Masai Mara Part III

We spent the night fellowshipping by the fire, jumping at every sound we heard in the forest. One of the coolest parts about this lodge is that they hire Masai warriors to guard our tents and the parameter of the camp. Masai warriors are known as being the fiercest tribe in all of Africa. It was so cool to see them walking around with their spears.

Our night was so much fun. We fell asleep to the sound of the creek below us and the creatures rustling in the trees above us. We giddily woke up to the sounds of bush babies playing on our roof. One time during the night we woke up to the deep, howling sounds of baboons. I had never heard baboons sound so eerie before. The next morning, the Masai warriors told us that the baboons were howling when a leopard passed in front of our tent. Apparently the baboons weren't too excited about the visitor...and I have to agree!

The next morning, we woke up early for a game drive. We pulled out of camp as the sun was rising. We drove for 2 hours, and didn't see many animals. The savannah was quiet and peaceful, and we enjoyed every second of it. I have always imagined what the African savannah would look like, but this exceeded any expectation that I could have had. It was breath taking.

During the drive we ran into a family of grazing elephants. A few other curious vans pulled in around us, and the elephant family crossed the road right in between the vans. The last elephant to pass (a teenage male), stopped in the road and turned to face OUR vehicle. Apparently, something about us upset him and he began bucking and spinning in circles. Within seconds, everyone had their engines starting to get out of there! How easy it would have been for him to ram our van- he was twice our size! Fortunately, after he put on a good show, he decided to continue on- but no before grunting at us a few more times. It was so thrilling, and it even freaked out our guide!

We finished our time in the Masai Mara, with a luxury breakfast at the camp. We were visited by some mischievious monkeys, who spent most of the meal entertaining us. When we first arrived at camp, we were told not to let Eli go several feet away from us due to the wild animals. They said that monkeys were especially prone to jump from trees onto little ones and attack. So during the whole trip, whenever Eli started to roam, I would say, "Eli! The monkeys are going to get you!" That morning, as I was trying to get some good pics of our visitors, Eli called out to me, "Mama! Monkeys, gunna getch you!" We may have given him a life long fear of monkeys!

All that to say that we all had an amazing experience! I wish I could do it all over again. God gave us such an amazing world to live in!!! Enjoy the pics!