The Mara Sopa Lodge is a large central lodge with about 80 small huts perched along a hillside overlooking a valley. Our hut is number 76. Dusty felt that we needed to get some exercise because we had been riding in the van or sitting in the lodge most of the trip. She got her wish that day. It was about a quarter mile round trip from the main lodge to our hut with a steep path to climb. Once again we had a lovely room with clean sheets and hot and cold running water. It is much easier to get hot and dirty all day when you know this is waiting for you.
The afternoon game drive began to reveal the scope of what the African savannah is about. The number of plains zebra and wildebeest alone was staggering. We were often surrounded by hundreds or thousands of these animals. Ben would drive through them as if he was in Nairobi traffic. On second thought, he treated the animals with more respect and patience than he did the other drivers. We saw more birds as well. A kingfisher was sitting on a small bridge that we crossed while a lilac breasted roller took our breath away with it’s amazing lilac and iridescent blue plumage. The go-away bird looks like a gray cardinal with a tail that is longer than its whole body. Ostriches strutted their stuff. Apparently the common ostrich is not as shy as the Somali ostrich. Either that or the smell of our Nairobi dinner had finally faded away. A pair of female lions was lounging under a tree late in the day while a young male watched from a nearby rise. One of the lionesses decided she preferred the company of the young lion and strolled over to the mound where he was casually watching them. She lay down next to him and there was some unspoken communication between them. I commented that it would be nice if we could wait a while and silhouette the pair of them against the sunset. I was told that it was best if we were out of the park by sundown. I got a lovely picture of a sunset without the lions.
The Mara Sopa Lodge is located at 35 degrees 27minutes E, 1degree 36 minutes S. Being the semi-aware stargazers that we are we had printed out star charts for the time that we were in Africa and enjoyed the rare sight, for a northerner, of the Southern Cross, or Crux. Dinner was enjoyed with a bottle of South African red wine. Dusty had lamb for probably the fourth or fifth time on our trip, and I had beef. Did I mention that according to legend all the cattle in the world are the property of the Maasai people? When in cattle country… We went to bed early because we had scheduled to spend the whole day on the Mara on the morrow. I asked Ben if we would be gong to the Mara River where the major crossings of wildlife happened. He said that we would see what the day would bring. It brought a snake-eagle, vultures feasting on a long dead wildebeest, and a beautiful adult male lion. He posed beside a large bush as if I was taking mug shots. Two photos face on. Turn to the left. Two photos in profile. Thank you. Next!
Next was a group of four ostriches that were dancing together like something from Fantasia. Then we saw another group of elephants that looked like a family out for a picnic. More than once we were able to see the skeletal reminders of what happens to those who are too old or too slow to escape the real carnivores that inhabit the Mara. We did finally get to the Mara River and cross it to the other side. The river was a wide, deep, fast moving brown river that wound all across the plain. The slopes down to the river were from 20-50 feet and from gradual drops to near vertical. We came to a spot where the river nearly doubled back on itself. The peninsula of land surrounded by the river was filling rapidly with wildebeest on the Southwest side while we and several other observers were gathering on the Northeast side waiting for the spectacle of the mass crossing. There were a thousand or more of the animals gathered with an equal number trailing back to the horizon. Some pushed through the trees at the front of the jut of land and started down toward the bank of the river. We waited for the group to push forward. They milled in circles. They groaned and grunted. They did not cross the river.
Soon a number of the wildebeest at the back of the pack began to move away from the river. Others followed. The dynamics of the herd dictated that they would not cross here and now. Ben told us he did not think that it would happen. We drove to a lone tree at the top of a hill overlooking the whole scene and got out our boxes that had been packed at the lodge. With more than we could eat at one sitting we got out of the van for the first time in the wilderness and ate our lunch. Bird after bird came to sit on our tree. The other vans and jeeps sat waiting for the crossing that Ben had told us would not happen. By the time that the others had figured out what we already knew we had finished our meals and rested up for more adventure. Several vehicles came to our tree and we gladly gifted this panorama for others to enjoy. We drove down to the ledges above the river and saw hippos by the score. They were resting their heads on each other and relaxing in the river. Small Nile crocodiles of 5-6 feet were on the opposite bank. The juveniles were a pea-green with dark stripes while the adults were 12-15 feet long and the same dark green of our Florida alligators. The adults, however, also had large teeth that hung out over their lower jaw that are not seen on our alligators until they open their mouths.
Near the banks we spotted a smaller reptile in the form of an agama lizard. The front half of him was bright red while his back half was a dark blue. As we were driving along one of the many dusty rocky roads a large dark green jeep passed us on the right and I heard a pop and the window next to me shattered covering me with broken glass. For a moment I thought that someone may have shot at us and I prepared for the best reaction to this attack. The moment lasted less than a second when I realized that the jeep was not the military style vehicle that I first thought, but another tourist safari vehicle. The shot had been nothing but a stone pinched under the tire of our fellow travelers that flew into our back window. The other vehicle stopped to see if everything was alright. The people in the back seemed quite concerned, so I smiled and waved and gave them an O.K. sign. Although no real harm was done to anyone on board it did result in an early return to our lodge so Ben could clean up the broken glass and do some tape and plastic repairs of the window. The return trip, as any trip through Maasai Mara must, revealed more wondrous sights. We saw a secretary bird, warthog, and a group of elephants marching through palm trees in the middle of the savannah. A gray crowned crane posed with a large male impala as we left the park on that last full day in Kenya.
Tomorrow we would leave.
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