The last leg of our African journey takes us to the Masai Mara. This stop is bittersweet. Bitter knowing that this is our last camp and sweet anticipating the migration and our long-awaited hot air balloon ride.
As our van approached camp, we were greeted by a large group of Masai. These people differ from the Samburu in that the men cover their chests with red draped material. The Masai also live directly on this land because it is a National Reserve instead of a National Park.
The Masai Mara was our longest stay in any camp, which meant there would be plenty of opportunities to view elephants among other wildlife of course. By now, our drivers knew that elephants were high on my priority list and our other group members quickly agreed.
One of the big attractions of the Masai Mara is the migration of zebras and wildebeest from Tanzania to Kenya and then back again. A never-ending stream of zebras and wildebeests meander in a long line across many miles of Masai land. The wildlife cross the paths in front of the safari vans so you sit and wait for a break in the line before venturing forward.
Another must see are the hippos . On the border of Tanzania and Kenya the hippo pool is home to large numbers of these massive creatures. Hippos are extremely dangerous. Although they look fat and slow, a hippo will attack with unexpected speed. For our viewing, we observed many hippos swimming and hanging out in the water.
My most memorable experience of the Masai was the hot air balloon ride. First, we had to meet the group at 5 a.m. The African sky is still a rich navy dotted with millions of stars at this time in the morning. I almost walked into a tree while gazing up at such a magnificent sky.
We board the van to meet our balloon at the launch site. This morning the winds were a little strong, so we had to board the balloon's basket while it rested on its side. You crawl into the basket and lay on your back with you legs up in front of you. Did I mention that I was afraid of heights? My hands never shook so hard, I was so scared and we weren't in the air yet.
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