Dining in the Masai Mara Game Reserve wild

By Peter Muiruri

No matter how many times one visits the world famous Masai Mara Game Reserve, there is always a fascinating twist that makes the trip memorable. Many foreigners are fascinated by the sheer numbers of wildlife, and how close one can get to ferocious animals.

My recent visit to Naboisho Conservancy was not without adventure. Raphael, my usual guide and driver at Ol Seki Hemingways Mara, had in the past, promised me a goat in order to cement our friendship. “leo lazima utakula mbuzi” (you must eat a goat today). From my experience, he is a man who keeps his word.

Game drive

We set out for an early morning game drive hoping to see a leopard, one animal that has eluded me for far too long. We combed the thick bushes in the four-wheel drive vehicle. No leopard. We looked up the tall acacias for the usual tail sign to no avail. The luggas too, yielded nothing. It was not my day.

As the morning wore on, we decided to head back to camp and rest before indulging in Raphael’s offer. In the camp was Marcel Romdane, a 38-year-old former martial arts instructor and avid wildlife photographer from Germany. He has been involved in the protection of Mara elephants from poachers. To this end, he sold his earthly belongings back home in order to buy a two-seater Piper Super Cub plane that he currently uses for patrolling the vast area. “Some people just have a good heart,” I said to myself.

Shy leopard

After an afternoon siesta, we were back again to the bush. Perhaps the shy leopard will come out of hibernation — at least for a sneak preview. Again and again we looked, and looked...and gave up. “Let’s go for the goat on that hill before the sun goes down,” said Raphael.

I must admit I was not prepared for the surprise thrown our way by camp workers. The flat top of a hill had been converted into a five-star dining area, complete with a table set with plates and wine glasses. A red Maasai cloth beautifully adorned the table, making the entire set up a real African experience. An inviting bonfire was a welcome relief to my ‘leopard induced’ frustration.

Bush kitchen

As preparations for the bush dinner got underway, I wasted no opportunity to click away at the descending sun. Truth be told, few sights in nature are as fascinating as watching the sun with the diverse shades of colour go down while the savannah stretches before you.

True to his word, some roast meat was still sizzling on a nearby bush kitchen. Some roast potatoes too, were on the menu as well. Soon, the ‘dining room’ was full of animated conversations and laughter with little care that we were deep in the heart of the African bush. A roast rib here, a glass of wine there — the perfect way to sample the real African experience.

If the splendour of the setting sun took the breath away, then the clear skies with thousands of twinkling stars was almost magical. As a city dweller, there are few chances of indulging in the fancy of stargazing — the many city lights make that an impossible act. At the open skies over the Mara, our mobile phones star tracking applications came in handy as we outdid each other in identifying the celestial lights. Jupiter shone brightly overhead, Andromeda galaxy to the south, as Uranus followed the path of the sun into oblivion.

In the bush, however, danger is never far away. As we indulged in the sweet things in life, our wild companions were never far away. A pair of silver backed jackals was seen hovering around the site while hyenas mocked us from a distance. In the company of Morans, there was nothing to fear.

With the dying embers of the fire, it was time to break camp and retire for the night. Preserved in our minds were good memories from the land of the setting sun and infinite sky. Where lion is still king, hyenas laugh and the owl sings its mournful song. At the end of the day, the spirit of Africa lives on.