The Circle Of Life

My adventure began with a trip to Mombasa, which is located on the east coast of Kenya. Chloe accompanied me on one last weekend trip together. Since I will be making my way across East Africa, I have to take all of my belongings, which consist of a 60 lb suitcase, 25 lb travel backpack, 12 lb computer bag, and my camera bag. People probably think I'm moving to Africa. After my goodbyes in Tanzania, Chloe and I took a five-hour bus ride to Mombasa. Immediately when we crossed the boarder into Kenya, I knew I would love the country. They have paved roads! Kenya-1 Tanzania-0. I forgot what it felt like to not fly out of my seat every three seconds. We stayed at a resort 20 kilometers south of Mombasa in an area called Diani Reef. It was pretty surprising to see how wealthy this area was with all these fancy, luxurious beach resorts.

Our hotel was located two kilometers from the beach in a forest, hence the name of our resort-Forest Dream. It was another smaller, more private resort than those found along the beach. The best part of the resort were the monkeys that jumped from tree to tree as we swam in the pool. We spent the first evening relaxing by the pool and enjoying a break from our busy last few weeks.

The next morning Chloe and I walked down to the beach. This beach may win for being the most beautiful beach that I have seen thus far. The tide was out so there were miles of fine white sand beaches. As we began walking to the water we saw a man with camels lounging on the beach. I really wanted to ride one so we started walking towards him. As we got closer he began walking his camels down the beach. Like said, I really wanted to ride one so we followed him. We walked for 45 minutes behind this camel man until he finally stopped. We started getting closer and then he started walking in the other direction. My dream of riding a camel on a beach in Kenya was shattered, but we enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the way.

That afternoon we had a taxi take us souvenir shopping. When I said I have a 60 lb suitcase, I didn't mention that the only things in the suitcase were souvenirs. I'm bringing Africa home with me. The taxi driver took us to several different wood carving markets that had literally hundreds of thousands of carvings that were locally made. He even took us to see some of the workers carving the animals. I bought several things...not quite sure where they will go, but somehow they will make it home. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing again by the pool and watching the monkeys.

The next morning Chloe and I departed for Mombasa to explore the city before Chloe and I parted ways. We had the taxi driver take us to a place to get henna tattoos. We ended up getting them in the middle of someone's living room couch-authentic henna. After lunch the driver dropped Chloe off at the bus station where we said a quick goodbye because if the busy traffic then proceeded to take me to the airport for my flight to Nairobi. One thing that I immediately noticed when I arrived in Kenya was the difference in development. Kenya is much more developed than Tanzania and there is a lot more wealth. By wealth I do not mean there is no poverty, but Kenya has many more resources. As I was driving through Nairobi on the way to my hotel, we passed many fancy well-kept office buildings and hotels. We also passed many shack homes. I spent the evening enjoying the large hotel and resting for my upcoming adventure.

I planned a three-day safari to the Masai Mara, which is on the southern boarder of Kenya that connects with the Serengeti in Tanzania. I took another small plane and landed in the Mara on a patch of dirt. A driver picked me up and we immediately began a game drive.

We began driving down the rocky road into the middle of the savanna. I was thinking that this would be a place where vehicles were not allowed off the pathways, so we would have to see the animals from a distance. Five minutes into the drive, the driver whipped over a bump and began driving through the bushes and grass. It wasn't even ten minutes before we found a leopard. It must have been my lucky day because I was told that leopards are the rarest animal to see in the wild.

We continued driving and suddenly I saw what I have always dreamed of seeing. A herd of elephants was grazing across the plains. I told the driver that elephants were my favorite animal and he immediately began to drive closer. I watched the elephants graze 30 feet away. You can believe I was smiling ear to ear.

Onward we went until we got to the plains and saw an uncountable number of wildebeests and zebras grazing. July is the time of the Great Migration where millions of zebras and wildebeests migrate from the Serengeti to the Mara. It was just like you have all seen on the Discovery Channel. Thousands of them in herds making their way across the plains. They will begin their migration back to the Serengeti in September where the cycle starts over.

We continued driving making our way to the hotel as we passed many more elephants, zebras, vultures, wildebeests, impalas, and hartebeests. From three football fields away the driver spotted something in the tree, so off we went through the bushes to get a closer look. If I wasn't lucky enough to see a leopard, I now saw a lion relaxing in a tree. It is another rare sight to see a lion in a tree because they apparently can't climb very well. I could have gone home happy right then, but I had barely begun.

I made it to the hotel for lunch and to relax before my evening game drive. I had no need to relax, so I went to visit a Maasai village. The Maasai people are 1 of 42 tribes in Kenya and they are by far the largest. These are the people you see in National Geographic where they live in mud huts, wear right red fabrics, and jump really high. I had a guide take me into the village and show me what life is like for the Maasai people. They kindly welcomed me and began showing me around their village. They invited me in to see their mud hut, which takes two months to build and last nine years before it is destroyed by termites. They then showed me their tribal dances and songs and taught me how to jump.

Maasai men (warriors) must kill a lion before becoming a man, a skill I would like to learn. My guide explained to me how he spent years training and learning about how to kill a lion. He then spent every day searching for a pride for weeks until he finally found a male lion to kill. As a representation of becoming a man, the warrior wears the mane of the lion around his neck and wears a necklace that holds the tooth of the lion. My guide gave me one of the necklaces to buy that he made from his lion. It was quite a fascinating experience to learn about these

people who live a simple, yet difficult life.

After my village visit it was time for another game drive. Like my first drive, I was the only tourist in the jeep, which meant I got to choose to see whatever I wanted. We passed by another herd of elephants and saw giraffes fighting amongst the bushes. We came upon another pride of lions and cubs. The driver must not have felt like we were close enough because he drove ten feet away from them. I was so tempted to open the door and go pick up and cub and take it with me. We then made our way back and saw another mother lion with three cubs that were two months old. This lion was not afraid of our jeep because she came five feet away from my window...which was rolled down. Had that lion come any closer, I would have just used my newly learned Maasai warrior lion killing skills.

One of my favorite holidays is the 4th of July and I am a little bummed that I could not celebrate it in the U.S. Since I could not celebrate in the U.S., I planned to celebrate it by watching the sunrise while floating 2500 feet in the air over the Mara and the Serengeti in a hot air balloon. Because it was a sunrise balloon safari, I was up at 4am to drive 90 miles to the launch site in the Mara. As I pulled up, this enormous balloon started growing.

We were briefed on safety and then into the balloon we went. The basket was on it's side so we had to lay down in the seats for take off. The pilot began using the massive torches to heat the air inside and as the air grew hotter, we began to move. The balloon dragged the basket along the ground until there was finally enough heat to lift us up. We soared over the thousands of wildebeests and zebras as their day was just beginning. I could see for miles in every direction.

About 20 minutes into our flight, the sun began to appear. It looked like the sun from The Lion King- a massive ball of fire slowly lighting up the sky as it awakens the savanna. We flew over hills, plains, rivers, and forests seeing everything from warthogs to ostriches.

We landed an hour later and were then taken to the plains to have a champagne breakfast. We made a toast to a successful flight and then feasted like kings. The table was covered with croissants, danishes, cheese, sausages, and quiches. It was the perfect way to celebrate Independence Day.

The rest of the day was spent on a full day game drive that took me to the Masai River where hippos and crocks lurk. We walked along the river, with a guide with a gun, and saw a one-ton crocodile basking in the sun. A little farther down the river we saw a family of hippos playing in the water. We continued spotting elephants, giraffes, lions, and water buffalo. A call came in on the driver's radio and you could feel excitement in the air. A cheetah had been spotted nearby so we raced to find it. You could tell exactly where it was because there were 15 jeeps in one area and 12 more on the way. It was finally our turn to get close to the cheetah and you could see its spotted coat peaking through the bushes. Another successful day on the savannah.

The next morning I began another full day game drive at 7am. The morning started out with spotting a mother lion and her cubs that were less than two weeks old. A little farther down the road we came across another leopard that was sleeping in a tree with a dead wildebeest hanging from a branch of the tree. The driver saw something in the distance, so we drove closer. It happened to be another cheetah sitting in the middle of an open field just relaxing. Next, the driver took me out to the savannah to see the wildebeests and zebras migrating across the boarder from Tanzania. More than two million wildebeest and two million zebra migrate each year to the Masai Mara. We also saw several herds of elephants grazing across the plains.

As the day was winding down, the driver took me to the airstrip for my flight back to Nairobi. It's like the song says "There is more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done. There is far too much to take in here, more to find than can ever be found." Each day brings something new and exciting to the savannah. You could be here for a week and not see an elephant or you could see a lion catch a wildebeest on your first day. I could not have hoped for a more thrilling adventure in the Masai Mara. My Kenyan adventure will surely be a highlight for the rest of my life. Time to explore Uganda.

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