By Michelle Outman

Day 6 - MASAI MARA - Sunday, June 16, 2019

Our team has been truly blessed. The opportunity to serve our Lord here in Kenya has been a gift. The team participants, who came from Indiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Missouri, have bonded and share a mutual love for Kenya and her people.

Our safari started yesterday with an afternoon game drive and continued this morning after breakfast. We left the lodge at 7am and saw 5 hot air balloons and the beautiful sunrise. Incredibly, even before our lunch break, we saw elephant, hippo, crocodile, hyena, topi antelope, Thompson gazelle, water buck, jackal, hyrax, mongoose, warthog, ostrich, zebra, Masai giraffe, lion, buffalo, wildebeest, impala, baboon, and leopard.

After having lunch at the lodge and relaxing by the pool, our team headed back out for the afternoon and saw cheetah. We are hoping to see the rhino tomorrow as we safari out of the park and travel to Naivasha.

It may sound silly but it truly is the circle of life here. We have seen scavengers feasting on the dead wildebeest, and hyena pups fighting over scraps. We were privileged to see lions and elephants mating. The baby elephant, giraffe, zebra and hippo were highlights.

Keziah brought her two daughters, Loraine, 9, and Laney, 5, for their first safari and visit to the Mara. We have all learned so much and will cherish this time and our memories.  Stephen Kimani has been on safari a couple of times before with previous teams. I think this safari was his most favorite because he was able to share the experience with his two friends.

Here is a bit of information about the Masai Mara and those who call it home:

The Masai Mara National Reserve is world renowned for the breathtaking spectacle of “the greatest wildlife show on earth,” The Mara is Kenya’s most visited protected area. Technically an extension of Tanzania’s renowned Serengeti National Park, but the awe inspiring annual migration of the wildebeest, rolling grass lands, meandering rivers, and towering escarpments offer one of the most rewarding wildlife arenas.

The Masai Mara is located in the (former) Rift Valley Province and is home to over 95 species of animals. Highlights include: lion, cheetah, leopard, hyena, elephant, buffalo, hippo, Masai giraffe, topi, hartebeest, Grant’s and Thompson gazelle, zebra, and impala.

More than 550 recorded species of birds including an array of both locally and globally threatened birds make their home here. Highlights include ostrich, African fishing eagle, guinea fowl, Egyptian geese, yellow billed stork and sacred ibis.

The Mara is the ancestral home of the Maasai people, perhaps the best known of Kenya’s tribes. They are a nomadic people whose daily rhythm of life revolves around a constant quest for water and grazing for their cattle. The Maasai people are granted access to the park to graze their cattle. They are distinguished by their complex character, impeccable manners, impressive presence and almost mystical love of their cattle.

- Mara Serena Safari Lodge guest handbook