It is once again the time for the great wildebeest migration in the Masai Mara National Reserve, one of the highlights of a safari in Africa . But before that, some background information about the Masai Mara would put it all in perspective.
Maasai mara can be accessed by road and it will take you about 5 hrs to reach it by road from Nairobi. We also have tow scheduled flights that take off from the Wilson Airport in Nairobi and would take you about 40 to 45 minutes to reach. Maasai Mara is a very popular national park in Africa and indeed in Kenya because it has many wild animals that roam its plains. Some of the wild animals include lions, cheetahs, Thomson gazelles, spotted hyenas and burchelles Zebras.
For those that love birds we have species such as the Helmeted Guinea Fowl, Woodland Kingfisher and Vitelline MAsked Weaver.
Throughout the month of July, the herds of Wildebeests cross the Sand River , a mostly dry tributary of the Mara which roughly follows the boundary line between Kenya and Tanzania . The parade takes the eastern sector of Masai Mara, surrounding the Keekorok Lodge area. The trek follows westward, leading the herds to face the major challenge along their quest: crossing the Mara river and frequently also its tributary, the Talek. By then, the rains at the Mau Escarpment, where the Mara rises, have fed the stream to its highest levels.
The steep banks are populated with trunk-looking basking crocodiles that seem almost to be expecting their annual banquet. The operation of fording the river is the most delicate along the migration, and as such seems to plunge the gnus in a state of anxiety that only relieves when the whole herd has crossed. The trekkers walk along the left (eastern) bank of the Mara looking for a suitable point to cross.
There are plenty of preferred crossings along the course, which are easily identifiable by the lack of vegetation, the depressed slopes and the deep grooves carved by the animals' hooves. These are the most secure places to cross the river, those that ensure a minimal mortality. Nonetheless, the apparent programming of the whole process sometimes seems to collapse, and the nervous herds occasionally choose places where the banks are too steep and many of the animals break their legs down the cliff or fall flat into the waters.
The animals come together at appropriate places and move about nervously, their noises sounding loudly in the air. After a while, the couragious beast goes upfront and approaches the time and scanning to see if their is any danger. After it jumps into the river, the whole heard follows in. They all follow in a single line across the river, anf the ones behind throw themselves towards the stream until the rear guard urges the animals to move ina frantic pace that causes some of them to be trampled to death, lying aside the course.
During the month of October, the rains start moving south towards the Serengeti. The pace of the animals reverses making them to face and move towards the southern grasslands. The rite of fording the river is part of nature's call. The animals move towards the vast plains of the Serengeti in the last days of the month of October. This is also the time when new calves are born and the start of the cycle of life. The route down the eastern side is quite fast and millions of animals can be seen as they move.