Kenya
Chapter three
An early morning balloon ride, and an afternoon in the park.
It’s pitch black in my tent when the alarm goes off. It’s 04:45. Coffee and tea will be served at 05:15, and then Francis will pick me up at 05:30 to take me to the balloon launch site. We have to drive outside the park, through a nearby town, and then back into the park through the South Gate.
We are the first to arrive. The town was deserted at the early hour, and it was interesting seeing an entrance to the park.
Eddie checked me in and told me it was good we were close to the embarkation site. Some have to get up as early as 03:00 in order to arrive on time.
In the dark, I looked up at the stars. The horizon was just brightening. I showed Eddie a night sky app on my phone and started pointing out constellations. Orion’s Belt loomed right above us.
He pointed out the security checkpoint and sanitation center: a folding table in the middle of the field. A small roped-off section demarcated the smoking section.
Jeeps soon started arriving, we could see headlights picking out the road in front of them in the semi-dark. We were told to go through the security check and congregate near a small rock. Our group of 12 was then told to break into even groups and I soon found myself adopted by a family of five from the United States.
I would find out later it was the fathers 60th birthday trip. He had given his children a choice. They could bring their significant others and vacation in the Caribbean or leave the girlfriends and boyfriends at home and go on safari. They chose safari, unanimously.
As we gathered and filled out paperwork, the balloons were being filled. It was awesome watching them take shape and rise from the ground as the skies lightened. And fun watching how the hot air was blown through the mouth into the envelopes and trapped by the workers.
The balloons full, our captain Serge gathered us together for a safety briefing before leading us to the basket. While the balloon had been mostly filled, the basket still lay on its side. Serge showed us how to get in, lying on our backs like astronauts ready for launch, our hands holding onto rope handles around the basket.
The mother got in first and took a center seat in our section. I moved to the seat by the captain to give the father the corner but he asked if I could switch with him. He wasn’t completely on board with the idea and was anxious about the flight.
As the Serge heated the air inside the balloon the basket righted itself. The walls were high and we couldn’t see over them from our seated positions, but the mother caught a glimpse of the balloon beside us taking flight. She wondered aloud if there was something amiss with ours. We had felt a few bumps but hadn’t felt ours rise.
Serge said we could stand up. I stood and looked out; we were already hundreds of feet in the air. The sudden awareness of our height and seeing the ground so far below us sent a thrill through my body. Looking to the East we saw the sun crest the horizon. The experience and the view were breathtaking.
Serge pilots us over the Mara, pointing out animals as he sees them. We all gush as we see them. In the distance, a herd of elephant. Below us a female lion walking a path alongside a road, pausing to watch a hare before it darts away, then continuing on her walk. A lone giraffe spooked by the sound of rushing flames runs just off to our starboard side, full of grace and power. And there, their hides shining in the morning sun like two jeeps, rhino.
It was over all too soon. Serge told us to sit and assume the landing position. And soon we were bumping to a halt. When it was safe he told us to stand and we watched the two other balloons land beside us. A herd of wildebeest grazed nearby in the clearing.
Our drivers collected us at the landing site to take us to breakfast. Serge said he’d meet us there. We took off into the bush and found tables set up under a desert date tree. We were welcomed with champagne and directed to sit. A chef prepared omelettes by a table set up with continental breakfast options.
I was amongst the last to leave the camp, waving to my new family as they drove off in their Land Rover. Eddie drove me back to camp. Along the way, we spotted a leopard hiding in the bush around a tree, too far for my camera lens, but we caught a good glimpse through his binoculars.
• • •
I took a swim after lunch but not before a man came to administer a Covid test. He said that the samples would be sent to Nairobi the next day and that I should get results by 6am on the following day. I told him I was to fly to Zanzibar that following day and asked what I should do if I didn’t get them. He said I would get them. I said ok.
Walking to the pool I disturbed a group of mongoose who were hanging around the grounds. As I swam they came back out of the brush, curious about the animal in the pool. When I turned to face them they darted away again.
• • •
In the afternoon I met Francis and he drove for a long time in the bush before we came across a small family of elephants: a mother and her three children. Giraffe were grazing nearby and we watched as a male giraffe approached the females and then stood stock still for a while before turning and walking away.
We watched as the mother foraged, followed by her brood. When she got too far ahead, the youngest bellowed and ran ahead to find her.
We saw a group of vehicles perched on a ridge and went to see why they had gathered. A herd of impala grazed in the field just beyond. Francis held back and I wondered why so many were interested in them.
Francis hedged forward a bit and then I saw the impala running. There were cheetah present and the chase was on. Back on the ridge I could see them running past, Land Rovers in pursuit. Francis pointed to where the cheetah were outpacing the vehicles. clouded in dust from the tires. It seemed a little ridiculous, the spectacle of cheetah chasing impala being chased by humans in motorized vehicles but I get it. The thrill of the chase was exciting.
We all circled the kill, angling for the best vantage points. Drivers were respectful of sight lines however and never moved to block another’s view. We waited and then got our turn, watching as the four cheetah fed on a baby impala. It’s not enough, Francis commented. Just a snack. They’ll hunt again later tonight or in the morning.
I couldn’t believe what I had witnessed and what I was seeing. I never thought we’d have been lucky to have seen a kill let alone the chase before it.
As three of the cheetah sated themselves, the one who notched the kill kept eating; the others gave him space. Two licked the blood off of each other’s faces.
On the drive back I admired the landscape, the lone trees that stood tall on the horizon, the sun as it disappeared behind the clouds sending dramatic rays across the sky.
Nearing camp we stopped by a sleeping lion. He lay on his back and as we sat and watched he rolled over to find a more comfortable position. We parked not 20 feet away and I could see its chest rise and fall as it slept.
Nearby, another lion slept under a set of bushes. I would have missed it but for Francis pointing him out to me, so well hidden he was. I couldn’t believe how close we were and how unperturbed they were.
After an interval, Francis asked if we should go. I could never have my fill of seeing animals in the wild, but it was getting late. The sun would soon set and the night would grow cold. 🇰🇪
