See Another Africa - Kenya #2:

Kenya's Maasailand: Merreushi Maasai & Amboseli National Park, with extension to Northern Tanzania by road

Facts:

• Departing from: Nairobi, Kenya
• Transport: 4 x 4 vehicle to and from Nairobi.
• Accommodation: rustic camp (Maasai Simba) and comfortable lodge (Ol Tukai)
• Adventure meter: high
• Suitable for: those seeking to combine culture with wildlife in their safari. Those prepared to rough it a bit in order to go off the beaten path. Good physical fitness is required.
• When to go: dry season, June through end of October.
• Watch for it: MT escorted tour.

This tour is customizable. Maasai Simba Camp is an especially good place for children to learn about Maasai culture. Activities for young people include nature walks led by Maasai warriors, bush craft and survival, fire-making without matches, traditional medicines and healing, visits to Maasai homes, bead-making with Maasai women, animal husbandry, Maasai songs and dances. You can spend as many days as you prefer at Maasai Simba (a minimum of three days/two nights is suggested as a stand-alone destination) and return to Nairobi by car.

Summary:

A visit to Maasai Simba Camp, operated by the Merrueshi Maasai of the Greater Amboseli eco-system, is a unique opportunity to spend quality time with one of East Africa's indigenous peoples. A stay at Maasai Simba is combined with a visit to Amboseli National Game Reserve, after which you cross into Tanzania to begin a new safari adventure there.

Maasai Simba Camp: is a rustic camp of private cottages, each with wood-framed beds, mosquito nets, and solar powered lighting. There is a separate shared shower house with flushing toilets and hot water.

Your host, Kakutu ole Maimai Hamisi:
Born and raised in Merreushi village, Kakutu says his goal was always to pursue traditional Maasai life as well as education. Each villager sold a goat or cow to help Kakutu study a Masters of Arts in Sustainable Development in the United States. Upon completion of his studies, Kakuta started Merreushi's first primary, secondary and vocational training schools, and health center. He also commissioned a ten kilometer-long pipeline to bring clean water to the village. His philosophy is that change is inevitable but he would like the Maasai to be the agents of their change rather than its victims. His dream is to empower the Maasai through education, health and economic development and to integrate the Maasai way of life with the modern world, while at the same time conserving and celebrating the Maasai cultural heritage.

Program:

Day One: You are met upon arrival in Nairobi and transferred to a hotel or guest house of your choice.

Day Two: After an early breakfast, you are picked up by your Maasai hosts to begin your four hour drive to Maasai Simba Camp in the Amboseli area, arriving in time for lunch. In the afternoon you begin your introduction to the ways of the Maasai people through an English-speaking Maasai guide and program coordinator, which will include a late afternoon/dusk visit to the village to see the herds of cattle and goats returning to the safety of the livestock kraals.

What you will learn today:

• Maasai values
• Clan and age–set system
• Current challenges facing people and wildlife in the African savannah
• Wildlife conservation and the Maasai
• Maasai community leadership
• Local methods of problem solving and conflict resolution
• The meaning and importance of rites of passage ceremonies
• Pastoralism and its animal husbandry
• Challenges facing Maasai youth and women

Dinner is around the camp fire where the Maasai, who preserve their oral history, will share stories with their guests.

Day Three: In the morning you walk with a Maasai warrior/guide. Although you are not inside a national park, you might encounter giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, eland and other wildlife with which the Maasai share their environment. The Maasai know this land intimately and your warrior will teach you about wildlife spoor, bird calls, and the Maasai use of plants and herbs for traditional medicines. Other activities scheduled today: visit to the local primary school, village health clinic and several hours of beading with the Maasai women. After dinner, the Maasai warriors will dance their traditional warrior dance for you which is also a jumping competition of sorts for the young men. You are welcome to participate.

Day Four: The morning is devoted to any activities that may have been missed because of a very full Day Three. After an early lunch, you will begin your one and half hour drive to Amboseli National Park and your overnight destination of Ol Tukai Lodge, a large lodge of stone cottages and with a pool set in pleasant gardens overlooking the Ol Tukai Plains.

Day Five: Amboseli National Park is known for its clear views of Mt Kilimanjaro, and for its elephants, studied by Drs. Cynthia Moss and Joyce Poole for 30 years and the authors of many well known books on elephants. Besides elephants, you will see buffalo, hippo, zebra, wildebeest, and hyena. Amboseli's bird life is excellent. A seasonal lake covers one third of the park where flamingos collect. Amboseli is part of the 3000 square km greater Amboseli eco-system which includes the Maasailand from which you have just spent two and a half days. The park is also very close to the Tanzanian border crossing of Namanga, but in order to get to Namanga you are required to drive through the park. This way you have a very picturesque and interesting two hour drive to the border where your Tanzanian driver is waiting for you. After helping you with immigration formalities at Namanga, and delivering you safely to the Tanzanian guide, your Kenyan Maasai guides will say good-bye. Arusha, Tanzania is a four hour drive from Namanga on a good sealed road. After a good night's rest, you can depart on your Northern Tanzanian safari. Arusha hotel is not included in safari cost.

Price: begins at 1680 USD, based on two people sharing. Final price will reflect accommodation choice in Nairobi.

Three days (depart on third day)/two nights stay at Maasai Simba Camp: 1346 USD pp based on two people sharing. Includes transport, room and full board, and all activities. Excludes Nairobi accommodation.

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