See Another Africa - Kenya #3:

Kenya's Maasailand: To the Maasai Mara on foot with a Maasai Chief

Facts:

• Departing from: Nairobi, Kenya
• Transport: private 4 x 4 vehicle; flying Maasai Mara National Reserve to Nairobi at the safari completion is recommended.
• Accommodations: a combination of simple chalets and fly camping to luxury camps and lodges
• Adventure meter: high
• Suitable for: you can rough it, remain roughing it, or end up with some pampering at a comfortable lodge in the Mara. Good level of physical fitness required.
• When to go: the dry season, June through September, with July and August as the best time to catch the wildebeest migration in the Maasai Mara Reserve and Transmara lands around the reserve.
• Watch for it: MT escorted tour

This tour is customizable. A three day, two night stay at Maji Moto Camp is a good addition to any program which includes the Mara. It 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.

Summary:

This is a unique opportunity to experience a remote part of Kenya's Maasailand seen by very few visitors with a program which focuses equally on culture, walking and wildlife. The adventure begins at Maji Moto Camp, a four hour drive from Nairobi on sealed roads and nestled at the foot of the Loita Hills with expansive views of the vast Loita Plains. For the first two days at Maji Moto Camp, you learn about the Maasai's traditional ways of life and partake in their daily activities. You walk in the Loita Hills and learn about the Maasai's bush survival skills. The lands of the Maji Moto Maasai belong to the Transmara, the grasslands around the Maasai Mara Reserve which are as extensive as the famous reserve itself and as good for wildlife viewing too, since they are its vast dispersal areas for game. You then depart on foot for the Maasai Mara National Reserve, a two day/one night journey which ends at the northeastern boundary of the reserve where your safari vehicle awaits. There are many highlights to this program but one of the most special must be this walk through the savannah with the Maasai who know it so intimately. You complete your program in the Mara, your final days spent game viewing from your vehicle. You have many excellent camps from which to choose. We have given you three nights/two days in the Mara, but how long you stay is up to you.

Maji Moto Camp: consists of six, rustic but comfortable dome-shaped cottages made from natural materials with separate long-drop eco-toilets and shower block with hot water. There is also a camp ground located a discreet distance from the cottages. There is no generator in camp. Camera batteries are charged using solar power.

Your host Maasai Chief Salaton ole Ntutu:
An indigenous Maasai of the Purko clan, ole Ntutu was born and raised in the Maasai Mara eco-system. He belongs to the junior elder age-set of the Maasai. He has never had any formal schooling; he doesn't read or write English, but he can speak it well, having learned it from clients over the last 15 years. Ole Ntutu is an avid bird watcher. He is also a respected Maasai shaman, a power he inherited from his grandfather who was a traditional healer and diviner. Ten Maasai warriors, trained by ole Ntutu, act as guides, porters, and cooks at Maji Moto Camp. All walking and cultural expeditions are designed and typically led by Ole Ntutu himself.

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, depart Nairobi for Maji Moto Camp on a scenic route that descends the Rift Valley escarpment, arriving in time for lunch. In the afternoon, Ole Ntutu will begin to instruct you in the ways of the Kenyan Maasai. You will also explore the immediate area around camp on foot, taking in sunset from a nearby hill and bathing in the hot springs from which the camp takes its name. Maji Moto means "hot water" in Kiswahili.

Day Three: After an early breakfast, you begin a hike in the Loita Hills of four to six hour duration with Ole Ntutu. The distances and terrains covered on this hike will depend on the demographics of the group which is discussed the previous evening. Along the way Ntutu continues your education in the ways of the Maasai; how they co-exist with wildlife which shares their land; how they use local plants and herbs to treat illnesses. He will teach you how to track wildlife and distinguish between bird calls. All your questions are welcomed. After a late lunch in camp, you are taught about the training young Maasai boys undertake to become warriors; you may learn spear making and tossing. You visit a homestead to see firsthand how the Maasai manage their livestock, and the role women and children play in a Maasai family. The day ends with a meal under the stars and Maasai folk tales told around a fire.

Day Four: After an early breakfast, you begin your walk in the Transmara. A Maasai warrior walks in front and one warrior behind the group to ensure security. Your walk takes you across the savannah where you encounter plains animals like zebra, wildebeest, and gazelle. Bird life is excellent. Approximate distance covered this day is 18 kilometers. Guests carry only camera and some water. All other gear is carried on donkeys or by porters, including the fly camping supplies of small tents, sleeping bags and foam mattresses. Guests can leave larger bags behind to be transported to the meeting place on Day five by vehicle. You overnight at a bush camp in the Siana Conservancy.

Day Five: Your walk in the Transmara continues. Approximate distance covered today is 10 kilometers. In the early afternoon you reach the northeastern border of the national reserve where your safari vehicle awaits to take you into the reserve and to your accommodation.

Days Six and Seven: Game viewing in the Maasai Mara.

Day Eight: It is recommended that you return to Nairobi from the Mara by air.

Price: begins at 2500 USD pp, based on two people sharing. Final cost will reflect accommodation choices in Nairobi and Maasai Mara National Reserve, and one-way flight Mara-Nairobi if taken at safari completion. A typical one-way flight costs between 170 and 220 USD.

Two days,two nights at Maji Moto camp: begins at 1127 USD pp, based on two people sharing. Includes transportation in 4 x 4 vehicle to and from Nairobi; all meals, accommodation and activities in Maji Moto Camp. Excludes Nairobi accommodation.

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