Understanding the Real Maasai

Yes, things in fact are going quite well.


Today we would be working our way out of the Serengeti back to Olduvai. Along the way we encountered some hyena.






Including a few kids.


And a female in heat.


The first animal we saw on the way in was a baboon so it only seemed fitting that it was also one of the last animals we saw on the way out and completed the circle.






We were visiting during the end of the dry season, and this dry season was carrying on a bit longer than previous years. So the great migration, in which millions of wildebeests, zebra, gazelle, and buffalos make a huge circle through this area, were still for the most part, north of us. However with the little bit of rain the last few days they were getting close and we caught the beginning edge of the migration.






As we headed out of the Serengeti I was thinking, I wish we could have gotten more elephant sightings in, and then the next thing I knew we were right in the middle of a pack.










OK, this guy looks upset, maybe we should move on.




A few more lion as we exited.


Then, great distances had to be traveled so that we could get out before our permit expired, I hope ye ole Toyota can just hold together a few more hours. The tires on these vehicles create the same kind of braker-bumps you will find on the mountain biking trails of Whistler, so it is a matter of finding that sweet spot on the speedometer where the reaction of the shocks offsets the gap between the braker-bumps, a constant battle.


We had some time before lunch so Sadai took us in to the bush on the edge of a dry lake bed.


Sadai had done an amazing job of getting us at the right place at the right time so our animal viewing was maximized. He was never wrong about where to go and what to see. Sadai thought the lake bed was now dry, Sadai was wrong for the first time.


And we were stuck good, not going anyplace. And for a bonus, down on the floor of the lake bed it was impossible to get a cell signal or to make contact using the radio in the truck. Awesome, I thought.


The local Maasai came out, however these Maasai had their own language so even our driver Sadai could not communicate with them. They were not used to seeing things like a truck, or even people that were white.


And this is when my satellite phone really came in handy as Sadai was able to call in backup, they would arrive within two hours while we continued to attempted to dig and prop up the truck. It was good they were coming because it turns out we could not dig this out, digging only sank the truck more because it was just all mud below. So trying to free a wheel by removing dirt around it just lowered the truck closer in to the mud. But the company contacted a local lodge who was able to come and pick Ben and I up and take us back to their lodge for lunch, while Sadai guarded the truck. Mount Kilimanjaro Safari Club (MKSC), who we were on safari with really took good care of us. After lunch we returned to help dig out the truck as the others had arrived.

This would turn out to be one of the best parts of the trip. We were over 10 miles away from the closest lodge, but this was Africa, how could I not expect something like this to happen, and I was loving it, knowing I would have a great story to tell. Then I was given a very special gift, it was not something that you can plan on, not something that you can print in a brochure. I received this gift once before when I stayed with the Sinfeng family for a night in the Ta Van village while I was hiking the mountains of Sapa, Vietnam, and how lucky I was to have an experience like this twice in a lifetime.

I had my digital camera out to take a few pictures of how stuck we were. This would blow the minds of the Maasai and they could not get enough of my digital camera. We could not communicate using language with each other, however this strange device that could somehow capture and store images for later viewing opened a line of communication between us that I cannot explain. I made another mistake of keeping a close guard on my camera, misunderstanding their curiosity as an opening for them to run off with my camera. But I was quick to correct my thoughts and let them take a picture with my camera. I would see amazing things on this trip and capture many of them on camera or video, however the image below is one of my favorites. One Maasai taking a picture of another Maasai and then struggling to understand that it was their image on my small LCD screen.


I was now understanding the Massai and why they had come out, why they are watching us attempt to free our vehicle.


They did not understand cars and why when it was moving before that it could not be moving now. It was no different than a UFO landing in my backyard. I would go out and want to see it, something that I have never seen before, how does it work, and why is it here?


One of the Maasai weapons, a simple weapon, but one that allows them to eat. However if you look at their herd of sheep, none of them have a tail. That is because they eat the sheep tails, it is a good source of meat and it does not kill the animal, only problem is that they don't grow back.


The sun was going down and the Maasai had lost interest, however the truck was still stuck. Using one of the trucks that came to the rescue they took Ben and I back to Olduvai. Along the way we passed the devil’s tree, how appropriate I thought.


A different Maasai tribe was starting to build a new village here.




The sun was setting as we approached Olduvai.


We made it back in time for a shower and dinner. At dinner there was a babbling knucklehead from Minnesota who was trying to impress people from Scotland with his US knowledge and what they did today, problem was he was incorrect with most of his facts. After a quick roll of my eyes I tuned him out, there were more important things to hear, more important things to see. An hour later and Sadai would arrive with our truck.


VIDEO: Safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater