Safari with a Cause

February 24

Yesterday we went on safari in the Maasai Mara. These are the landscapes we have grown up seeing in National Geographic and on Discovery channel specials, where a huge variety of animals live, hunt, have babies, look for food and water & try to survive. During the summer months the largest animal migration on earth takes place here, as millions of wildebeest make their way north, attracting thousands of tourists. The Maasai Mara is the name of the park on the Kenyan side of the border, and the park extends far South in Tanzania, where the same eco-system is called the Serengeti.

Emmanuel started taking his volunteers on safaris as a way to fund his other programs. His charge is relatively inexpensive, and includes gas and a vehicle for the tough road there and back, tea and breakfast on the way, sitting on a large boulder watching the sunrise, the park entrance fee, a tour of the park, and lunch at a resort inside the park.

Emmanuel’s program is a unique opportunity. He is the only guide he knows of that invests the tour fees into a non-profit organization (there are others, but not many). He plans to expand this fundraising scheme into an eco-tourism center. He showed us the land he was able to buy recently with donations for this future project. It is just outside the park, on a sloping terrace with spectacular views of the Massai Marra park below. He wants to build using appropriate and ecologically sound materials, and offer the same services as other tourist lodges, only more simple, and thus at a reduced cost. This is a great idea, because travelers on a budget, as well as middle class Kenyans, have a difficult time accessing the park due to the elevated costs of all of the services (the entrance fees are way too much for the majority of Kenyans to pay). He will still be able to make a profit, and invest in the schools, libraries and clinics he intends to build over time. We are excited to watch this project advance over the next several years.

The park is breathtakingly beautiful. The Maasai named it Maasai Mara – Mara refers to the trees that dot the landscape. The grasses of the plains are very long and light green right now, and a large river runs the length of the park, surrounded by dark green shrubbery and trees. On one side the valley tilts up steeply in escarpments. It has rained a lot in the last few days, which made the roads approaching the park extremely difficult to navigate (we would not have made it if we had not been in Emmanuel’s 4 wheel drive vehicle – we almost got stuck several times, and it took 3 hours to drive 30 miles), but the roads in the park were fine, and the animals seemed happy to have lots of puddles to lounge in. On the road to the park we saw lots of zebras, some giraffes, and a hyena watched and ran alongside us for awhile – it looked kind of cute and fuzzy, not scary. As we entered the park we could see small groups of elephants all around, and giraffes and some female lions lounging on the hillside far away – we could only see them through binoculars, while the locals can spot all of the animals from far away. There were an abundance of antelope-like creatures, several kinds. As we traveled further we spotted some amazing large multi-colored birds with a fluff of feathers on the crowns of their heads and a bright red patch on their necks, and Egyptian geese who stand on one foot. Then we saw a black rhino, which was exciting as they are difficult to find. He was alone, standing, and huge. We circled around it from a relative distance. At one point it lowered its head once, and Emmanuel said something about how they are not very friendly animals and then sped off, looking back a few times. It was a rush – that thing could turn over the car if it was charging. We also saw lots of warthogs – strangest looking creatures ever, mongooses, hippos, crocodiles and lots of small colorful birds including long tails which look like large dragonflies and dart around in a similar quick and erratic way.

The highlight was watching a group of cheetahs, and then finding a lion. The guides were all talking about the cheetahs. You could see something was going on in that part of the park, because there were several safari vehicles there. There was a group of four cats, and as we arrived they were actually stalking antelope. It was incredible and kind of surreal to see them crawl slowly and low down in the grass, acting like our cats do, only they are huge, long and sleek. It was so exciting to see them spring into their stretched out run, beautiful. They missed their target though (sparing us the gory reality of wild animal hunting), and circled around to a mound where they could rest and decide what to do next. They came quite close to all of the vehicles, making all of the people with high powered cameras quite happy. I felt kind of bad for them too.

As we were being mesmerized by the cheetahs Emmanuel spotted a lion’s tail far off in the grasses. We sped off to take a closer look. He was sure the lion was in a certain patch of bushes, but we couldn’t find him. I felt a bit bad circling around the area, when we knew he was around, since I don’t like the idea of bothering these poor creatures who have to deal with visitors almost every day of the year. Plus our windows were wide open, and I kept wondering if it was safe….Then he came out. It was awesome – he had a big mane, and sauntered across the grasses, partially hidden at times, and you could just see his swinging tail, as Emmanuel had seen from far away. He seemed completely unbothered by us, and made his way over to a large tree for the shade. Meanwhile an antelope not far off was freaking out, prancing around with his head down, going in circles, as if to warn the lion that he could fight him if he had to (?). The lion did not seem particularly interested. Emmanuel was so excited, exclaiming “we got him! we got him!” because it is hard to find lions in the park, and everyone wants to see them.

We went to lunch in a fancy resort in the middle of the park called Mara Serena Lodge. It costs around $500 per night to stay there, an outrageous sum anywhere, but especially when there are people living without electricity or running water and kids without shoes or clothes a few miles away. It seemed like most of the guests were speaking French. There is an amazing view of the park, the food was good, and all of the staff were very happy to see Emmanuel. It seems like everyone everywhere we go is happy to see Emmanuel, actually…his work for the Maasai is well known and appreciated here. His wish for the park is that some of the millions of dollars it generates go back to the communities surrounding the park, who are mainly Maasai who were displaced when the park was formed. Their roads are terrible, and they don’t have access to basic services or good schools. This seems like a very reasonable wish that ought to be granted. He does not advocate for these ancestral grazing lands to be restored to the Maasai or co-managed along with the park, another model that has been tried elsewhere, because he thinks the claims to the land would be too complicated to manage at this point. (For more on the history of the foundation of parks like Maasai Mara, conservation ideals, and their impact on the people whose livelihoods were traditionally dependent on those lands, read “Conservation and Globalization - A Study of National Parks and Indigenous Communities from East Africa to South Dakota by Jim Igoe. The book focuses on East Africa, but also includes interesting comparisons to US Parks and their impact on Native Americans.)

One thing we can do is promote Emmanuel’s safaris, as a way to enjoy the park, while also helping this community organization. We highly recommend this way of visiting beautiful Maasai Mara, and hope that you, dear reader, will help us spread the word.