Thoughtsome: Africa unmissable 2

After leaving Ambroseli, we had a long drive to Nairobi, interspersed with a toilet cum shopping halt. Prices in Kenya for curios are amenable to bargaining. You must start bargaining from one third the price. Try and buy multiple items so that you can give a composite offer. Often, you can get similar items in Kolkata at lesser price. The best buys are the intricately carved wooden items, specially the ones done in ebony.

We approached Nairobi in about 5 hours. Most of the road is pebbled or on a dirt track.The experience is not very smooth. On the road, there are small townships. One of the features is of roadside stalls selling onions tied in plastic packets. The price is about 5 times that in Kolkata. However, these stalls make a colourful sight.

In Nairobi, we got stuck in a traffic jam. Apparently, getting stuck for a couple of hours is not unusual. Dennis decided to take a Mombasa Bypass road. To call this a road is a sacrilege. A dust spaceway is far more accurate. For 20 kms we bucked around like an unruly wild horse, inhaling dust like an uncertified fertiliser factory. Finally, we reached our hotel.

Several of us decided to visit the world famous Carnivore restaurant where they could serve 28 varieties of meat. At a fixed price, you could go on eating till you were super full. Waiters would come with meat selections, from which they would cut slices, or drop kababs on to your plate. When satiated, you have to drop the flag on your table, after which they would serve desserts. Birthday parties galore invited a special song and dance from the waiters with sparklers and music. Having ostrich meat balls with vodka was a fascinating experience.

Next day, after an early breakfast, we moved on to Masai Mara National Park, which was about 4 hours away along better roads for most of the time.We stopped at a view point of the Great Rift Valley.

At a shop there, thin bamboo figures attached to a stick danced in the breeze. There were animal skins for sale also.

The final stretch of an hour was once again rough. Dennis told us that the roads were kept that way , so that everybody had to depend on these vans and drivers to get there. Also, he claimed, this enhanced the Safari experience. We did not agree with that. After lunch, we started on an evening Game drive.

Masai Mara is fascinating. Much more verdant than Ambroseli, the animals looked well fed and happier. Giraffes strolled about, munching leaves. Zebras, antelopes and wildebeest grazed peacefully.

Surprisingly we saw lots of cows grazing around, guarded by one or two brightly clad Masai men.These cows and goats have bells which warns wild animals not to touch them or else the Masai men would come after them.

But the most fascinating sights were the Lions. We saw the mating between a handsome couple. Apparently the Male does not eat food for a week during this period, copulates for 15 seconds and can repeat the procedure 72 times a day, a fact which was amazing and hard to believe.

We saw a lioness gnawing away at a Zebra which had been freshly killed, a nd a family which lay in a thicket and refused to come out. Elephant herds tore off leaves and moved about with their cubs. The sunset in Masai Mara is unforgettable.

Gradually twilight set in, the shadows got longer, the animals retreated to their shelters, and we rushed back, leaving dust trails across the vast landscape. We stayed at the Sopa Lodge, which had all modern amenities, with a well stocked bar and swimming pool. Only, the provision of a fan in the rooms would have been helpful.

The cottages are set among thick trees and a Jacaranda tree lent a subtle blue contrast to the greenery and the multicoloured Bougenvilleas. Helpful guards greeted us with “Jambo” which means “Welcome” in Swahili.