EM has checked into … Maasai Mara, Kenya

Lion King has been and always will be my #1 favourite Disney animated movie, followed by Mulan and then Aladdin. The story is incredibly meaningful with outstanding soundtracks. I remembered watching it and falling in love with the variety of animals as a kid and always dreaming about going to Africa to see the real Lion King.

At last, I was determined and finally able to achieve one of my life long dream!

After much research about African safaris in Maasai Mara, I have decided to go with Namayiana Safaris. The reason was because they are the cheapest option available but still offer the same quality safari packages as per other bigger operators. They were extremely quick to respond and able to work with your budget. Most importantly, they have excellent reviews so far and I had no doubts to trust that they will provide me with the most exciting and unforgettable safari adventure.

What did I see in Maasai Mara, Kenya? Well obviously the Big Fives and more! It was a mind-blowing adventure.

Found three teenage brother lions sleeping.

A pair of male lions checking out our land cruisers.

Never thought I had the opportunity to have a selfie with a REAL lion!

1. Lion

Lion is one of my favourite animals in the world and there’s a reason why they are called the King of the jungle. They just look so magnificent and majestic. Seeing them in the wild was a breathtaking, jaw-dropping and heart stopping moment. Luckily I was able to see both male and female lions every day and even a couple of lion having a romantic date (Although it looks like the female lion wears the pants in the relationship).

Even though they are dangerous and fearless, I still think they are extremely adorable.

Do you know that the local tribes will have to kill off any lions that ate humans? As human meat has been ‘marinated’ due to our salt intake and diet. So once a lion had a taste of human meat, the lion will not be able to eat anything else except lion.

2. Cape buffalo

To my surprise, cape buffalo is one of the Big Five animals in Africa. I thought buffalo is just normal and harmless. BUT according to my guide, they are extremely unpredictable and aggressive hence they are also crowned as one of the Big Fives.

Imagine just looking at one and it decides to charge at you without any pre-warning signs. Now that’s scary.

Leopards love to just chill at the top of the trees.

3. Leopard

One of the most endangered and near to extinction species as well as another Big Five, the leopard! They are not social at all and prefer to live a solitude life. Hence it is generally challenging to spot a leopard and if you do, we can only find one in an area.

They sure do love trees though, so a great tip is to look into large trees and hope to see one. Also, they usually carry their prey up to the top of the trees so that they are protected from other predators and can feast in peace.

4. Rhino

Another Big Five that is super duper precious and rare, the rhino. Unfortunately their population has been decreasing significantly due to poaching, so spotting one was definitely one of the biggest highlight and fortunate.

5. Elephant

The final animal for the Big Five, elephant! Also one of the popular favourites in the human universe. Elephant can live up to 70 years old and can spend up to 16 hours a day just eating. Interestingly, they have the largest brain in the animal kingdom, so they have excellent memory.

According to my guide, elephants generally die from old age through starvation. Because their teeth will drop out overtime (which will not grow back) and when they are extremely old, they will not be able to chew any food and slowly die from hunger and malnutrition. Incredibly sad!

A one satisfied cheetah finished its meal.

6. Cheetah

Unlike leopard, cheetah can’t climb on trees and usually can be found in pairs or groups. Cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world, reaching 112 km/h in just 3 seconds – that’s faster than a sports car accelerates!

Compared to leopard, the black dots on the cheetah’s coat are much smaller and it has a long tear duct from its eyes to mouth.

7. Zebra

Pop quiz time! Is zebra a black or white animal?

The answer is that the zebra is a black animal with white stripes! Because when the babies were born, they only have black coat with no white stripes, and then the white stripes will grow as time goes on.

There were millions and millions of zebras in Maasai Mara. Just like how you see sheep/cows/horses at the countryside, it was the same during a game drive in Maasai Mara. They were everywhere and such an incredible sight to see in the open vastness of the national reserve.

8. Giraffe

Giraffe, one of the world’s most recognisable animals, well duh cause they are the tallest haha! Since it has such a long neck, it naturally develops complex veins and blood vessels to pump blood which means the giraffe’s blood pressure is double of other mammals.

Other than drinking and sleeping vertically, female giraffe also gives birth standing up, which means that newborn babies start life with a 2 metre drop to the ground, what a way to enter the world ey!

9. Pumba aka Warthog

When in an African safari, you will definitely come across this classic and iconic animal called Pumba. Thanks to Lion King, these animals are so popular and remain its popularity forever.

Pumba in the local Maasai language means stupid. The reason why the locals called warthog ‘Pumba’ is because these animals have the shortest memory span. They would run for few seconds and will forget why they were running in the first place. How funny is that!

10. Hippo

Round and rectangular, that’s hippo for sure! Did you know that the name Hippopotamus comes from the Ancient Greek ‘river horse’? Now that’s a cool fun fact!

Don’t think that they are harmless since they look like they don’t do much other than eating and just lying in the water, but they can easily outrun a human and extremely aggressive if provoke. I think there was an incident in Africa whereby a tourist died from a hippo latching on the body and bled to death as help came too late.

The iconic hyenas from Lion King - And found three of them too! What a coincidence!

Look at the hyena in the middle just chilling on its back and getting its belly tanned!

A wild vulture appeared! Waiting to scavenge for food.

Learnt about the local Maasai household and their way of living.

Showing us how the local Maasai start a fire without a lighter.

An experience of a lifetime … Unbelievable and unforgettable!

What a trip of my lifetime! Extremely grateful to be able to witness the true spirit of Kenya with extraordinary people and incredible wildlife. It felt like something out of this world!

They say that no game drive will be the same and that was so true! Every day I saw different things and another group would be seeing something else. But at the end of the day, we would be filled with so much stories that left us saying ‘WOW’ all the time!

One thing to take note is that the journey to Maasai Mara from Nairobi is a long one (6 hours approximately) and most of it are on bumpy roads, so if you have any health concerns, best to take a local flight then.

Definitely highly recommended for anyone and everyone to visit Maasai Mara at least for 4 days, considering 2 days will be allocated for travelling to/fro Nairobi, so technically you only have 2 full days of game drives in Maasai Mara. Most people opted for 3 days package and the chance to see all the Big Fives is slim. Take my experience for example, I only managed to spot a rhino in the afternoon on the 3rd day, so the group that had the 3 days package wouldn’t have the opportunity to spot the rhino since they have departed Maasai Mara and on their way towards Nairobi.

Maasai Mara, I will be back!

Till next time, take care and stay inspired.

xoxo EM