African adventure

Travelling to Kenya can be quite a surreal experience. It’s the land of safaris and game parks and as you drive into the bush, you feel like you’re in a continuously moving National Geographic video.

Imagine these scenes:

Dozens of baboons chattering loudly atop two bare trees as a lone lioness prowls beneath.

A pair of lions mating in full public view.

A lone cheetah looking disdainfully at the humans watching him, then stretching and arching his muscled back before sauntering off into the tall grass.

A pair of elephants breaking into a fight and locking tusks literally.

A couple of lions feasting on a buffalo kill over two days as jackals and vultures hover nearby.

Herd after herd of buffaloes, antelope, zebras and giraffes grazing peacefully in the lush grass against a gorgeously painted sunset sky.

A champagne breakfast in the bush.

I saw all this and more during my eight-day trip to Kenya (courtesy Kenya Airways and the Kenya Tourism Board. Our first stop was Nairobi, which looks like a pretty hill resort. The Norfolk, where we stayed, is a gorgeous colonial property. There’s plenty to see in the city and we headed to the Karen Blixen Museum for lunch, and then the Giraffe Centre, where I got to feed Daisy and Laura and Barnie.

Now, you can’t visit Nairobi without dining on exotic meats at the famous Carnivore. So that’s where we headed in the evening. The meats were roasted on long skewers, which the waiters bring to your table, carving portions onto your plate.

There’s everything from chicken, lamb and pork to ostrich and even croc meat. I decided to be adventurous and try the croc — it was salty but not bad. All the meats were bland though, roasted without marinade.

We drove out of the city to Nanyuki town on the Equator the next day. Nanyuki overlooks the picturesque Mount Kenya, Africa’s second-highest peak, and we got a perfect view of it from the Mount Kenya Safari Club. There’s an animal orphanage here too, where we saw the nearly-extinct Bongo antelope.

It’s animals in the wild that we’re keen to see though so off we headed to Ol Pejeta Conservancy. We stayed at the picturesque Sweetwater Tented Camp, which is set in a sheltered oasis around a waterhole. The waterhole attracted varied wildlife from antelopes and warthogs to giraffes, buffaloes and even a rhino while we were there.

My green canvas tent had all the amenities of a hotel room including a proper bathroom. Living in a tent in the seamless wild — an electric fence runs through a moat but there’s no visual barrier between Sweetwater and the reserve — can be a bit daunting. I slept pretty well that night though I heard some animal growling around 4 am — it was a lion, I learnt later. The next night, I have to admit, I was jittery.

We took off on our first game drive the next morning. Almost immediately we spotted warthogs, Thomson gazelles and impalas. Soon, we were onto bigger game as seven Reticulated giraffes munched on a leafy breakfast and a small herd of elephants passed by.

The big stuff was still to come though. Driving down an arid track, we saw two bare trees filled with baboons. We heard their chatter from afar but only realised the cause as we came closer — a lone lioness was prowling beneath.

I couldn’t have asked for a more dramatic first sighting of lions. And there were more lions just yards ahead — a whole pride of 10, in fact.

As we watched them sprawled on our right, the leader of the pride and a lioness suddenly crossed the road and came and sat right outside my window. It’s unnerving but John, our guide, says they aren’t bothered by the vehicles. Step outside the vehicle though and you’re dead meat.

The leader’s mouth was red so they must have made a kill. Then up ahead, a couple more lions crossed the road. One lioness dropped something from her mouth onto the grass. Is it a cub, we wondered? The younger male of the pride hovered near her when two more lionesses start heading towards the pride.

Now, a real drama unfolded. One by one, the two new females made advances on the male. He snarled and rebuffed them, and then went and stood protectively over the mother. Yes, we finally spotted her newborn cub too.

I’d hardly imagined that I’d see 10 lions on my first safari. So I couldn’t imagine being blasé about them either. But after seeing over 20 lions by the end of the trip, I came close enough.

Meanwhile, there was other game to see at Ol Pejeta like the mean-looking buffaloes with their huge horns. I even glimpsed a lone rhino running into the bush. Later, we visited the real Equator line and the chimpanzee and rhino sanctuaries too.

The next morning, we took a tiny 13-seater Cessna from Nanyuki to Keekorok airstrip in the Maasai Mara, Kenya’s most famous game reserve. Unlike the flat and arid Ol Pejeta, Mara was a lush green. There was more game too and immediately we saw large herds of zebra, giraffe and antelope.

We stayed at the beautiful Sarova Mara Tented Lodge. I encountered gazelles on the meandering walkway to my luxurious tent. This one had a proper door but the animal sounds still kept me awake at night.

We went on our first game drive in Mara that evening. And first off, we came to a pair of lions sprawled on the grass. They weren’t ill, Jackson, our guide, assured us — only regaining their strength to mate.

Soon enough, the lioness stirred and started walking off with the lion following behind. By now, seven vehicles had crowded around. A few steps away, the lioness paused and stretched. Before we realised it, the lion approached her, and a few grunts and some seconds later, it was all over.

We had barely caught our breath when the radio crackled and Jackson raced off to where over 20 vehicles were already jammed up. It was like a paparazzi invasion. And the celeb? It was an elusive leopard. After a long game of hide and seek, I was lucky to get two brief glimpses of the shy cat.

The Mara is a huge expanse of wild stretching endlessly. Now, imagine a huge tusker posing against it at sunset. Or imagine enjoying a champagne breakfast in the bush.

We enjoyed just that the next morning. Indeed, we felt like royalty after a hunt as we stepped out of our vehicles and the Sarova Mara team welcomed us with champagne. They had laid out a huge spread for us, and we gorged on it and the view.

Now, the Mara and the colourful Maasai tribe go hand in hand. So we headed off after our champagne breakfast to a Maasai village. It’s a bit touristy but the young men staged an exuberant welcome dance for us.

We’ve still had more game to see too. On our final drive, we spotted more cheetahs and even cooed over a tiny three-week-old baby elephant trampling through a bush right outside our vehicle.

Kenya has plenty more to offer than its game parks too. And we spent our final day at the famed trading post of Mombasa by the sea. But it’s Kenya’s wildlife that draws visitors from around the world and makes it a once-in-a-lifetime destination.

Ready reckoner

Getting there: Kenya Airways flies daily from Mumbai to Nairobi.

Staying there: Kenya offers a range of budget to high-end safari lodges like the Sweetwaters Tented Camp at Ol Pejeta game reserve and the Sarova Mara Tented Lodge at the famous Maasai Mara park. In Nairobi, you can stay at the old-world The Norfolk, and if you’re planning a trip to the coastal city of Mombasa, try the luxurious beach-fronted Mombasa Serena.

Pocket Pinch: An eight-day trip to Kenya with stays at luxurious safari lodges can cost a minimum of Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh per head. Most high-end game lodges cost $200 and above a night for full-board accommodation including all meals. Game drives are extra. The peak season is from July to August as well as from end-December to January.

Exchange rate: 1 KES= 0.61 INR


The Personal Telegraph