A Complete Guide To Masai Mara Safari In Kenya: Once In a Lifetime Experience

We were set off for the safari at around 6 AM. I was half asleep before entering the Park but as we entered the park and the moment I saw the first animal (even though it was a quite common Wildebeest), I was wide awake. Wildebeest was running at high speed to cross the road and our vehicle stopped to let them pass. It was a thrilling spectacle. Followed by the usual suspects i.e. Gazelles, Antelopes, Zebras, Elephants. And then, we saw Giraffes, Hartebeests, Topi, Cape Buffalos, Hyena and the Lion. We saw a Giraffe running to cross the road. The running which can be only described as an awkward walk due to its long legs. I saw the king of the jungle resting on a rock. Our driver took the Van way too close to the Lion. To be honest, I was a bit scared. We were in the eye contact range of the Lion but he was undisturbed by our presence and completely ignored us hahah. We saw many vans were heading in the opposite direction. So our driver followed them and it turns out it was all for the two sleeping lionesses. Again, they were undisturbed by our presence and pay no heed to us whatsoever! One Lioness did yawn after some time and then go back to sleep again. After watching them sleeping for 15-20 minutes, our patience ran out. Since we have seen the Big 3(Lion, Cape Buffalo, Elephant) out of Big 5 game animals, we pushed our driver cum guide to track Rhinoceros and Leopard. He said seeing Rhinos is quite rare as there are less than 50 rhinos in Masai Mara. We did not see the Leopard but we did see his prey lying on a tree. We also witnessed a herd of wildebeest returning back to Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. We chased them fo a while before heading to Mara river. The Great Migration happened between July to September when hundreds of thousands of Wildebeest and Zebra migrate from Serengeti National Park, Tanzania to Masai Mara, Kenya in search of good grazing. It is the peak season of Masai Mara Safari. After half an hour drive we reached the Mara river and as we reached there, rain gods welcomed us. So we took the lunch break in our van. After the lunch and rain break, we ventured out to take a walk close to Mara river. We saw Hippos and Crocodiles in Mara river. We were accompanied by a Ranger who gave us a few insights about Hippos and Crocodiles. He told us Hippos come out of the river during evening at a specific time every day. Crocodiles remain still as a rock with their mouth open as if they were a statue not real. This is a ploy to attract their prey and kill them subsequently. At the end of our Mara River tour, it starts to drizzle again. We head to the unofficial Tanzania- Kenya Border. I crossed over to Tanzania without visa or immigration 😉 Our guide informed us the Tanzanian immigration point is nearby and one can enter Tanzania from there by availing visa-on-arrival facility. We were at the end of our safari when the French lady pointed us towards a scenario that could be a prospective hunt.  So, we saw a gazelle eating grass and minding his own business. Not so far from Gazelle, we saw a Lioness sitting behind a bush. Gazelle was aware of Lioness as he keeps looking in Lioness’ direction. A warthog joins the Gazelle and shortly after we saw a Lion coming in the direction of Gazelle and Warthog. The lion was not running just walking at a normal pace. Now, this gets our massive attention. Even our guide got excited and was looking at the situation with great interest. Gazelle and Warthog were simultaneously looking at Lioness and Lion. At one point Lion stops and so does our heart for a second. We thought, he is going to attack but no that didn’t happen. Warthog moves in the opposite direction and so does the lion and so does our Vehicle shortly after.  With that our safari comes to an end. We exit the Masai Mara around 5 pm. While exploring Masai Mara, you never know which animal is around the corner. It was a wild, wild adventure. There is something irresistible about seeing the wild animals in their natural habitat. It was surreal and Goosebumps inducing experience! It is too hard to articulate in words. It is something which needs to be experienced.