a mama and three cubs. What a beautiful animal. I didn't even realize how bad I wanted to see a cheetah until I was staring at them.


Something we particularly loved was how many baby animals we saw - monkeys, babboons, hippos, giraffes, zebras, elephants...yes, it was love.




We even got to cross briefly into Tanzania and the Serengeti. Here we are, taking our token "I'm standing in two countries!" photo.

We had originally planned to take a hot air balloon ride, but later we backed out. You can imagine my surprise, then, when we woke up one morning and Bekah directed me to the Balloon Safaris vehicle waiting outside. Her attention to detail in keeping the surprise was intricate. (Have I mentioned before that I love surprises?) She even hid my watch so I wouldn't know what time it was - and she put together a playlist of music to listen to while we coasted above the Mara (it began with the opening theme song to Lion King. How perfect is that?!).

In a way, this fulfilled a dream of mine that I've had ever since my family used to go watch the balloon races in Driggs. Plus I got a bird's eye view of all the African wildlife running around beneath us. It was magical.


We also visited a Maasai village just outside of the park. They showed us their traditional dances (and made us participate) and how they make fire, and they gave us a tour of their village and of their school that has been built and is being run completely on funds they receive from the tour we had just paid to take.


It was interesting. Their lives seem to be centered on the cows they raise - they eat all parts of the cow and they drink their milk and blood. They also build the walls of their homes out of sticks and cow dung. This is their life, and they don't complain about it. They're happy. In many ways, they're actually a lot better off than other villages I've visited since I got here. I was actually okay with most of it - the only really difficult part was the masses of flies (remember - lots of cows) and how they seemed to especially enjoy swarming around the faces of the beautiful little children.

Our second leg of the safari was farther up the Rift Valley in Nakuru. I was a big fan of this place - it just felt so peaceful. Maybe it was all the Yellow Fever Acacia trees...maybe something else.

Aside from that, there are two big highlights to visiting Lake Nakuru: lots of rhinos...


...and a rampant abundance of flamingos. They literally fill this lake, and they're always around.



It was a great way to end the adventure, with an easygoing jaunt around the flamingo-filled lake, and then a short trip down to Nairobi so we could pay a visit to the Upper Hill Ward. I think I'll keep with the trend and take it easy for the next week. The rest of my time here will be spent in Mombasa - except when I get to visit villages for work.

I'm feeling the urge to take a poll. What is your favorite safari animal?