Safari and Nakuru National Park in Masai Mara

Africa It is one of the first places that come to mind for many people. Kenya and the Masai Mara. It was a travel route that I wanted to go for a long time, and I bought my tickets in February 2014 and eagerly awaited the ticket date. Saying Kenya meant a variety of animals, colorful African culture and a generous nature for me… He gave them all their due 🙂

Kenya-Zanzibar-Tanzania sightseeing route ve 9-day Kenya-Tanzania trip costs Be sure to check out my articles.

Journey from Istanbul to Nairobi

Our flight from Istanbul would take off at 18:45 on Friday evening. I came to Atatürk Airport early and waited excitedly for the time to come, we waited. Actually, 4 people were on the road, but 2 people were continuing. As Sevil, Aydan, Özgür and Nazmiye quartet, we set off towards Kenya's capital, Nairobi. 

We landed in Nairobi around 01:00. The airport, which was taken to a tiny area due to Nairobi airport renovation work, our bags had already arrived by the time we got the visa and passport work done. Kenya issues a visa for USD 50 after receiving retinal scanning and fingerprinting at the door. It doesn't ask anything.

We exchange dollars in the area immediately so that we do not get stuck if money is needed. While the dollar rate is normally 89 shillings, it is 86 shillings at the airport, so we only exchange 50 Usd.

HIGHLY READING MOST TRAVELING TIP: Exchange rates are generally bad at airports. Since you will need the currency of that country when you enter the country, try to change as little money as possible and try to change money when you go to the city center.

The driver of the tour we agreed on before is waiting for us at the check-out, but we wait at their office at the airport until the morning. I like safari where you can find almost all tours in Africa safaribookings.com I found it on the site. African Breeze Tours the company we participated in the safari. Cate'If you say hello to me, you can get some discount, because you have to bargain hard.

Since I didn't want to pay for the hotel for one more night, we waited at the airport until the morning, and then we moved to the city center. Although it was 06:00 in the morning, the city was already awake and running. Life starts early here… We had breakfast at a local cafe where the people of Nairobi go. Herbal root is eaten for boiled breakfast. Even though it was very tasteless and unsalted, I tasted it 🙂 Nairobi is much more organized and well-kept than I expected. All the restrooms I went to were immaculate.

Great Rift Valley

We set off at 09:00. In the 6-person vehicle, we were a nice group of two Turkish, a Greek couple, a German and a Peruvian couple.

The first stop was the Great Rift Valley viewing point, starting from the Amik plain and traveling 9600 km to Kenya. This valley, which will separate Africa after thousands of years, looks very innocent and beautiful right now. We went on a green road covered with acacia and cactus trees until the city of Narok, where we will take a lunch break. The meal consists of rice pilaf, lentils, spinach and boiled chicken. Our menu will be similar in the following days.

Meanwhile, the roads are narrow, crowded and broken. That's why we're moving very slowly.

Safari in the Masai Mara Conservation Area

Narok, the last city before the Masai Mara Reserve, is the largest city in this region and the largest city of the Masai tribe. Next stop is the Masai Mara!

Animals we saw on the way before we entered the camp: zebra, bat, baboon, monkey, antelope, plenty of goats, lots of sheep, lots of cows. The campground we will be staying at is much nicer than I expected. Huge custom tents with king size beds are very nice, with each tent having its own bathroom toilet. As a first day impression, Kenyans are very clean.

At 16:00 we leave the campsite for the game drive. By Game Drive we mean watching wild animals in their natural area from inside the vehicle.

Masai Mara is the only place in the world where you can see the most animals together. We saw many wild animals in 2 hours on the first day:

• many kinds of deer
• thompson gazelle
• grand gazelle
• buffalo
• zebra
• male lion
• baboon
• giraffe
• antelope
• mongoo
• pumba
• topic deer
• wild beast
• hat beast

When we returned to the campsite, we fell asleep as soon as we had dinner. We were all very tired.

The next day, we started the day with breakfast at 07:00 and started the Game Drive, which would last all day without wasting time. On the second day, in addition to what we saw on the first day, we saw the following animals;

• smallest and largest of the antelopes
• herd of elephants
• slat
• hippopotamus
• crocodile
• lioness and her cubs
• 2 types of scavenger birds
• color color birds
• little monkey

We saw 50 elephants together in the region where the elephants come to eat salt. Scavenger birds sharing the lion's leftover prey. A young cheetah trying to get to know its surroundings, a fawn doing a jumping exercise, and many more… They were all amazing in their own way. It is an amazing experience to see them in their natural habitat and witness their lives.

The World's Most Famous Tribe, the Masai

We returned to the camp at around 16:00 in the evening. Of course, we did not miss the excursion to the Masai Mara village, which we can get extra. We paid 12 USD per person. It is an extremely touristic activity. Masai men do a welcome dance first, then a high jump race. The one who jumped the highest both got the most beautiful girl in the village and gave 10 cows instead of 7 as the bride price. Of course, I also joined in the dancing and jumping spree. Then they tour the village. The structure of the village is round, in the middle area they gather cows in the evening. There are also separate pens for sheep and goats. In their tiny house made of adobe, there is no light except for a very small window. At the end of the trip, after trying to sell the trinkets they made, the men of the village forced the women of the village to sing. It was obvious from every situation that the women left their jobs and came and were very unhappy. Three Masai accompanied us to the camp, and they also told us how they used the plants we saw on the way. We finished the day at our camp tired and happy.

On our last day in Masai Mara, we set off for Game Drive at 06:00 in the morning. We did not see any different animals from the previous days, but we had the opportunity to get very close to the giraffes. After returning to the camp and having breakfast, we set out for our next stop, Nakuru. On the way, our Peruvian and German friends left us to return to Nairobi. We reached Nakuru around 16:00 in the afternoon, passing by Longolot mountain, Navaisha lake and another lake whose name I can't remember. Our hotel was a hotel from the 1970s. Since Nakuru is far from the center and the National park, we finished the day at the hotel.

Nakuru National Park and Flamingos

We set off at 07:30 in the morning to go to Lake Nakuru National Park. Nakuru National Park is famous for its flamingos and white rhinos. Animals we see different from other days:

• flamingo
• water buck
• impala
• white rhinoceros

I was very excited when I saw the flamingos in Uyuni. It had the same effect in Nakuru, they both had different tastes.

We could only see white rhinos from afar with binoculars. We have seen 80 of these animals, of which there are only 4 in the park. It is very annoying to hear that there are still those who are trying to hunt these endangered animals, it shows the brutality of human beings once again. You can also enter this park with your own private vehicle, without a guide.

Another interesting information about Lake Nakuru is that the lake waters are rising due to climate changes, which causes the trees around it to dry. They were trying to prevent the lake from rising. We could see the rise in the lake from the fact that the road sign was submerged.

There was also a small waterfall in the National Park.

What Else to Do in Nakuru?

If you have time, you can go 120 km further north and see the equator line and do the Barış Manço experiment. I'm so sorry I couldn't do it 🙁

After the game drive, we set out for Nairobi. There was crazy traffic, as the road to Kenya's most famous national parks is a single lane line that is also heavily used by commercial vehicles. Nairobi traffic was even worse, for a moment I was worried we would miss our flight to Zanzibar. Our flight from Nairobi to Zanzibar at 18:45 took off with a delay of 15-20 minutes. Our next stop, Zanzibar adventures, is in another article 🙂

HIGHLY READING, HIGHLY TRAVELING HACK: If you are going on any safari, it is a good idea to bring binoculars to see distant animals and a camera with a zoom lens if you like to take pictures. It is not possible to get very close to some animals, both for safety and not to frighten the animal. That's why binoculars and/or zoom lenses come in handy.

Kenya Masai Mara Video

My travel mate, my dear husband Özgür wrapped our long journey in an 8-minute video, every time I watch it, I feel like I've gone again. I hope you enjoy watching it as well.

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