Tour Summary
This 3 day Masai Mara safari starts and ends in Nairobi and it will offer you the best this Kenyan safari park has to offer. Masai mara is located in southwestern Kenya in Narok County. It is the oldest and largest safari park that offers a very memorable experience of wildlife, relief, and the green untouched vegetation with other equally great expeditions.
The 3 day Masai Mara ballon safari starts with a visit to the David Sheldrick Elephant and Rhino Orphanage located in Nairobi. It is home to both orphaned rhinos and elephants in Kenya, which animals are rescued and rehabilitated amidst great tender love and care. It ends with a hot air balloon safari in Masai Mara National park.
Tour Highlights
DAY 1: Transfer to Mara Visit David Sheldrick Elephant and Rhino Orphanage
DAY 2: Hot air balloning and Game drive Masai Mara
DAY 3: Masai Mara village tour and transfer to Nairobi
ITINERARY
Day 1: Travel to Masai Mara National Park via David Sheldrick Elephant and Rhino Orphanage
Early in the morning after your breakfast, our driver will transfer you to Masai Mara National Park, passing via the David Sheldrick Elephant and Rhino Orphanage which is approximately 16 kms north of Nairobi. The sanctuary is home to both orphaned rhinos and elephants in Kenya. It provides rescue and rehabilitation services to these endangered animals. The half tour to this place is done on foot under the supervision of a ranger who will offer you the necessary guidance as you enjoy the opportunity to see these animals. You will see the adorable calves take their mud baths and as they are fed and aided to exercise by their caretakers/surrogate mothers, you will draw a lot from their simply amazing routine. From here, you will have an hour’s lunch break en route before reaching Masai Mara National Reserve in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay at your accommodation.
Day 2: Early Morning Balloon Safari and Game Drive
Early in the morning, you will wake up have breakfast and transfer to the hot air balloon take off point. From here the pilot will brief you about the safety precautions of the flight safari. The flight lasts for an hour and normally starts at 6:00 am and ends with a wild breakfast. You will take off 1000ft above the ground as you view the national park wildlife. There is a very high possibility of seeing lions, elephants, cape buffalos, and rhinoceros as well as giraffes, hippos, hyenas, wildebeests, zebras, gazelles and antelopes among others. You will also view the relief and more interestingly, take photos and capture videos, depending on where the balloon lands. You will be picked up from here for a bush breakfast in a designated park area under the protection of an armed ranger as you enjoy the sounds of nature. While here, you will still get to take several more shots with your camera. You will then proceed to enjoy an extra game drive in the park, after which you will head back to your accommodation for lunch and an afternoon relaxation spree. Following this will be your dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.
Day 3: Masai Cultural Tour and Transfer back to Nairobi
Early in the morning after your breakfast, you will check out of your accommodation and transfer to Mara village for a morning cultural experience. You will visit a community of 48 traditional houses (manyattas) surrounding the area gazetted for the Maasai’s cattle. This tour will help you learn about the Masai culture, their traditions and customs that have remained as they are for centuries. You could also have a feel of their colourful market plus all the jaw-dropping niceties it has to offer. Afterwards, you will transfer back to Nairobi or the Jomo Kenyatta Airport.
End of the Adventure Safari
ACTIVITIES
Maasai (Masai) Mara National Park
This is a vast game reserve in the semi-arid Narok County in Kenya. It is contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in the Mara region of Tanzania. It is named in honour of the Masai people who are the ancestral inhabitants of the area. Mara means “spotted” in Maa, a Masai language. Maasai Mara is globally famous for its exceptional population in wildlife and wildebeest migration to and from the Serengeti every year during the dry season from July to October. This is commonly known as the Great Migration.
A visit to the reserve is a great venture to undertake for a cultural tour of one of the oldest inhabitants of East Africa, the Maasai. This noble tribe is one of the very few tribes who have retained most of their traditions. It has a team of traditional dancers who dance to their call-and-response singing and perhaps their most widely known dance is the adumu or rather “jumping dance.” You can get to join in the dancing as these flexible male dancers jump higher and higher to the rhythms of the enchanting music accompanying their dance strokes.
Masai Mara has several intriguing as well as engaging tourism activities. Among others, these are the hot air balloons over the reserve, safari drives, nature walks, bird watching, site seeing, guided bush walks and hiking.
The Masai Cultural Tour
This tour is to the Masai village, a place which is in its own right one of a kind.
Just outside the Masai Mara National Reserve is a Masai community called Mara Rianda. There is a traditional Masai homestead (manyatta) which consists of 48 traditional houses surrounding a cattle enclosure (www.governorscamp.com).
The Maasai, some of the oldest inhabitants of East Africa, live in villages made up of small grass-thatched mud structures, also called manyattas. They are surrounded by their cattle, which are their prestigious possession. Their cows are regarded with an astounding reverence. Besides this, they also own other smaller livestock like goats. This noble tribe is one of the very few tribes who have retained most of their traditions, lifestyle and lore. The Maasai people speak Maa.
What you will notice as soon as you enter the village are the many vivid colours of the Masai’s garments. The men, poised with their spears, stand tall and proud. The women, on the other hand, are bejewelled with bright beaded earrings and scarves, both adorned with the brilliant red, blue and purple patterns of the shukas they wear. These bright shukas contrast strongly and vivdly with the greens and browns of the landscape. Their appealing beadwork of necklaces, bracelets and amulets has more than just an ornamental value. The women create these meticulously handcrafted pieces to express their identity and social status.
Standing in muted contrast to the colourful villagers are the browns and greys of the Maasai’s houses called bomas/manyattas. These are small structures with thatched roofs. As a tradition, it is the duty of the Maasai women to build these sturdy dwellings. They begin with a framework of timber poles into which they interweave smaller branches to form a structure. These are then covered with a mixture of mud, grass, cow dung, urine and ash. Their men build the protective fencing around the village to ward off lions and other predators from their livestock.
A visit to the Maasai village gives you an opportunity to join in their graceful ever-changing rhythmic call-and-response singing, and perhaps their most widely known dance is the adumu or “jumping dance.” You also get to acquire a handmade souvenir, specially crafted to remind you of your thrilling visit to Maasai Mara.
While here, a visit to their local market is a worthwhile adventure to undertake. It is dotted with colourful ornaments and fabrics and peopled by buyers and sellers, all eagerly doing business and haggling away like the seasoned traders they are. The kangas, shukas, sandals or beadwork procured from this community are like no other, for they are incomparable and uniquely Masai. Anybody who owns one of them would gladly adorn them anywhere at any time, and they have an awing effect on their wearer.
In addition, with the help of a guide, one can check out what a normal Masai’s day is like. This also entails having a detailed feel of the interiors of their manyattas, how the cattle are milked, groomed, or how their local cuisine is prepared. After a thorough visit to this community, a great feeling of fulfilment is guaranteed.
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SAFARI INCLUSIONS
Safari includes:
Transportation in a Tour Van/Landcruiser.
Service of an English-speaking tour guide/Driver
Game drive and Hot air balloon permit
Cultural village tour
Park admissions
Accommodation on full board
Entrance fees to all destinations as per the program.
Transfers to and from Nairobi Airport/Nairobi
Safari excludes:
All activities not mentioned in the program
Phone call bills
Tips
International flight
Gratitude to tour-guides
Personal insurance
Visas
Personal effects of any nature
Hotel fees before and after the safari