Kenya: Serian Lodge, Mara North Conservancy

The flight in to the Mara was our luxury flight (by comparison to the others). First class seating with 2 seats per row and headphones for quiet and communications.  Flying down to the Mara,  we flew over towns, forests and cultivated fields, not the open African bush you may have imagined. 

The drive from the airstrip to the Lodge was our introduction to the local fauna, including (cw from top left) a Warthog, a Hippo, a Topi, more Hippos, Impala,  a Zebra, and a Crocodile.

Our lodge, Serian "The Original", located in the Mara North Conservancy, a soemwhat exclusive area, available to only 11 camps. The Serian has Individual tented lodging spread around a central communal area. The individual lodges and the thatched communal area have stunning views over the Mara River with its hippos and crocodiles. The lodge is "designed to be a retreat from the bustle of contemporary life", ie no wifi. Most of us had phone service so this isn't the retreat imagined, That said, despite the fine touches it did have a "back in the day" feel about it. 

At  lunch one day, the managers of the lodge had friends from the neighboring lodge, another lodge and a boutique hotel in Nairobi over one day. We had lunch with them. Most of them grew up in Africa and had great stories. It was like reading entertaining memoirs.

From our tent we could look across the Mara River to see hippos and crocodiles. Closer to our tent, we saw two dik-dik's facing off, the winning dik-dik, and a baboon. 

By the time we got settled and ready for lunch, it had started to rain. If we had been 5 minutes sooner we wouldn't have had to dash to the lodge in a failed attept to stay dry.  

After lunch, we hung around chatting as we waited for our late afternoon game drive. Fortunately the rain dried up and we had a fine sunset & game drive.

We saw our first waterbuck and a mound of lions complete with a cute active cub.

We also saw some interesting birds. The awkward looking Maribou stork, the drab Coqui francolin, and the colorful Greater Blue-eared starling.

The Mara North abuts to the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya which borders on the Serengeti in Tanzania, Combined the two total over 12,500 square miles of protected area. They are home to the migration of roughly 600,000 wildebeest. They are part of a larger migration that also includes approximately 200,000 zebras, 400,000 gazelles, and 12,000 eland. 

 Wildebeest and their companion animals move between "breeding and feeding grounds". Lucky for us they were focused on feeding and the grass was greener in the Mara.

We spent a very productive day in the Maasai Mara. We loved it despite the long bumpy ride which was hard on our backs. For breakfast, we identified a spot with a good view of the herd. It shortly became a spot in the middle of the herd. Unimaginable!

While we expected to miss the migration we actually witnessed several herds of thousands. Basically the herds go where there is food to eat. And there had been recent rains in our area and the lush green vegetation drew them. We were delighted to see the migration as they munched their way along where the grass was greener. 

While our original goal for the Mara was to see lots of animals, we did not realize how many types of birds we might see.

CW from top left:  Hammerkop,  African Wattled lapwing, Black-billed bustard, Red-necked spurfowl, Maribou stork, and Black-headed heron

Ostrich, Grey heron with African Sacred ibis, Long-crested eagle, and 2 shots of Secretary birds.

And lots of Vultures: Cape vulture, Lappet-faced vulture, Rüppell's vulture, Lappet-faced vulture, White-backed vultures in tree (10  remaining after several others flew off).

Between the Mara North Conservancy and the Maasai Mara National Reserve we not only seriously upped our bird count but also our animal count, seeing hippos, crocodiles, baboons, waterbuck, striped mongoose and cheetahs. Plus lots of babies, including young jackals, hyenas, topi, zebras, elephants, hippos, and lions. 

Here are some of the animals we saw in the Maasai: African buffalo with cattle egrets, topi, elephants with baby, cheetah and with a fellow hunter, and a baby elephant.

One of the ugly 5, a warthog, a Masai giraffe (2 views), a baboon, a young zebra, and a  zebra and off-spring.

A "dazzle" of zebras, elephants, a banded mongoose, a crocodile, and a pair of lions.

Our guide posed in Tanzania for us at the border between Kenya (Masai Mara) and Tanzania (Serengeti) . Later we enjoyed lunch in the bush before continuing our drive..

On our drive back to the Mara North we noted wild animals heading toward the villages along the way. Interestingly zebras and others use the local villages as a safe(r) haven over night,

The next morning  we chose to avoid the bumpy ride and took a walk. Our three guides posed for us, we captured a shot of the local trees and an African Buffalo that we made sure to avoid.

On our final game drive we stayed closer to home. It was still productive revealing a Rüppell's starling and Bare-faced-go-away-bird while .

Along the way we saw elephant, a young jakal, a young hartebeest, topi, a hyena on watch duty, and a lion rolling in the grass. The hyena dig a village of tunnels. Once they tire of a village they leave it to the warthogs to take over. 

We wrapped up our stay with sundowners around an open fire toasting marshmallows while enjoying a dance performance by local Masai women. 

Somethings we learned about the Maasai: They live a semi-nomadic life. Their livelihood typically centers around cattle (aside from those who work in the National Reserves  and Wildlife Conservancies. Similar to the Samburu people, the Maasai are famous for their bright red clothing and colorful beaded jewelry, which can indicate social status, age, or other aspects of identity. Also similar to the Samburu, they have a four-stage life system consisting of young boy, warrior, elder, and chief. And while it seems less common than in the past, polygamy is practiced.

It was time to move on to Egypt. and a new phase of our journey. Our time in Kenya lived up to our expectations, although we were disappointed to not see any leopards. Some of the unanticipated pluses:  many interesting people, cultural activities village life, dance, crafts, learning about conservancy techniques, 

Our flight to Nairobi was delayed 40 minutes as they repaired a flat tire on the front of our aircraft. Note the guides lined up with the luggage as they wait to see that our plane will indeed be departing for Nairobi.

Upon arrival in Nairobi we enjoyed lunch at Cultiva Farm Kenya, a farm-to-table establishments with a creative menu including: wild mushroom skewer, grouper fish taco, fire oven cooked caprese, king fish ceviche, soft-shell crab sliders, with a Veuve Ambal Cuvee Rose Brut sparkling wine. After lunch we toured the gardens.

Next we were off to visit the Karen Bixen Museum. The movie Out of Africa (starred Meryl Streep & Robert Redford) is about Karen's life in Africa. We watched the movie before leaving home as part of our "homework". 

We headed to the hotel early as we had a 3:00am flight to Cairo!!!