Kenya luxury lodge tour - Aberdare, Maasai Mara, Nakuru, Samburu

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Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya:
The Masai Mara National Reserve is Kenya's finest wildlife reserve. Everything about this reserve is outstanding. The wildlife is abundant and the gentle rolling grasslands ensure that animals are never out of sight. Birds, too, are prolific. Including migrants, well over 450 species have been recorded, among them, 57 species of birds of prey. The climate is gentle, rarely too hot and well-spread rainfall year round. Rain, when it falls almost always chooses the late afternoon or night. Between July and October, when the great wildebeest migration is in the Masai Mara National Reserve, the sensation is unparalleled. Masai Mara is one of the best plains' game reserve where you can actually encounter a live Discovery Channel, a haven for viewing a congregation of all sorts of animals in a five-mile radius: A pride of lions can be spotted ready to make a run for a gazelle, a cheetah and its cub taking a nap on a rock, a pair of ostriches walking the open stretches of the savannah or a gazelle giving birth.

The Masai Mara National Reserve lies about 270 kilometers from Nairobi, and takes about 4 to 5 hours by road. There are scheduled flights, twice daily from Wilson Airport Nairobi, which take about 40 - 45 minutes. The reserve is about 1510 square kilometers having been reduced from 1672 square kilometers in 1984. However, the wildlife is far from being confined within the reserve boundaries, and an even larger area, generally referred to as the "dispersal area" extends north and east of the Masai Mara National Reserve. Maasai communities live within the dispersal area with their stock but a century of close association with the wildlife has resulted in an almost symbiotic relationship where wildlife and people live in peace with one another. The first sight of this natural wonderland is breathtaking. Here the great herds of shuffling elephants browse among the rich tree-studded grasslands with an occasional sighting of a solitary and ill-tempered rhino.

Thomson's and Grant's gazelle, Topi and Eland and many more species of plains' game offer a rich choice of food for the dominant predators; lion, leopard and cheetah which hunt in this pristine wilderness. In the Mara River, hippo submerges at the approach of a vehicle only to surface seconds later to snort and grumble their displeasure. Seemingly, the drowsy crocodile sunbathe on the riverbanks, mouth agape, waiting with subtle cunning for prey at which to strike with lightning swiftness. But this richness of fauna, this profusion of winged beauty and the untouched fragility of the landscape, are all subordinate to the Mara's foremost attraction, the march of the wildebeest.

Each year, far south in the great vastness of the Serengeti, the wildebeest raise their dignified but quaint heads, sniff the air and, as if by one accord, start the long trek to the Kenya border and the Masai Mara National Reserve. After exhausting the grazing in Tanzania's northern Serengeti, a large number of wildebeest and zebra enter the Masai Mara National Reserve around the end of June drawn by the sweet grass raised by the long rains of April and May. It is estimated that more than half a million wildebeest enter the Masai Mara National Reserve and are joined by another 100,000 from the Loita Hills east of the Masai Mara. Driving in the midst of these great herds is an unimaginable experience. Whilst the eyes feast on the spectacle, the air carries the smells, the dust and the sounds of hundreds of thousands of animals. There is nowhere else on earth to compare with this wildlife marvel. But the trek is costly. The herds' draw ravening packs of predators, especially hyenas and lions, and thousands of the lame, laggard and sick never complete the cycle. More die, by drowning or by the teeth of the cunning crocodile, while trying to cross the swirling muddy waters of the Mara and Talek rivers. Once the Masai Mara National Reserve's grass has been devoured and when fresh rain in Tanzania has brought forth a new flush there, the herds turn south, heading hundreds of kilometers back to Serengeti and the Ngorongoro plains. There the young are dropped in time to grow sufficiently strong to undertake the long march north six months later.

Although July, August and September are the months when the Masai Mara plains are filled with migrating wildebeest and zebra, there is much resident wildlife year round. Apart from the better-known species there are numerous opportunities to add some of the rare and less frequently seen animals to the visitor's checklist. In the southwestern sector, you may be lucky enough to see roan antelope, a handsome creature regrettably rare countrywide. Bat-eared foxes peer from their burrows and there are thousands of topi, an antelope not found in other major parks save Tsavo National Park. The combination of a gentle climate, scenic splendor and untold numbers of wildlife makes the Masai Mara Kenya's most popular inland destination park.

A well worth it and recommended activity in the Masai Mara National Reserve is the hot air balloon safari. Early in the morning, you will be woken and driven to the departure site. Once in the air, the view of the surrounding landscape, the rising of the sun between the mountains and the congregation of the animals at the river is beautiful. This all concludes with a champagne breakfast and memories of a lifetime.

Maasai Mara Safari Lodges & Camps in Kenya, Africa:
Basecamp Masai Mara, Bateleur Tented Camp, Cottars 1920s Safari Camp, David Livingstone Safari Resort, Elephant Pepper Camp, Entim Camp, Fig Tree Camp, Governors Camp, Governors Bush Camp, Governors IL Moran Camp, Governors Private Camp, Ilkeliani Camp, Karen Blixen Camp, Keekorok Lodge, Kicheche Camp, Kicheche Bush Camp, Kichwa Tembo, Leleshwa Camp, Little Governors Camp, Mara Bushtops Camp, Mara Explorer Camp, Mara Intrepids Club, Mara Leisure Camp, Mara Porini Camp, Mara River Camp, Mara Safari Club (Fairmont), Mara Serena Lodge, Mara Simba Lodge, Mara Sopa Lodge, Mpata Safari Club, Offbeat Mara Camp, Ol Seki Mara Camp, Olonana, Porini Lion Camp, Rekero Tented Camp & Cottages, Richard's Camp, Royal Mara Safari Lodge, Sala's Camp, Sarova Mara Camp, Saruni Lodge, Sekenani Camp, Serian Camp, Shompole Naibor Mara Camp, Siana Springs Intrepids Camp, Tipilikwani Camp among others.

Masai Mara National Reserve: Masai Mara Lodges & Camps Reviews: Masai Mara Balloon Safaris.

Masai Mara Balloon Safari, Kenya
Close your eyes, and for a moment feel your body lift up, with you having no control over it, and there is a certain part of you, inside you, saying to yourself, I am crazy for taking this balloon safari. This is what most people feel, when the excitement of a Masai Mara hot air balloon safari crosses one's emotion of self-control and independence.

More about Masai Mara Balloon Safari in Kenya:
The feeling is indescribable, crispness of the African air, chill in the wind that hits your face as your Mara hot air balloon gradually rises, smoothness in the exhale of your breath, and the excitement to see and learn more. One's physical presence can be felt on the plains of the Masai Mara when reading this.

You trip begins when you get your wake up call at your safari lodge or tented camp in the early hours of the morning, as you yawn away, and thoughts about your wildlife viewing from an elevated position begins to stir your mind. The fresh Kenyan traditional hot tea and coffee quickly awaken you, in fact preparing you for a "mission".

By 6.00 a.m. you are almost arriving at the hot air balloon site in the Masai Mara. As you approach the site, the balloon seems bigger than you expected, the experience is one that has never been visited, and you are about to have a trip of a lifetime.

Liftoff! Up and away we go! At 6.15 a.m., the hot air balloon safari starts. The captain asks you to relax and experience the wonders under the African sky. As you finally start to get a grip on the elevation, an inner smile that resonates on one's face does not need an explanation. The wildebeest moving in large numbers across the Masai Mara plains, the beauty of the landscape when the rising sun's bright orange colors are displayed, the elephants at the water pool, and the gazelles and zebras scampering away, just if it was their first time to witness an alien object in the sky.

By 7.15 a.m., one is very content with balloon safari, and it is almost touch down time. There is a celebration, and for those who prefer a toast, champagne is served, as hot breakfast in the bush is being prepared. You ask yourself, is this true? I am really doing this trip of a lifetime in Kenya? In the Masai Mara? As the sweetness and aroma of the African coffee surrounds you, with fresh eggs being served as you like it, you hope for another ride, and wish that such luxury never ended. By the time you finish your breakfast, you have made up your decision to immigrate to Kenya because such life is only found here. You begin to question yourself, and you feel an urgency to seek, live and enjoy this pristine beauty, a once in a lifetime "thing".

By 9.00 a.m., you have been declared a champion, a mighty certificate of completion handed out to you which you hope to display in your home country, to family, friends, coworkers. Clapping and participation by everyone present makes you proud to have achieved a trip as wonderful as this. By then you hear a blaring sound of music or even an annoying buzz, you turn around and switch of the alarm clock. Your eyes wide open, you know that you have to get back to Kenya, to Masai Mara, again otherwise the recurring dreams will drive you mad.

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