Safari Marathon - From Maasai Mara to the Serengeti Plains
We landed in Nairobi at 6am, bleary-eyed but buzzing with anticipation. After a quick briefing with our tour operator and a much-needed coffee, we were already on the way to the Maasai Mara - the starting point of our safari marathon through Kenya and Tanzania. The first stretch was easy until the tarmac ended and the “African massage” began: hours of bumpy dirt tracks that made naps an extreme sport. The reward? Our first zebras, antelopes, and giraffes - and soon after, a herd of elephants. Just like that, the adventure had begun. By sunset, we’d already seen four of the Big Five - lions, elephants, rhinos, and buffalo, with only the leopard missing. Hyenas, ostriches, and gazelles filled the gaps, and we learned that “Mara” means “dotted” - referring to the spotted animals and the scattered acacia trees. Lions, we discovered, also enjoy shade from tourist jeeps. After a long day of game drives, we rounded things off with a visit to a Maasai village - interesting, if a bit...