Maasai Mara: Where superbly raw, wild and untamed nature resides

The Maasai Mara National Reserve (also spelled Masai Mara; known by the locals as The Mara) is a large game reserve in Narok County, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Mara Region, Tanzania. It is named in honour of the Maasai people (the ancestral inhabitants of the area) and their description of the area when looked at from afar: “Mara”, which is Maa (Maasai language) for “spotted,” an apt description for the circles of trees, scrub, savanna, and cloud shadows that mark the area.The road to Maasai Mara, I assume, is similar to the road to heaven. It is long, narrow and bumpy. It seems to go on forever. It seems to test your dedication to get to Maasai Mara. It seems to test how bad you want to get there. Maasai Mara is not for the weak at heart; it is for the deserving. Though Maasai Mara is only 270 kilometers from Nairobi, it took me not less than five hours to get there.Between June and October, it’s the season for the new seventh wonder of the world; the great wildebeest migration from Serengeti National park in neighboring Tanzania to Maasai Mara. The migration has to cross the Mara River in the Maasai Mara where crocodiles prey on them. This is one of the highlights as the animals try and cross the Mara River alive. As the herds cross, crocodiles lie in wait for any weak and feeble animals that can’t deal with the strong currents or separate from their mothers.You then watch hundreds of thousands of hooves trample on the earth as they return from Serengeti like an army after battle. They move like a marching fearless band. Even when they are gone, you still see them when you close your eyes, engraved in your memory. This annual natural occurrence takes place in Kenya and Tanzania and is believed to be the greatest wildlife show on earth. Between the open plains of the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara, big herds of wildebeest and zebras migrate to palatable pastures as the seasons change. Predators follow the wildebeest migration closely.Maasai Mara gives and takes in equal measure. It gives proof that there exists a supreme and all powerful being who took a moment to create such unrivaled and unimaginable beauty, from the rolling grasslands and open Savannah to magnificent sunrises and sunsets so beautiful that photographs cannot do them justice. But Maasai Mara could also take away your faith and the belief in God or a Supreme Being who rules over the earth, ensures justice and fairness and protects the meek. Beliefs are put to test as young gazelles, elands and zebras grazing are mauled by lions - as you watch. Beliefs are taken away when zebras crossing the Mara River to be with their loved ones, have their rear end bitten off by crocodiles that seem invisible in the water. Other attractions in the Mara are elephants, giraffes, rhinos, buffalos and leopards, among othersThe sprawling and expansive wilderness reminds you of the food chain and your position in it. In the Maasai Mara food chain, you have no position in it. You are only there like the millions from across the world on a pilgrimage of sorts to witness the beasts’ migration. No matter your position in other food chains, to the Maasai Mara you are just a statistic. You can never leave your mark there; you go make lifetime memories and leave. When you leave, you are humbled after realising the untamed energy, power and authority in the wilderness. It’s pilgrimage because it gives you a sense of rebirth. Pilgrimage because in Maasai Mara, you unconsciously admire simplicity and see the vanity in most modern lifestyles. Pilgrimage because you never forget the sights.Maasai Mara is exceptional in that it never shuts down when darkness sneaks in. You hardly notice the sun fading away; you only realise its gone. It might be because it fades slowly or because the view is so magnificent you cannot look away. When night falls, prey continues to flee from predators, claws and canines continue to sink in flesh. The hunt continues. Everybody is disposable and replaceable, only the Mara itself lasts.The open grasslands tease with freedom you know you can never have. Freedom for beasts that can and are willing to crush other beasts on their way. Freedom for beasts whose roar is unchallenged.It costs USD 70 to get into the park for foreigners but you need to get a smart card before hand in one of the Equity Bank branches. The closest one is in Narok, about 80 kilometers away. For accommodation in the park, you have an option of about 80 premises but most of them are quite pricey, the cheapest is Mara Explorer Camp that goes for the equivalent of Rwf 10,000 a night. Mara Serena costs Rwf 192,000 a night while Rhino Tourist Camp is Rwf 50000.You hold on to the memories of the Mara not only because of its beauty but because of its simplicity. You hold on to memories because of how magnificently raw, wild and untamed nature is. You hold on to them because you cannot wipe them out.