Dining with the predators of Mara

Maina Muiruri

Kevin Costner’s movie, Dances With Wolves, may have borrowed some lessons of romance in the wild from a bush dinner experience perfected in a Masai Mara game camp.

A night dinner experience in a setting of unfenced bush teaming with predators and other big game becomes the unforgettable experience of a stay at the Sarova Mara Game Camp. It had rained on the afternoon before our party of 20 was to set out for the bush dinner and the management hinted at postponing it to the following day. But the clouds cleared as darkness fell and a full moon brightened up the plains around the tented camp, prompting all guests to insist on going out.

The headlights of the Land-Cruisers carrying the guests and the hotel staff lit up a pack of hyenas just outside the camp gate, causing them to scatter in raucous noises.

Nearly every guest wanted to be assured in advance that the location of the dinner would be safe from hyena and other animal intrusion but the camp staff had apparently prepared in advance to keep the experience a surprise so they responded to enquiries as vaguely as possible.

Animal intrusion

The location of the dinner, as it turned out, was pre-set before our arrival. The scene, about three kilometres from the camp, was flood-lit by generator power. The lights faced all directions into the bush, away from the tables.

There is no electric fence to lock out the natural inhabitants of the territory but, generally, wild animals keep away from lights. But that did not keep a cheeky hyena from intruding close and letting off a cracking yell as it retreated into the darkness.

Separate tables for different groups were laid on coarse grass and lit with shielded candles. It was interesting to see guests choosing tables close to the centre rather than the periphery. All were reminded to talk in whispers so as not to disturb the silence of the jungle.

The earlier rain brought out thousands of fire flies that crisscrossed the scene and fell on tables. Frogs and crickets filled the night with varied noise that competed with forks and knives colliding with the crockery.

Maasai morans, who are part of the camp’s entertainment, walked about the tables answering questions on the wildlife and other mysteries of the Mara.

Despite the anxiety, the dinner settled into a satisfying five-course delight washed down with occasional humour and laughter, that broke the silence code.

By the time of departure back to the camp, two hours after arrival to the location, the moon was overhead and bright, illuminating a network of jungle silhouettes and glittering against wet grass.

The first Land Cruiser to start lit up a pride of lions that were lying quietly about 50 metres from the dinner location. Guests who had not boarded their vehicles scampered in as everybody gasped at how close the predators had come.

Watering hole

"That is as close as they can get. They keep off lights and human beings," assured Raphael ole Tira, a Maasai moran with the team.

We arrived late in the evening and waited for the streak of dawn in the morning to survey the outlay of the lodge that is just a kilometre from the Sekenani Gate.

Sunrise was a breath-taking experience. As I drew the tent canvas door zip down, a cacophony of hundreds of weaver birds that had gathered on my tent’s verandah scattered in the most noisy, collective chirping I had ever experienced.

Yonder, on the incline of the plains, hundreds of wildebeests, buffalos, zebras, giraffes and assorted antelopes which had congregated at the watering hole in the night were leaving for the plains in droves. A herd of elephants was still close to the well and not in a hurry to leave. Most had calves and, as Raphael had explained the previous night, herbivores give birth towards the start of the rainy season when there is food.

A survey round the camp revealed a secret build around a green grove that is watered by two streams that never dry up.

The Sarova Mara Game Camp features 75 tents, each tucked in secluded privacy and reached by a paved path. The tents, all facing the park, feature ensuite birthroots and outdoor sitting decks.