A VISIT TO MAASAI MARA

A VISIT TO MASAI MARA The day we had waited with bated breath finally came. It was on a Thursday morning, the seventeenth of August. All grade six pupils of New Jerusalem Academy were to visit the Maasai Mara game reserve. We woke up at the c***k of dawn, prepared ourselves and carried our bags to the school bus. The language teacher, Eric, and the deputy principal had already arrived. Eric looked handsome, and he was shorter than the deputy principal. Behind the bus, they could be heard chatting happily. In the dim light of the school bus, their eyes lit up with joy. At five o’clock in the morning, everyone was seated on the bus. Our Language teacher opened with a word of prayer for the journey and afterwards ordered all the pupils to cooperate all through the journey. My face brightened with delight. The driver reminded all of us to fasten our safety belts and remain settled all through the journey. He informed us that the journey would take about three and a half hours. Since every pupil was okay and anxious, within two shakes of a duck's tail, the journey began. We chatted happily on the bus. Our hearts were filled with happiness; Our school president led us with a common song. We sang melodiously as the bus moved fast, leaving behind trees and structures. Our sweet voices floated through the wide, slightly open bus windows, causing attention to people passing. On that day there was no traffic jam from Kitengela to Nairobi city. Smoothly, the driver drove the bus and by six o’clock, we were past Limuru town. At eight o’clock in the morning, we stopped at Narok town. The driver asked everyone to alight, stretch and have a few minutes for short calls. That was my first day in Narok. All the shops were open and everyone around seemed to be in a hurry. Pupils in different school uniforms were seen hurriedly walking to their schools located within that town. Farmers could be seen carrying milk churns heading to the dairy shop at that market while others were selling their farm produce in the open market. Without much to do, we boarded the bus and continued with the journey. Along the road were green fields with young crops and lush green grass stretching for miles. After what seemed like a long drive, I drifted to sleep, trying to recollect my thoughts. Fifteen minutes to nine we arrived at the Maasai Mara game reserve. The whole landscape was bathed in the warm glow of the rising sun. At the gate, stern-looking soldiers positioned themselves strategically holding their guns. Since our school director had booked a three-day tour, we had a gate pass and were directed to one of the best hotels in the park. The compound was well-gloomed with patches of Bougainvillea flower beds that shook elegantly on the gentle hum of wind that brushed against the twigs of the trees. The birds twittered merrily, chirping from tree to tree and the weather was just cool, neither cold nor hot. We were received with a warm welcome at the hotel and were served breakfast. Feru - a Maasai lady, was among those who served us. She wore necklaces which were threaded with beads of many colours, increasing her beauty. Her smile revealed an excellent set of snow-white teeth which looked like semi-discs of silver. They were spaced, small and neatly arranged. Facing skywards in perfect order, they scarcely peeped above her gums. In her arms were beautiful bungles which jiggled as she stepped forth. Her white dress was full of light blue flowers, a sleeveless with a V- shaped neck. She had a ravishing beauty, smooth skin and an eye-catching smile. She served me with arrow roots, two sausages and a cup of white coffee. As I enjoyed my breakfast, I could see some white men enjoying it as they walked around the hotel, arm in arm with their lovers. Their eyes were watered with joy and excitement as they cheered, exchanging their pleasantries. I couldn’t help but just admire it. After having our breakfast, we were taken to special accommodation rooms which had been preserved for us. We locked our bags and, hither thither, assembled in a conference hall within the facility. The hall was beautifully decorated with artwork hanging on the walls and chairs arranged in orderly rows. A huge table had been placed in the middle, adorned with a basket of beautiful flowers. Bottles of Maasai Mara drinking water were arranged on every seat. In the conference hall, tingles of excitement ran through us as we stood to give the tour guide and his colleagues a rousing welcome to talk to us. He immediately took over the event. He was a handsome middle-aged man whose head was bald like an egg. His eyes were deep and piercing. He was dressed in a black suit and a red tie. His face reflected a kind heart, his tone loving, and he never laughed, exposing his missing canine. He cleared his throat, welcomed us to the Masai Mara game reserve and briefed us about the game park. “Good morning! "Good morning once more,” he began his speech. “I humbly take this opportunity to welcome you in this game reserve –The Maasai Mara. My name is Michael Ntakuka, a tour guide here in the Maasai Mara game reserve. Maasai Mara is a National game reserve. A large area of land set aside and protected specifically for wildlife. Maasai Mara game reserve, which is known locally as the Mara, is located in Narok county in Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Maasai Mara is situated in the south-west of Kenya and is one of Africa’s largest wildlife reserves. The reserve is a vast scenic expanse of gently rolling African savannah plains. It is named in honor of the Maasai people whose ancestry migrated to the area from the Nile Basin. Regarding the origin of the name, the word 'Maasai' depicts the nomadic inhabitants of the area and the word 'Mara' is their word for 'spotted'. Thus referring to the ubiquitous flat-topped acacia trees, shrubs and bushes that dot the landscape across the reserve. The Maasai Mara covers about one thousand, five hundred and ten kilometers square. Its altitude stretches between one thousand, four hundred and eighty to two thousand, two hundred and eighty square meters and rises between four thousand and nine hundred to seven thousand, two hundred feet above sea level. If the conservancies and the area are added, it’s at least twice the size. The game reserve is administered by the Narok County government with its most visited part being managed by the Narok County Council. The Mara Triangle in the western part is managed by the county council of Trans-Mara, a contract management for the Mara conservancy since the early 2000s. Its outer areas are conservancies which are administered by Group Ranch Trusts of the Maasai community. Nevertheless, this approach has been criticized for benefitting just a few powerful individuals rather than the majority of land owners. Even though fencing of private land has increased in recent years, wildlife roam freely across the reserve and its conservancies. Maasai Mara is boardered by the Serengeti Park to the south, the Siria Oloololo escarpment to the west, and Maasai pastoral ranches to the north, east and west. Rainfall in the ecosystem increases markedly along a southeast–northwest gradient, varying in space and time, and is markedly bimodal. The Sand, Talek River and Mara River are the major rivers draining the reserve. Shrubs and trees fringe most drainage lines, covering hill slopes and hilltops.