Afraid in the Mara:.
Do it sacred! I have been given that advice more times than I can count. I have found awesome experiences and/or critical lessons are usually on the other side of fear. That is exactly what I was expecting when I booked a safari vacation in Maasai Mara after having told myself ~20 years earlier that I would never go out looking for wild animals after hearing about a colleague’s Kenyan safari. Look at me now in the middle of the Mara, an area of preserved wilderness in southwestern Kenya that border’s Tanzania’s Serengeti.
The day started quite early with me in my hotel room in Nairobi concerned about the weight of my bag and the functionality of my safari travel outfit. I don’t do well on long car rides, so I opted to take a commuter plane to my safari lodge. Given the size of the aircraft, there were very strict baggage rules, so I’d chosen to layer my heaviest clothes and fill my fanny pack to remain compliant. By the time I was done getting dressed, I looked exactly like someone planning to pull an all nighter in a Macau casino and willing to risk it all. I say this as someone who doesn’t gamble but loves Macau, a region that which sits on the south coast of China and feels more like a mix of an old city in Portugal and Las Vegas of steroids.
My bags and fashion cleared all checkpoints, so once I got settled at the lodge I was ready to experience my first safari game drive. While out, I saw lions feeding on fresh cape buffalo, elephants and zebras tending to their young and hyenas, impalas, gazelles and a host of other things roaming free - - - it was beautiful. However, a trip is just a trip until something happens and then it becomes an adventure. Well, my adventure started right around dusk, the time the animals begin preparing for their overnight hunting. The Land Cruiser I was riding in got stuck in the mud. Let’s just say that it was an interesting 20 minutes. I’d be exaggerating this whole ‘fearless traveler’ thing if I told you that I was not a little nervous; however, I decided to just roll with it and took the opportunity to take more pictures of zebras.
Because things usually work out in the end, we were picked up by another guide and I lived to tell the story. I say this as I hear the wild boar outside of my room window, ha! I have more game drives scheduled and am looking forward to what is ahead; however, I hope not to get stuck again. When was the last time you did something that scared you?