STILL WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR TRIP WITH OFFBEAT SAFARIS?
TAKE A LOOK AT A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN ACTUAL SAFARI..
It’s day 3 on our riding safari in the Masai Mara with Offbeat Safaris.
We are woken at first light. Tristan (our guide) explains we need to break camp in good time as it’s going to be a long riding day. Make my way to breakfast and indulge on all the delicious food. After breakfast I get all my riding kit together and head over to the pony lines and find my trusty steed, Ali Baba. He looks rather upset about the early morning departure – something I can relate to. Nonetheless, with all the activity around us, and now mounted, we are both suddenly alert and ready for the days adventure.
Off we set for another exciting day in the saddle. We ride across open, rolling plains. As the wildlife increases we are told by Tristan we are approaching the Masai Mara Game Reserve. We see large herds of zebra, topi, and wildebeest. A highlight of the ride is a long and breathtaking gallop with a group of giraffe.
We stop to eat our picnic (which has been carried in our saddle bags) at a suitably stunning spot on the edge of the Mara. After lunch and a short siesta under the shade of an old acacia tree we set off again. As a group, I couldn’t have asked for a better, more fun lot of people. There is a lot of banter, especially from Jeremy who, continues to amuse us with his John Wayne antics on horseback. A lot of laughter follows.
In mid afternoon Tristan quietly motions us all to stop and keep still. Roughly 6km from our next camp we come across a large herd of elephant in front of us, gently ambling across the savannah. I am still overwhelmed by the peerless way in which we see these graceful animals. Seeing them whilst sitting on the back of a horse is the most exhilarating feeling.
Moving on, we reach our camp on the Olare Orok lugga (stream) by late afternoon. We are greeted by the syses (grooms) who take the horses from us and give them some well earned feed.
Our tented camp has been miraculously relocated during the day with all its equipment in a fresh location. After what has to be one of the best bush showers you can imagine – the luxury of washing the days sweat and dust off cannot be overestimated – we all settle around the camp fire, watch the sun set over the horizon and begin to see the stars appear in the night sky. Never short of a well-earned beer or gin and tonic we eat a wonderful supper whilst Tristan, a born raconteur, recalls many a tale of previous adventures on safari in Kenya.
Exhausted but still exhilarated we one by one, make our way to our tents, where a welcoming hot water bottle has been placed between the sheets. I fall asleep to the African night sounds, eager for the next days riding safari adventure.