November 2023 - In To Africa: The Maasai People

Maasai warriors greet Gym and Mrs. Gym at entrance to village. They jump incredibly high into the air from a standing position.

It wasn’t just the wildlife of Kenya that Gym and his dear wife were introduced to in Maasai Mara. They were also very fortunate to spend  a few hours in the afternoon of November 28th, exploring a traditional village of  the  Maasai people.

After a short drive from the Fairmont, our intrepid safari-goers jumped out of the land cruisers at the gates to the Maasai Village. There, they were greeted by a group of young warriors in colourful Maasai garb. They carried long staffs and were lined up to greet the newcomers with a bit of a line dance that featured each young warrior taking turns jumping high in the air from a standing start. A few minutes later, the women and children of the village came out and took the tourists by the hand. They were then led through the village gate and into the center of a broad open area inside a circular enclosure. With warriors on one side and the women, children and guests on the other, everyone danced together. At the dances conclusion, the chief came forward, introduced himself and personally welcomed the safari-goers to his village. 

The Maasai village was an circular arrangement of low conical huts built touching each other  The chief led the guests into his own hut and sat Gym, Mrs. Gym and Bree on one side of the central room across from where he then seated himself. Over the next 20 minutes or so, he described  life in a traditional Maasai village, how the village and its buildings are constructed and the importance of cattle to the villagers. All huts in the village were built using the most readily available building materials. A mixture of red clay and cow dung worked well to create a sturdy structure that is waterproof. The walls were several inches thick providing insulation from the heat during the day and cold during the cooler nights. Gym had to duck to get inside the front door but the central room was very spacious with a high domed roof, wooden furniture on the periphery and a fire pit in the middle.  

The chief explained that cattle were the currency of the Maasai economy. Every young boy was taught to aspire to building a great herd of cattle. If a man was rich in cattle, he could afford to pay the dowry of the most desirable young women and then hopefully build a large family of strong and productive children. However, the cattle business was very difficult here in Maasai Mara, the chief explained. They were losing several cattle to lions every month because the big predators were protected. He therefore asked that his guests consider perusing the village handicraft market before leaving. Gym was happy to comply and he and his dear wife picked up a few hand-made trinkets to bring back to Canada.

The ladies in there colourful garb

A future chief?

Dancing opposite the warriors

Starting a fire with no matches

Inside the chief’s hut 

The market

November 2023 - In To Africa: Maasai Mara

 

Maasai Mara’s grassland, with widely spaced trees

In the Maasai language, Mara means 'spotted' and when you gaze at the savannah in Maasai Mara from afar, you see a vast grassland spotted by widely-spaced, bushy trees.  Late in the afternoon of November 23, 2023, the safari group was met by Joseph at the dirt airstrip. He would be the driver and guide during their stay at Maasai Mara. Joseph grabbed all the luggage and took the group on a short introductory game drive before passing through the gates of the Fairmont Maasai Mara and settling everyone in to their new accommodations.  

The Fairmont Maasai Mara is built along a cliff above a sharp bend in the Mara River. This is the same river that the Great Migration crosses when the vast herds of migrating Wildebeests, Zebras and Gazelles move from Tanzania to Kenya and back again. If you have watched any of Sir David Attenborough's videos of the migration, you know that this fast flowing, chocolate brown water-course is full of hippos and crocodiles. With the river forming a natural barrier around most of the Fairmont grounds, a very robust electric fence completes the enclosure of the property. So unlike the Turner Springs camp in the Serengeti, there are no elephants or cape buffalos to deal with on your way to breakfast. Notwithstanding the absence of big game, monkeys, baboons and a lone female bush buck share the grounds with the Fairmont staff and guests.

There were several unique and wonderful moments that the group experienced during their time exploring the grasslands and bush of Maasai Mara, as follows:

1.  On several occasions, the group got up close and personal with cheetahs, They had seen cheetahs in the Serengeti but here they were able to drive right up close to them and see what beautiful animals they really are;

2.  They also got close to two sets of lion cubs. The cubs were a little bit shy but the adult members of the pride considered the Land Cruisers as no threat and almost seemed eager to pose for pictures;

3.  At one very memorable point during a game drive, Joseph drove up a dirt track, through the bush on a slope above the savannah and came upon a group of rangers, some heavily armed with automatic weapons. Gym was a bit alarmed at first but soon understood what was going on when he spotted the first massive grey bulk, calmly grazing in a clearing. These guys were protecting a pair of white rhinos. The male was Kofi Annan and the female, Queen Elizabeth II. The pair of rhinos 🦏 had 24/7 protection from poachers. Very used to living with humans around, one could walk up quite close to admire these weird and wonderful beasts; 

4.  There were several "David Attenborough moments” during these game drives. One that stood out was watching a female Thompson’s Gazelle trying to draw a jackal away from its offspring who was hidden in the high grass. The mother gazelle  was offering herself as a meal substitute by approaching the predator from the area furthest away from its baby.  

5. Another strange and wonderful sight was when the Land Cruiser came upon a group of giraffes sitting on their haunches like big unwieldy dogs. This is a rare sight indeed because the giants have difficulty getting up and are somewhat vulnerable when seated.

5. There were also some rare sightings of animals such as bat-eared foxes, warthog families including the babies, several of the massive elands and some topis as well. In addition, the many and various birds that the guides introduced were so numerous that Gym could not keep track of all of them. 

Observing the fauna of Maasai Mara on November 23 and 24 was very rewarding indeed. Hopefully, Gym’s photos give you some appreciation for what he and Mrs. Gym saw.

 

Joseph our guide while staying at Maasai Mara
and Kintai our safari leader.

An ambling cheetah

A jackal keeping an eye on Gym 

A litter of four shy lion cubs.

Giraffes actually sitting on their haunches 

Very close to a rhino

Bush Buck that lives inside the Fairmont enclosure.

A nursing momma pachyderm