A Break from Dentistry for the Weekend

This weekend, William who is the clinic coordinator offered to take us to the Maasai Mara National Reserve.  It is about 20 minutes from the clinic.  The clinic is closed on Saturday and Sunday, the local dental assistants that have been working with me get the days off just as we do in the states.  We jumped at the opportunity.  These donkeys being herded blocked our way along the narrow road.

The reserve has a gate kind of like Yosemite and is a large area covering 583 square miles.  The local Maasai people are not allowed to let their animals graze in the reserve.  There are no fences it is completely wild.  The only thing between you and the animal is the vehicle that you are in.

I've posted here and below a sampling of some of the animals we got to see.  William was a great guide.  It was totally unbelievable the amount of animals roaming around and he seemed to know where to find them all.

William told us this was a bus coming to the reserve from the city of Narok.  There wasn't any room left inside so they put some people on top.

Some Maasai along the road.

Cheetah

We were very lucky and got to see a Black Rhino.  There are 20-30 total in Kenya.  William says he hasn't seen one since January.

This young male lion was yawning.  They sleep around 20 hours a day.  William says they are fat and lazy this time of year as there are so many wildebeest available to eat.

The Great Migration is occurring right now.  Millions of wildebeest migrate into the Mara during this time of year.  Along with them follow their predators.

Shops outside the gate

This is the "street view" of the stores just outside the gate to the reserve.  William brought us to a store so we could pick up some eggs and milk.  It is so cool to have a guide who is very familiar with all of the local places.  I think if we were here on a vacation we would never feel comfortable to stop at a lot of these places and really delve into their culture.

All of the little kids love to wave at us as we pass by.

A Maasai dwelling with laundry out drying.  They do their laundry in the river as well as bathe.