Maasai – That's So Gigi

We started today early with Dad watching the sunrise from our tent at Kiota Camp. We grabbed breakfast to-go and headed out with Martin to explore the Serengeti to see what wonders we could find.

As we are driving away from camp we immediately start seeing animals; a lone hyena walking in the grass, a hartebeest (good looking cousin of the wildebeest) standing on a hill assessing the dangers of the plains and a lone hippopotamus walking in the field. You know it’s early when you see the hippos on the ground and not in the water. They come out at night and graze. During the day they are lazing in the mud pools to stay cool. Hippos are one of the reasons it’s very dangerous to go out at night in the Serengeti.

We see Fischer’s lovebirds scouring for food on the ground. Apparently, it is pretty rare to see this many of them at once and up close.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned that Tanzania is a bird watcher’s paradise. Martin points out all the birds throughout the day but I can barely keep up! They are all exotic and incredible to see though…Lilac Breasted Rollers, Secretary birds, and my favorite Green Bee Eaters.

We are driving along and see a lone female lion off in the trees. We don’t have a great view of her so we move on a little bit down the road. There we see the most majestic male lion. He definitely knows she is close by as he puts his nose in the air and sniffs. It almost looks like he is smelling the flowers. He walks fearlessly towards our safari truck and passes right in front of us. Then he went to an Acacia tree (with very large spines) and gave himself a good back scratch before lying down.

He seems pretty confident that his lady will come around. I could sit and watch this big guy all day but we move on and our timing couldn’t have been better.

We drive along the dusty roads in the central Serengeti. The terrain is a little less prairie like here with more trees and little streams emptying into small pools of water. We see a giraffe crossing the road and it is just surreal to watch him gracefully glide to the other side.

Moving on down the road we found another large pride of lions. There were probably 16-20 lions of all ages resting in the trees. I have to laugh because they really are so similar to our cats at home…a little bit of action and a whole lot of sleeping!

We continue down the road for just a couple of minutes and find a large herd of zebras crossing back and forth across the road. To our left is water, to our right, grassy plains. One lone zebra is making a lot of noise. He is braying and very nervous. The other zebras seem unsure of what to do. They cross back and forth but they really want to get a drink of water. However, the town cryer is making them skittish. We have seen a fair amount of zebras at this point and this group’s behavior seems out of the ordinary. I look back behind us with my telephoto lens to see what the anxious zebra is braying about and I see her….a lone lioness stalking in the grass. My heart races! I set up my camera to point where the zebras are entering the water and put the mode ready for action.

Suddenly there is a rush of zebras leaving the water and the lioness charges. A young zebra zags at the right time and narrowly misses certain death. The lioness is left breathless and hungry.

This reminds me that my dad has always talked about how nature doesn’t seem fair…and this is where we get into our spiritual debates. “Why” he asks, “does the lion have to kill the impala in front of its young so the lion’s young can eat?” Life is definitely hard on the Serengeti. I think we both appreciate this more now. It’s pretty easy for the zebra and the impala to eat but the big cats work hard for their meals. They fail more than they win. Later after our trip was done we would both be watching Big Cat Tales on Animal Planet to hear their Maasai guide Jackson Looseyia talk about the plight of the big cats. He said it beautifully…”the impala gives its life for their life”. Say what you will, it doesn’t get much more Christ like than that.

We drove what felt like forever on this second day on the Serengeti. We left the trees and headed back out on the golden plains. I was convinced that Martin was driving us to the end of the earth to drop us off….probably because dad was asking so many questions!

It was hot and dusty and I was getting a little cranky. We stopped for a quick lunch under the only tree we had seen in miles. We were really in the middle of nowhere in this vast golden grass. Every so often we would see a lone ostrich and it would remind me of the lone zombie walking in the field in the trailer to The Walking Dead. My goodness, where were we going?! Suddenly, Martin stopped and there were two cheetahs. They were so close I could hear them breathing. Tears welled up in my eyes at these magnificent creatures sitting in the grass. Our incredible guide had done it again! It was as if they had a pre-arranged date with us.

On the road back to Kiota Camp we saw a few safari vehicles off to a road on the right. We took a quick detour down there and saw about 10 lions taking a break on the road. I could’ve reached out my window and touched one they were so close.

After a long drive back, I was so excited to get back to Kiota Camp, take a shower, drink a beer and compare notes with our new friends. The couple from California had been able to see a zebra being born. What a miracle!

I have to say Dad and I were both physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted after this long safari day. It is really overwhelming to see the majesty of this place and these animals when every turn reveals more and more beauty.

I believe it was John Muir that said, “In every walk in with nature, one receives far more than they seek.” Today was full of abundance….a day I won’t soon forget.

Fifth in a series

After an overnight stay at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge, we got up early for our trek into the Central Serengeti. We are leaving the comforts of lodge/hotel living and heading to our very first tent stay and getting into the meat of our safari in the Serengeti plains.

Just outside the boundaries of the Serengeti conservation area, we stopped at a boma, a village of the Maasai tribe. Some of the tribes will allow you to see their villages and show you how they live because this is an income stream other than selling their livestock.

The Maasai have inhabited Northern Tanzania and Southern Kenya since the early 1500’s. They are easily recognized by their colorful red checkered tartan like dress. The only exception to this dress is when the Maasai boys are sent into the wild for several months after they are circumcised wearing all black with their faces painted black and white. They are not supposed to pose for pictures at that time but you will see them frequently along the roadway trying to get safari-goers to stop and take pictures with them for money.

The Maasai have refused a more modern lifestyle that the government has tried to encourage them to live but they are starting to take on some modern day conveniences. You would occasionally see a Maasai man with a cell phone. But largely, the Maasai still live in the traditional way.

In the boma, the women and children build the houses. The men make fencing out of spiky limbs of the Acacia trees that are in abundance in this area as well as other scraps of brush. The houses are small, usually no more than 10 feet diameter on the outside. We actually went inside one and it was incredibly small. A small area for cooking with a small vent to outside, the only source of light in the hut-like structure. A small bench like structure for sitting and sleeping for the adults. Children sleep in the floor of the hut. There is no electricity and no running water. Maasai women and children frequently walk several miles a day for fresh water.

The huts are made with cow manure and sticks with very low entrances despite the Maasai being very tall. The women lead me over to help them work on a house in progress which consisted of weaving long sticks together through other sticks to make a wall. I did not work on the “mudding” of the wall with cow manure and mud. I have my limits in this adventure!

We went to the school house where the Maasai children gathered to show us that they could read the alphabet and say different words in English as well as their numbers. All of the children attend school in the same school house. They all learn English as English is widely spoken in Tanzania.

My dad was absolutely fascinated by all of this. He has always been an avid student of Native American culture and has an impressive collection of Native American artifacts. So this part of the trip is definitely up his alley.

The chief of this village talked to dad and explained elements of their culture. The Maasai men then took my dad, cloaked him in a red and blue checkered blanket and gave him a walking stick. They then taught him the dance of the Maasai men. The women were with me and taught me the chant that they do while the men are dancing. So we chanted the song while the men (including my 79 year old father) jumped and danced. The look on my dad’s face was absolutely priceless.

My dad hasn’t been known to be a joyous person. He was a serious child even by family accounts. He always tends to ruminate on the past, either in his perceived failures or where others had let him down. He concentrated a lot on areas where he would have been more successful if <fill in the blank> hadn’t happened. He spends a lot of time armchair quarterbacking his own life in retrospect instead of living in the moment.

But in this moment, dancing with Maasai men, wearing their traditional clothing, I saw the child that my father never was. I saw unabated joy in his eyes and he was smiling bigger and broader than I have ever seen or could have imagined.

If our trip was over today, it would have all been worth it. My heart was full….my cup runneth over.

Tag: Maasai

Majestic Cats

Joy, unabated