We knew going into this trip that the safari was one of the things that we were looking forward to the most. We just had no idea how much we were going to be amazed by the experiences that McKay Africa put together for us. Join us this week as we bring you the second in a three-part series and focus on the safari experience itself. Up close and personal, we experienced the big five, the ugly five, and a couple of the small five. So grab your cameras and join us as we'll share experiences from the field. In this episode, you'll discover some of our favorite parks and the wildlife you'll find in each reserve that we visit.
I'm Scott. And I'm
Melissa. And we're the Sunshine
the Sunshine Travelers. Our passion is travel and sharing our experiences with those who enjoyed as much as we do, or those who want to learn more about travel, or even those who just want to live vicariously through our travel stories. No matter where you fall along that journey, get ready to hear about our firsthand experiences as we visit some of the most interesting and amazing places on Earth.
I was showing the pictures we took on the safari to some of the colleagues in India last week, and it reminded me how much fun we had and how thrilling it was to look for certain animals that we knew might be in a specific area. It's kind of funny because we don't know anything about these animals. But after a couple of days on safari, you almost become an expert.
Yeah, you actually became an expert spotter.
Yeah, I can't find anything when I'm at home, but I was finding all kinds of animals in the bushes and stuff like that.
Yeah. And Amboseli, like you've spotted something. And our guide there was just like, wait, we don't, we don't have many of those. Like we never see those here. So like he was, he was amazed. So we're not going to be talking about the camps specifically in this episode, because we're going to focus on the experience of the safari beyond the accommodation. So if you missed it, go back one episode to 84, where we talk in detail about the safari camps that we stayed at, our experience there, and some of the things that we think you should look for when choosing them for your safari. And so we're going to start with what most people talk about when they go on a safari, and that is the Big Five. It was funny because our guides were
funny because our guides were dead set on making sure that we saw the Big Five. But sometimes we were interested in some of like the birds and smaller animals along the way. When we talk about the Big Five, here's what we're talking about. Elephants, rhinos, cape buffalo, lions, and leopards. That's what they consider to be the Big Five.
So in episode 73, we interviewed Piper McKay from McKay Africa, and she explained how the Big Five has changed over the years and the reasons for that, too. So about 50 or 60 years ago, people would have traveled to Kenya on hunting safaris. But these days, Kenya has outlawed hunting and have established these preserves and, of course, the national parks to protect the animals. establish these preserves of and, course, the national parks to protect the animals.
In addition Yeah. to the Big we're also going Five, to talk about the Ugly Five. That was something I'd never heard of before.
That was something I'd never heard of before. Yeah, I had never heard of the Ugly Five and the Small Five. And I was actually like, y'all are making this stuff up until we actually saw it in a little safari, you know, guidebook that we picked up along the way.
Yeah. And so when we talk about the ugly five, and you'll start to see images of these in your head as you know, we talk about them. But we're going to talk about the warthog or the pumba. We'll talk about the hyena, the wildebeest, vulture, and the marabou stork. Yeah, we actually saw all of the ugly five now a couple of comments is i don't know necessarily that
all of the ugly five now a couple of comments is i don't know necessarily that the hyena like you had said oh they're kind of cute like if you see them up close they're not like super ugly i think a lot of times we think of the hyenas and like the lion king and you know and they're like the evil whatever but some of them were kind of cute close up some of them but some of them were
but some of them were up. Some of them were really ugly, too. Some of
too. Some of them are ugly, like mangy looking things. Especially
the ones that just rolled in the mud or whatever else they were rolling
in. But the warthogs. So this was interesting, is that they kept saying, oh, Pumbaa, oh, there's Pumbaa, Pumbaa, Pumbaa. And so you're just like, huh? You know, what does that mean? And so Pumbaa actually means like crazy or stupid. You remember?
Oh, I don't remember. So I think I remember this conversation, but I don't remember what it meant.
OK, I can't remember if it's crazy or stupid. So we should probably look that up. But the premise is like they just like they have like this really erratic behavior. They'll like run and then they'll just stop. And then it just like run and they're you know just stop or they'll change direction or they're you know so so either word but that is their word form and so they literally locals and the gods would call oh put you know there's a puma there's a family of pumbas but we are familiar with pumba as the warthog as being the character but that is literally what they call them because of their behavior it's almost like they've got short-term memory loss because they'll see or sense
it's almost like they've got short-term memory loss because they'll see or sense danger, and then they take off running, and then all of a sudden it's like, oh, grass. Let's stop and have some grass when the lion is just right behind them still. So we were very fortunate to be able to see all of these as we traveled through the four parks. But we do have to warn you, though, some of these animals can be very elusive, just like the Northern Lights. So anybody who's ever traveled up to, you know, Iceland or Canada or Finland or some of these places in search of the Northern Lights and then you didn't see them. in search of the northern and lights, then you didn't see them. that's the problem Well, with going on a safari and expecting that you're going to see the big five, is that some of these animals are very elusive and they like to hide in the bushes.
bushes. and for for everybody wants to see them. Yeah, sure, like, sure, And you'll come back to the camps on some days and they're like, people will say, we oh, saw the leopard or we saw this. And if you didn't see it, but you have to keep that in perspective. Like how many amazing things did you see? And so for sure, Scott, like keeping that perspective, but the guides, like they work extra hard to make sure and, and communicate with each other as well. So can we go back to the Pumbaa for just one second? Cause we did talk about in the last episode, we talked about some Swahili, right?
make sure and,
Very on Pumbaa here.
So the word Pumbaa, so it's a Swahili word, right? So in the last episode, we talked a little bit about that. So and of course, I think that we know a lot of things in Swahili because of the Lion King. But it means to be foolish, silly, weak-minded, careless, or negligent, or slow-witted, or stupid. So all of those things.
Well, thank you for looking that up, Melissa. I think I would just say, going back to what we were talking about there, is go on the safari with the anticipation of seeing some really amazing animals. And if you can spot all of them, it's a great trip. If you'll it's not, a great If not, trip. you'll still have a great trip and we'll look forward to your next safari when you can return and find the animals that you didn't
find the animals that you didn't see. Yeah. And you mentioned like, okay, there was sometimes when there may be, oh, there's this bird and look, we want to stop and it's so beautiful. And I think that they appreciated the fact that we did want to like take notice of all the creatures, right? These, the big five, but then also did, you know, the little bird. But if they were on a mission and I think we learned that early on, okay, if they were on a mission and you could kind of tell that they were on a mission, we just need to like go with it because we have a direction and we can probably find that bird later because they're probably on the hunt or have a lead on a Big Five.
You'll notice immediately that they all have these CB radios in their trucks. And so in some of the parks, they're more chatty and active on those CBs than others. But I'll be honest with you, the really good guides, they're not hanging out on those CB radios and broadcasting all their secrets. Instead, they're texting each other.
Or getting on the phone. Yeah. Like there would be sometimes when they would like pick up their phone and, you know, have a chat for a minute and then, yeah. And I think that's
Yeah. Like
And I think that's just part of it is it's hard to know this ahead of time. But we're telling you, if you book with McKay Africa, you're going to get some of the best guides that are out there. Why don't you give the listeners an idea of what a daily itinerary looks like while you're out on safari?
safari? Okay, so be prepared that, you know, most of your drives, you need to you need to get up early, right? So if you are, I don't want to get up early and whatever safari might not be for but you're going you, to want to do right? So if early, you I don't want to are, get up early and whatever, safari might not be for but you're going to want to do right? you, that, And what's so great about it that we talked about is they're going to bring you a little bit of coffee while you get ready and you're going to have something faster. You're going to get up pretty early. I think most of the time we were out and about by what, like 6 a.m., 6.15, 6.30, something like that. And there's a reason for that because the animals are most active early in the morning and late in the
there's a reason for that because the animals are most active early in the morning and late in the evenings. So in the mornings, they've, you know, they've been hunting all night. Most of these predators hunt at night. And so they've been hunting. And most likely you're going to see them with their fresh kill early in the morning.
Yeah. And not to mention, I mean, it's just awesome. Like, so, I mean, it's really is like first light almost, if you're familiar with that term. And then a lot of times you get to see the sunrise, you know, in, in, so, you know, if you have a nice morning, so you're going to do that. And then, so you'll probably do that for a while. Now there were a couple of days where just logistically we would eat like an early breakfast. But most of the times, I guess we kind of did like a bush breakfast or there was a couple of times when we came back. But that really kind of needs to be your focus is that you get up, you have that coffee, and then you go out on this game drive for a couple of hours and then bush breakfast or you will come back. But a lot of times we would stay out till what 11, 10, 30, 11, 11, 1130 to
11, 10, 30, 11, 11, 1130 to
really, you know, independent on the size. So, you know, the Mara is a lot bigger, you have a lot more ground to cover and stuff like that. And then of course, you'll come back. And, you know, if you choose to, you know, having lunch or having a rest, you know, going through your pictures, you know, catching up on, you know, whatever you want to do. And I think we mentioned last time, an episode, a lot of times we didn't want to have like a heavy lunch if we had just had a big bush breakfast and then having the afternoon. And typically we would go back out about 3.30 or 4 usually, and then stay out till right when it got dark, which I think was about six.
Yeah, six, six, 30, 30, something like
30, something like that. And yeah, and then you would come back and you'd have a little bit of time to, you know, freshen up for dinner or have your sundowner. A lot of the places, some of the places would have like little bites that you could do. And this would also be the time where you could do like sundowners or different things like that, just depending on what camp you were in. So basically, to recap that, you're basically getting up early. You're doing a game drive. At some point, you're having some kind of breakfast. You have a little bit of time to rest or you're changing to another place. So because we did do four different places that we're going to talk about, it was also that transition, whether it was driving or flying, that transition, which kind of takes up on those days, a lot of the rest factor, because then they would want you to get you in to, you know, have your afternoon game drive. And then bed, what, 9, 30, 10 o'clock at the absolute latest, like we were, we were done. Right. So it really just depends on how much sleep you require. We were trying to get through pictures as much as we can. We posted a few things and a few stories on social
latest, like we were,
media, but that, that really, and it's, you know, rinse and repeat, but it was every day was different. That's the thing. And especially when you're, when you're changing parks, right. Because then you're, you know, you've got a new guide, you've got different things to look for in a new landscape. So. Well, let's
Well, let's talk about the four parks that we went to on our safari. First was Solio Ranch. And so Solio is a, it's not a national park. It's a private reserve. It's a conservancy that someone has built around trying to protect the rhino species. So they've got white and black rhinos that live there in Solio Ranch. And, you know, this one's a little bit different than all the rest of them. And we'll talk about that in just a minute. But Samburu National Park, the Maasai Mara, and then Amboseli. And so those last three, Samburu, Masai Mara, and Amboseli are all national parks. And then also, we
should probably mention real briefly, is right there by Amboseli, there's some private land that also has a private game reserve that belongs to the tribal people there that gets managed. I think that's
probably true with all of these national parks. There's some conservancies that are attached to them. Yeah. But we'll talk a little bit about that later. One thing that I would say is that most of these parks have no physical boundaries to them. And so the animals can move freely in and out of the parks as they wish. in and out of the parks as The they wish. only difference was we were talking about Solio Ranch. The only difference was we were talking about Solio Ranch. And because they focus on the preservation of a species, they do have physical fences around that park. And they patrol those fences very carefully.
Yeah, so what was interesting about this, our guide was Richard at this time. And he actually, because we had driven there. And he actually, because we had driven there. And so this one was the only one where we didn't stay like immersed in or right beside the park. And we had to stay a little bit outside of it. And so he said that those cameras, he would say, look at this, like there's cameras literally everywhere. And he said, you cannot stop nobody. You can't stop along that roadway. And I guess if something happens, I don't know. I didn't ask him like, what if your car breaks down or something like that? I mean, they're going to be like, like a warden or whatever they would call them for the private, like a ranger. Okay. Like they would be on, they would be there like in two seconds, because like I said, you're not even allowed to stop so that they can protect those animals. And there were a lot of those rangers like hidden, like he'd be like, look at that. Like there's a ranger and you have no idea that like they're there, like keeping an eye on everything.
like a ranger.
So we started our trip in Nairobi. Melissa mentioned Richard and we drove with Richard from Nairobi out to Solio Ranch. And, you know, we'll talk a little bit about because we're going to have different guides along the way. That is one of the things about McKay Africa is they don't own properties and camps. Instead, they have some of the most top-notch guides that will be with you and take you through these parks and be your guides along the way. And then they just partner with different camps and lodges and things like that to provide the lodging during your stay.
They own their vehicles, though, that we used for the first three places. And so top notch and really set up for photography. Now, we weren't there on one of their specific photography excursions, but because they knew that we were interested in photography and had our camera gear like they had some of the same thing, the little, you know, the pillow things that you have different places in them to like rest your camera gear. So that is what they focus on is having this vehicle and then their hand selected guides that you would, you would go out
with. So Richard took us up across the equator. So we started in the south of the equator. We drove up north of the equator. I don't think he had planned to stop there at the equator line, but we were all like, whoa, you got to stop. We got to, you know, get out and take a picture. And so we all jumped out and did a quick picture. I think he was kind of like, they're going to come and start harassing you now. Because they'd set up kind of some shops and things like that around the equator He's line. they're like, going to come and start harassing you Because now. they had set up kind of some shops and things like that around the equator line. He's like, they're going to harass you. So we got to get out of here. And quickly. So we, you know, we took off after we got our pictures.
we, you know,
But that was neat because we had crossed the equator and done the equator when we were in, went to the Galapagos and Quito, Ecuador. So that was just kind of a neat to see that in another place in the world.
Yeah, there was lots of little small towns and farms along the way. All kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables. Like, I saw some, I mean, there was a couple of times where I almost asked him to stop so that I could just take a picture of some of the fruit stands that we saw. Because, I mean, these fruit stands were absolutely beautiful. Just the way that they had everything set up. And then, of course, they would slice the watermelons in a way. So you see that bright red watermelon and, you know, and the fruit was all stacked up. And so really neat to see that. And I didn't realize that they produce so much fruit and vegetables for even other parts of the world right there in Kenya.
Yeah, we had already commented about how amazing the pineapple was. And so he was like, oh, we'll go buy these pineapple fields. And they're actually Dole or Delonte. I can't remember. And I've actually mentioned that to a couple of people. And they're like, oh, they're not produced in Hawaii anymore. And we knew from having visited Hawaii that, you know, there's not many produced there anymore. But just like acres and acres, like I think the like he said, the biggest production in the world, that was amazing. And just like all the fresh fruit that we would have not really knowing going into it, like all that all these things would be so local, the fruits and the vegetables as well. So that was that was neat to see that. The other thing I want to point out is a lot of people fly right from Nairobi to these destinations and not having that experience. And so having drive first to Solio Ranch in that area, and then on to Samburu, we really got to have a different experience. And so yes, it was kind of far, but it really lets you see a lot more of what Kenya looks like outside of just doing the safaris, what these towns look like. And I really appreciated that. And then also you mentioned the fruit on the side of the road, but then also the fact that like some of that land is just like, I don't remember exactly what he called it, but like, it's like common, like people could like have like little nurseries almost like nurse, like to grow like flowering plants and different things like that. They were legally allowed to just like cultivate those plants there and then they could sell them. So that was just that was neat, too. And they could have some income and not have like a lot of overhead from having to, you know, have like pay for a spot or whatever. That was just neat, neat to see. having you have like pay for to, a spot or know, That was just whatever. neat to see.
That was just whatever. neat to see. neat, And don't think I wasn't looking at land where we could build one of those big, magnificent houses we saw along the You one of way. the things know, that we really enjoy, and we're going to get more into the animals and stuff like that in just a minute. But one of the things that we really enjoy is getting to know people's story and learning about them. And so in every trip we do this, and this one was no different. So the drive also gave us an opportunity to get to know Richard along the way.
Yeah. And just like learn about his family, like why he became a safari guide. He's also from a small place that's like more used to be more of like a typical tribal village. But he says like his particular area has gotten away from that. Kind of lost a little bit of those traditions and the cultures, unlike the ones from the Samburu tribes and the Maasai Mara tribes that have kept that. And he says in some ways that's a little bit, that's a little bit sad too, that they have kind of, you know, westernized so much and lost some of that. So just hearing that perspective is very interesting. So let's talk a little bit about the
bit about the animals. You know, McKay wanted to make sure that we saw all of the big five. And so one of the things they did is they started us out at Solio Ranch. And I'd never heard of Solio Ranch before. I mean, I can't say that I heard of Samburu either, but I definitely knew the Maasai Mara. And I think most people do when they think of safaris, they know the Maasai Mara. But Solio Ranch was going to be our opportunity to see one of the big five. And if we hadn't have seen it there, the rhino, we wouldn't have seen it anywhere else because we didn't see rhinos in any of the other parks.
Yeah, that's true. So, you
you know, in Solio Ranch, I would say that Solio Ranch and Samburu were very similar to one another in terms of the landscape. They're very green with lots of brush. They have tons of abundant water sources for the animals. And between these two parks, we checked off, I think we said three of the big five, which is...
No, I think four. I think it was four. Yeah.
think four. I think it was four. Yeah. The only one we didn't see was the leopard. Yeah.
Yeah.
So we saw four of the big five, which is pretty amazing. Thinking about that is we went to these two parks and these were the two smallest that we were going to go to. And in those two parks, we checked off four of the Big Five. Yeah. Did we see lions?
we see lions? Yes. Okay. So
So yeah. So everything except for the leopard then?
except for the leopard then? Oh, no, no. Yeah. Oh, between the first two. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So I got off and
So I got off and I started talking about Samburu with Solia Ranch because these two were, we drove to both of these. These two were within driving distance of one another. And from there, we're going to fly between parks for the rest of the journey. Yeah. And the other, the other reason for that
the other reason for that is like, he also needed to, you know, they needed to be able to get the vehicle, you know, they need to be able to get the vehicle there. And that just gave us an opportunity to, to do both of that. So logistically, I mean, you wouldn't want to, it would take very long to drive then back, you know, all the way to, you know, the Mara or St. Bruber. It really gave us a good mixture of experiences too. So we enjoyed that. We highly recommend that. And I want to
want to say, if you don't want to drive between parks, they will work with you and they will pre-stage vehicles at these parks and make sure that you can fly from one to another. They just wanted to give us that experience of driving and seeing parts of Kenya. Because like you said, once you get into the national parks, you're really focused on the animals and things like that. You don't see as much of the landscape along the roads and, you know, the small towns and things of that nature.
Yeah, for sure. Also mentioning in that Celia Ranch that we got to see mostly white rhinos, you know, with babies and big ones and all that, but we also did spot a black rhino. I think he was a little surprised that maybe we didn't see a few more and really tried to look for those, but we did get to see a black
rhino. But it's not surprising because the black rhino is very standoffish. It's not a very social animal. It spends most of its time living in the bush. And you seeing that one black so, rhino and know, even though it was in a you that was pretty distance, special to get know, to see that because there's not very many of them left in the Yeah.
left in the Yeah. wild. And the other thing I think we learned there is, I mean, their populations have been severely decreased due to the poaching activities. We also learned later on that some of those species, like there's only like a few left, you know, like a few left in, you know, the whole world. I mean, just such a small amount. But Richard had told us in Kenya, if you are a poacher, like like the orders are they shoot to kill poachers like that is such a severe punishment because they have to protect these animals and their natural resources i was just like wait what wow yeah because once they're gone there's no bringing them back i mean unless you're going to pull some what
once they're gone there's no bringing them back i mean unless you're going to pull some what was that movie where they recreated the dinosaurs oh yeah jurassic park yeah right so unless you're going to pull what was some, that movie where they recreated the dinosaurs?
yeah. Oh, Jurassic Park. Yeah, Jurassic Park. Where they had to save the stuff. So unless you're going to try
Where they had to save the stuff. So unless you're going to try to, you know, go back and find some kind of DNA and recreate these animals, once they're gone, they're gone. And so Kenya is now very focused on the preservation of its natural resources.
Yeah, for sure.
So let's talk about some highlights from Samburu. You know, one of the things that I would say is this was the first time we had done a bush breakfast and it was amazing.
Yes, it was amazing. And I don't know that we kind of knew what to expect. I have to tell a funny story that your aunts were just like, because they were saying, oh, well, what do you want? Which was funny because they just ended up packing like everything they normally pack. So I'm not really sure why they actually asked us that. But they were just like, oh, well, maybe we'll just take like some coffee and like a Danish. So they talked to the, you know, they said something to the chef because then he came out and said, oh, what do you want? What do you want? And so they're like, oh, maybe just like coffee and a Danish. And so he was like, well, I have these like cookies because that's kind of what I was afraid of. That's what it was. It was a biscuit. That's right. And so I was like, oh, I'm afraid if they ask for biscuits.
they ask for biscuits.
Yeah. And so I was like, I think that they're going to be like cookies and stuff. So anyway, we were just like, you know what? We're just going to do the whole experience like whatever. But that that was really, really amazing. So I think that was a highlight. We ended up by the river in Samburu. Richard put out the blanket on the front of the on the front of the Jeep there. And we laughed because it was like almost as if on cue, these elephants came out. And then this giraffe. And I think he even that's odd to see a giraffe. commented, oh, You the giraffe. know, And you have these babies. Now we know from talking to Piper is that those elephants go up kind of into the mountains and then they come down to the river. So it was just the timing. But we joked with Richard and we were like, okay, like, did you just like press the button and here they come? Because it really was like almost on cue. And then you have this massive breakfast, right? So you have, I'm not going to remember anything, but you have like hard-boiled eggs and you have the sausages and the bacon and what they call pancakes, which are really crepes and toast and tomatoes. They're
like, like foolish
breakfast. And then they have all the fruit. And what I really thought was neat and I appreciate it is is they pack it like in they have these like like things that would keep things warm so think of coolers but not a cooler because it was designed to keep it warm but they there was like no waste on this bush breakfast which is what i appreciate right so they were in they like these everything was like in a metal container they sent real plates they sent real napkins they sent real silverware and that's like cloth napkins. The only thing that would have been trash is the juices that they had. They had tea and coffee and thermoses, milk, anything that you, like everything you could think of, but it was all like eco, it was all eco-friendly. And then there was one point during this breakfast where like most of them then they had their thing and they kind of went back up into the, up into the trees and kind of away from us. And there was one that was like really curious about our breakfast. And one's like walking towards us. Oh
us. Oh
yeah. One elephant that was really curious about walking toward us. And there was one point Richard was like, Oh, y'all come like, y'all come on this side. And then it went around the Jeep to the back. And he's like, like, I don't know what. I don't know. He said something in Swahili and he kind of motioned to it. I don't know what he said. And the elephant just kind of went on. But that was just neat. And I think that was just neat to have our, you know, our first bush breakfast experience. And I mean, we were absolutely stuffed.
So I think you have different experiences depending on who you go out with and stuff like that. We didn't spend a lot of time outside the vehicles. I know in some other safaris to go on, cause someone was talking about, Oh, did you know, as you were walking around, was your guide carrying a gun? I was like, no, our number one, our guide did not carry a gun at all at any point in time. And number two is, you know, we didn't get out of the vehicle very often. There were a couple of times that Melissa and I did. The only time that we would get out of the vehicle was for, you know, the breakfast or to go check the tires. So, and we'll leave that be. So yeah, the bush breakfast. I think the other thing was seeing the mama cheetah hunt an impala or a gazelle. I can't remember which one it was. It was either a gazelle or an impala. And so that was like, you know, we're still fresh on the safari scene. And this is the first time we're seeing a cheetah. And the very first time we see a cheetah, she's hunting.
and we'll
So that was pretty neat did that you know kind of ran right across in front of us and when you say mama cheetah is because she had she had the baby with
say mama cheetah is because she had she had the baby with her and he was like oh he's kind of you know waiting for something and then literally we saw it was a it was a family of i think it was in palace but mom dad and a baby which kind of like makes you feel sad. But, you know, it's the circle of life, as they say. But, yeah, to get to watch that and then just trying to photograph that, right, or video it. But that was pretty incredible. And then getting to come back and watch them, you know, that she took it off.
the circle
Just the whole experience. So she took it off, but then the baby was like, mama, where are you? And it was crying. Meow.
It was like making this meow sound and it
like making this meow sound and it just cried for the longest time and she was exhausted. So that's the thing they say about cheetahs, right? That's what you were going to say is that's what they say is they just get exhausted and just to like, but then we're worried about, oh, the baby, like what's going to happen? And he didn't tell us this, but he told us later that that mama, because they know, they get to know like who's in the park and how many animals and that she had had four cubs, I think. And she was down to the one. But then later on to, I think we went and did something else because there weren't any movement. And then we came back to see and she was eating and then the baby was eating and so that was just to see that whole process over time was neat yeah i think you really
yeah i think you really enjoyed the journey of giraffes i did so again lots of education about you
i did so again lots of education about you know what is a group of you know every everything like what is a group of giraffes called a tower tower unless they are moving which is called a journey and then you
and then you every know, everything like what is a group of giraffes called a tower tower unless they are
is a group of giraffes called a tower tower unless they are moving, which is called a journey. And then, you know, just them telling us about each of that. And I have to tell a funny story because that is something that they do. If you do the Kilimanjaro Safari experience at Disney, right, that's the kind of built in. And it's like, wow, they really have, you know, they really have. I mean, that is modeled after safari, not the other way around, right? Because they really do. And then that's kind of one of the features there, you know, that they would tell us. So that was neat. But just to see them moving. And it was a large, it was a large journey. And this was a specific giraffe that we weren't going to see anywhere else but there at
And this was a specific giraffe that we weren't going to see anywhere else but there at Samburu, which was the reticulated giraffe.
So Yes. later Yes. we were on, going to see the reticulated Yes. giraffe. Yes.
So later we were on, going to see the Maasai giraffes, but this was the only place we'd see those reticulated giraffes.
And they're just so, it's like they're so big and they're necks, but they're just so, they just seem so graceful and so peaceful as you, you know, as you watch them and they, you know, as they watch you as well, you know, taking pictures of them. They're very curious.
They're very curious. Like, what are they doing?
Yeah.
Why are they sitting there? But they won't come really close to you. The giraffe stayed, you know, a good distance away. One of the things that we also did in Samburu, we didn't do it anywhere else, but we did it here, is we went to visit a local village of the people. So the Samburu tribe, and these were people who lived in the traditional Samburu ways. So the Samburu were very nomadic people. They moved where the animals were. They moved, you know, where water was. They had their own herds of livestock. And so they had to constantly be moving. And they took us into one of their villages. And, you know, it was interesting because the fence around the village to protect the women and children who stayed inside the village. It was just made up of brush and thorny materials, stuff like that, that was just piled up around the perimeter of the village. And then you go inside, and inside there, they would have a pen that was usually made of some kind of sticks or, once again, brush or whatever. And that's where they would put their animals at night sometimes or some of their animals into that pen inside the village. And then like their houses were made of sticks. So they're like, you know, igloo looking things made of sticks.
And like corrugated metal and different things like that.
But the idea was it needed to be very lightweight and movable. And so, you know, we went inside. They invited us inside one of the houses and dirt floors.
And animal skin, right, dirt floors and then animal skins that they would sleep on. So like the goats or whatever that they would eat, then they would dry those skins to use as bedding.
And they had some kind of special stick that had, you know, legs on it and it would keep their head elevated off the ground. But that was the pillow that they were, you know, showing us. But that was the pillow that they were showing us. Like the kitchen was a couple of rocks where they would build a fire and then they'd put their food on those rocks to cook it. I we were mean, talking about very basic living.
And this is how they continue to live inside these villages. And so it was really neat because like they shared some of their cultures and traditions with us.
Some of the songs and dances
Some of
as well. Yeah. And traditional like necklaces. And of course, they wear their traditional, very colorful clothing and strips of cloth. And yeah, I don't think Melissa will ever let
Melissa will ever let us put the video out of her trying to do the dancing. I Yeah, I needed yeah, will ever let us put the video out of her trying to do the dancing.
Yeah, I needed more lessons, more practice. I don't have the moves that they had.
But it was all about the movement of the head and the neck to get those collars. That's what I would call them, the beaded collars, to get them to bounce, you know, as a part of the dancing. And then they took us then up to the top of a hill where the men had gone up to perform some of their ceremonies for us. They cooked a couple of goats up there, offered to let us join in. We declined on that piece, but, you know, they did different dancing. They painted up their, you know, one of the guy's faces or one of the warrior's faces with their traditional paint and then did those dances and part of their ceremony. And then these guys would go and leave from there and go out into the park or the edges of the park. And they're going to watch over their livestock, you know, that night. Yeah. And
And that was a mixture of usually goats and sheep and maybe a cow or two. But yeah, they they are out in the open. Yeah. So you got to think these
got to think these predators that we're talking about are roaming around in the areas where they have their livestock. And literally they're out there. They may have a knife, but most of them just had some kind of stick.
think these
Yeah. And these are the same people warriors. They are between the ages of 18 and 30 before they get married, basically. Yeah.
So it's interesting getting that little cultural piece in there as well. You know, and that's something that not everyone got an opportunity to see. We were talking to people in the camps when we went back and we said, oh, this is what we did. And they were like, oh, well, we went to the village, but we just saw, you know, where maybe they did the dance that we were talking about and tried to sell some, you know, artwork and handcrafted goods, stuff like that. But, you know, we got the opportunity because of the relationship that McKay Africa has with this village and they help feed them and they, that McKay Africa has with this village and they help feed them and they, you know, stuff like that. We got to go see some very special pieces that nobody else really gets a chance to see.
Yeah. So then one of the other big deals that we got to see in Samburu was seeing a, well, it was three females. So I wouldn't say like it was the whole pride or anything like that, but up on top of a rock. So I had noticed we had passed a couple of the ones that almost like remind you of seeing pride rock so I asked Richard do lions go like the lions really go up there is that just something that you know it's created in Lion King and different things like that and he was like yeah they do like it's just very rare but do. And so I guess it was our last morning, he had gotten word that there were three females up on top of one of those rocks. And so we hightailed it over there. And of course, there were quite a, quite a few vehicles. But now Samburu though, is not like a lot, a lot of vehicles, right? So when I say quite a few, it was probably like, what, six or seven, maybe. So a lot smaller amount of camp. So there's obviously a smaller amount of people there. And so then getting being able to see those lions. And we mentioned it to the next guide, Sammy, when we were in the Mara. And he was like, wait, what? You're kidding. He was like, that is something that Piper McKay has wanted to photograph for like ever since she's been here and has never seen that. So, yeah, she was a little bit like, don't talk to me. And I think you mentioned that in the last episode. But, you know, like, I don't want to hear this. But that that was pretty incredible. And I think we stayed there like as absolutely long as we could because then we were going to transition to the next. And then I think the other thing is we had mentioned to our guide, Richard, one other time when we said, oh, do you want to come have breakfast with us or something like that? And he said, oh, I'll have dinner with you one night. And that was what was neat about being in Samburu and being at that elephant bedroom camp was that a lot of the guides kind of hung out there. A lot of their camp guides were Samburu men. And so they kind of hung out there. They had a lot of their camp guides were, you know, Samburu men. And so they kind of hung out. And you could tell that that was just a really close knit, that Richard knew a lot of people and had a lot of contacts there. And so that last night he did have, he had dinner with us. And so that was just a neat to be able to, you know, sit down. And that particular night we had something that was very authentic dish. And he said, oh, do you have this at home? And it was almost like a, it was like a, what do you call it? A ground corn type of a dish, but kind of firm, almost like a firm, firmly cooked, like a rice or something like that. Being from the South, it reminded me of grits, not like a soupy grits, but I was like, yeah, we kind of have this in grit that some people may not be familiar with. And he said, oh, this is like if you for a Kenyan man, like this is this is something that like if you love your your man, like you're going to like make him this. So that was just kind of a neat, you know, things that you pick up. So instead of being like meat and potatoes, it was like this particular. And I don't unfortunately I recall the name right off. But that was that was just kind of a neat perspective that you can get by sitting down because otherwise I've been like, oh, okay. But hearing that from him, I enjoyed that. We found that when you're traveling, there are two things that are essential to a smoother, stress-free journey. Fast and easy ways to charge your devices to stay connected and effective and lightweight packing solutions to stay organized on the go. And for us, Apica checks both of those boxes. 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Now from Samburu, this is where we start into taking some of the flights between camps. And so in this case, we hopped on a plane and we flew to the Maasai Mara. And, you know, everybody, I talked about this earlier, most everybody would know about the Maasai Mara. And, you know, it's one of the most well-known national parks in Kenya. It's also a destination that most people travel to when they want to go and experience the Great Migration. So when we say the Great Migration, we're talking about millions of wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, that they migrate over from Serengeti National Park, which it's just the Mara River separates the Maasai Mara and Serengeti, which is in Tanzania. And so they come over searching for green grazing land. And this is one of the most popular times of year that people visit the Mara, which is from July to October. And I'm going to tell you, crossing the Mara River is very dangerous for these animals. The Mara is crocodile infested and they have to worry, you know, about stampedes that will occur when they're trying to cross over because these animals know that there's a risk in crossing that river, but they're trying to get to those green, you know, prairie lands so that they can eat. And then at the end, they're going to have to cross back over again. Yeah. So when we first
So when we first arrived, I'm trying to remember, it was not super late. It wasn't a super long flight we'd had. And so our guide, Sammy, which your aunt's read and Brenda had already met, had done a couple excursions with him on the day. So they already had great things to say. And so Sammy had brought the other vehicle or another vehicle that they have up and met us and wanted to take us out and show us some things before we went and checked in and had our lunch and stuff like that. And so coming across, we happened to cross a big herd of wildebeest. Now, I think for me, the Great Migration was like it was over. So I didn't realize that, okay, well, all the wildebeest don't like there may be some left. They don't all go. Some of them may never go.
I'm like, oh, the grass is greener over here. Yeah.
Yeah. And but then some of them will go later or there's other little smaller like rivers and different things that, you know, because it cuts all through the Mara, right, that they may have to cross and stuff too. And so some of them never make it. So I just didn't even think about, oh, that we would even see this at all. And so that was really our first experience in the Mara was watching to see if they were going to cross. And he said, if one of them goes, they will all go. But it just takes
if one of
takes that one. And you just you have no idea. So this was probably 500 plus wildebeest
this was probably 500 plus wildebeest in this herd. And it was funny because they were up on the side of the hill and we sat there for a while watching them. And it's like, oh, look, they're starting to move, you know, because a big group would start to move. And then all of a sudden they'd move in the wrong direction. And so he said, you know what, we'll come back in a little bit because I just don't see anything happening. He said, and one of the ways to know is they will all get into a single file line when it starts to happen. He said, it's the funniest thing in the world. They're a big blob right now. But just as soon as they decide to go, they all get in line. And so we had driven, you know, a little ways away because I think that's where, you know, the lion was with the little cub or something like that. And we'd gone over to see that and he looked back and he saw the wildebeest in a line. he looked back and he saw the wildebeest in a line. And he was like, hold on. And he took off across, like there was no roads where he was driving. I mean, I was sitting in the back, the very back, and there was a cooler in between the seats. And one time we had a bump and I flew up into the ceiling and came down on that cooler. And I was like, oh, my God, we're going to die. But he was getting us there because just as soon as we got there, this whole herd of wildebeest and some zebras started crossing over that river.
over that river. And we got to see a small taste of what the migration was like, because as they were crossing over, a crocodile actually got one of the wildebeest. And so we saw that happen. We heard the wildebeest down there. And that was one of the times when he was like, hey, you can get out of the truck. And we went down and got kind of a close, you know, firsthand view of what was going on down there.
Yeah, there were quite a few trucks around. And so we kind of squeezed in. So a couple of things. I didn't realize that the wildebeest and the zebras were like, would like mingle together and mishmash like that. And then to, you know, to catch the tail and the, you know, them coming up and just all that chaos. And he was telling us, and I think this is what's so educational about a safari is he was telling us that the crocodiles actually suffocate their prey, right? So it would continually, right, by drowning them, right? So it would continually like pull it down. So we never saw the crocodile, but it'd pull it down and then you'd see its head and then you'd pull it down and see its head. And so that was kind of, I think for your ants, we're just kind of like, oh, I don't know about this. But, but yeah, getting out and just getting to see that. And the other thing I wanted to say about that is that the Mara is very different, right? So immediately you're like, this place is huge. We'd already passed a bunch of camps when we landed. So give perspective. When we left Samburu, he took us to this little airstrip. There's a plane waiting. We're the only people on it. We get on, we get on the plane, we go. We land in the Mara. There's plane after plane after plane after plane. There's all these people waiting, all these trucks waiting. And you're already like, wow, this is so different. We passed a whole bunch of camps on the way. Like, I don't know if I'm going to like this as much. And then that experience. And you're like, okay, it's just different. It's just
It's just
different. And so I think that's what's so good about experiencing different places when you do a safari.
Well, let's talk about a few highlights from the Maasai Mara. This is where we first, we saw our very first lion takedown. So we were sitting there, we had seen a few vehicles and there was a couple of female lions up on a hill. And he said, oh, look at them, they're hunting. And he said, they're keenly looking for something. And it was neat because they actually appreciated that the vehicles had lined up to look at them because they were using these vehicles as cover from their prey. And so, you know, and it just so happened, we looked over on the left-hand side of the vehicle and we saw a family of warthogs coming up and that lion perked up, it got into hunting position, it started moving closer. And so when that family of warthogs passed through the vehicles, boom, it was right on them. And that's where we saw a lion take down a baby warthog, like right in front of our vehicle.
Yeah. And so that's the other thing. I know you mentioned like about seeing the big five. I think in the back of your mind, you also don't need to say, oh, I want to see a kill. But here now, like this was our second one, I think. So not having those expectations, but appreciating them. So it was a little small one. There was a, there were several females around. And so we watched it. He drove around and we watched it. There was one of her, her sister or her cousin or something was, was there close by. And he said, now watch that one's going to want, you know, part of this. And kind of kept, reminded me of our dogs. Like one of them has the treat and the other one like sneaks up and this the other like the sister or whatever was called the sister sneak was like sneak up and sneak up and man the one that had gotten the kill she was mad she just went like and the other one just kind of laid down it was like played dead but it was just neat to watch not only the kill but then that interaction was
this the other
one just kind of laid
laid down it was like played dead but it was just neat to watch not only the kill but then that interaction was like, this is mine. Like, you know, go get your own or whatever. So just like all these little things.
Like, you know, go get
This was just a little snack. It was just a little baby warthog. So wasn't anything to share there between the lions. We also got to see Mama Lion try to take down a wildebeest here. got to see Mama Lion try to take down a wildebeest here. And, you know, we talked about the little baby warthog, but it's something else to try to take down a wildebeest. And she tried really hard, but she was unsuccessful in that. And so she's going to go back now and she's with the cub. There's a little cub with her. And we got some crazy, amazing pictures of mama and cub. And then tons of video of this little cub being very naughty and running away, really starting to test, you know, its independence. But like, in reality, this cub is going to live with mama for many years until, you know, it either grows up and moves off, you know, as a male and joins all the other males or, you know, becomes one of the lionesses in the pride. Yeah. So that was just neat to watch
So that was just neat to watch because, you know, she was a little bit tired. So kind of tried to lay down to rest and it would get, you know, it would go a little ways and then it would come back and it would nuzzle her and then we'd go a little further and a little further. And by that time, you know, there was quite a few vehicles or there's quite a few vehicles because those wildebeest were kind of moving, not like in the other scenario we talked about, but a little bit. And so there was quite a lot of vehicles and then that cub would go like under some of the vehicles and we were getting really, you know, we were getting really nervous because some of his vehicles would move fast. But just, yeah. And I think that's the other thing, too, is just like you just don't realize sometimes. I mean, because you're really not concerned about time, right? That's up to them and how long you're going to be out there and when you're going to eat and whatever. And you know that you're going to eat because there's like plenty of food. So you're not really worried that about you're that. going to eat because there's like plenty of food. So you're not really worried about that. But just like have you just can sit there and just like, you know, just watch. And a lot of times they would have to be like, you know, are we, you know, are we are we ready to go? Are we, you know, can we move on to something else? And, you know, sour, sour.
Yes, sour, sour. Speaking of which, of sour, sour, I think we need to move on. Sawa. Speaking of which, of Sawa Sawa, I think we need to move on. You know, this was also our first time seeing leopards. So we had two occasions that we got to see leopards in the mora, which is crazy because these are some of the most elusive animals of the bunch. They hang out in the bush and stuff like that. But we saw two different occasions. We saw a mama and a cub where the mama had killed an impala, taking it up into the tree and they were eating. And then we also saw a male leopard out in the open walking around. Some of my most, my favorite pictures that we got this male leopard, like up close and personal. You know, that's what we saw in the Mara. We also crossed off an activity from our original bucket list. So if you've been listening to our podcast for a while, we talk about our very first bucket list. We wrote it on this chalkboard wall in our kitchen, and it was things that we wanted to do. And one of the items on there was to do a hot air balloon ride. Well, we were able to finally cross that item off of our bucket list and we did a hot air balloon safari over the Maasai Mara.
in the Mara, you can do that. There's several companies. We saw some flyers or whatever that you can do that in Embezzelli, but just absolutely incredible. And the conditions are typically favorable, they said, for being able to do this for most days of the year. But we would recommend that you schedule it early in your trip, just in case, right? The weather conditions aren't favorable. Don't wait until your last day to do it. Thankfully, we were able to do it because you have to get up at like 4 a.m. So that was our super early day. But yeah, absolutely, absolutely amazing if that's on your bucket list and you haven't done
on your bucket list and you haven't done that. I'd say if you're going for the great migration, oh my gosh, this would be an amazing way to see the migration is through this hot air balloon. The travel insurance you're looking for isn't insurance. Unplanned incidents are but can rare, crop up when you travel. That's why we want you to have the most robust travel protection for your next adventure. When a travel emergency arises, traditional travel insurance may not come to your aid, and a medical evacuation can cost up to $300,000. The cost when you have a Global Rescue membership is $0. That's why when the unexpected happens, you want the leader in rescue, evacuation, and medical advisory behind you. You want Global Rescue. Visit sunshinetravelers.com slash global rescue to learn more. Using our affiliate link helps support our podcast and allows us to continue to provide new content each week. There is no extra cost to you, and we are compensated through the affiliate. Now, from the Maasai Mara, we took a small commercial flight over to Amboseli National Park. And this was a very different park immediately when we landed.
Yeah, so it definitely was. I guess on Amboseli, you have to stay on the roads, right? And what did we see at the beginning, though? We saw these flamingos like right from the get-go in the salt flats. I didn't even realize that for some reason. I probably shouldn't have done this, but I didn't even realize that there would be flamingos there. We'd seen them. We've talked about this several. We'd seen them in the Galapagos. We've seen them, you know, in Curacao and Aruba. But just getting to see like this was the most that we have ever seen. So that was really neat. So what else would you say was different about the park? I think
I think I just noticed immediately it was hotter and drier there when we got to Amboseli. Matter of fact, we noticed these little, and we would see them throughout the entire time they were there. These little, it looked like tornadoes, you know, cyclones of dust that would spin up all over the place. And so it's a very dry prairie. And when there's not water coming down, you know, Kilimanjaro or from the north, because they talked about how like when it rains up in Samburu and that area, all of that water comes down into the southern part. And the southern parks are very dependent upon that water. So when you have dry conditions up north, it really results in very dry conditions in the south. Yeah.
So they do have a good bit of like water in like these salt flats. We saw a lot of places that where the elephants could, you know, have, have the water and stuff like that. But I guess one of the big features of Amboseli is seeing Mount Kilimanjaro, which does tend to show itself in the mornings and in the afternoons. It can be cloudy during the day, but if you, you know, are up early and late, you'll likely get to see the peak, which is neat. It doesn't hide itself like Denali and Kyoto and, or not Kyoto, but- Mount Fuji.
Mount Fuji.
Yeah, Mount Fuji, sorry. So you get to see that peak. And they actually say the way that you see it from Amboseli is because it's actually located in Tanzania, but getting to see that. So that's a neat, neat thing. And so then also, so we stayed at the Tortillas Camp, which we mentioned before. And one of the, they also have a private reserve that's very close by, but there's, you have to have particular like guides to take you in there, who can take you in there. And so that comes from particular camps. And so by staying at Tortillas, you have access to do that. I mean, obviously, that's something that you will pay for as part of your package. But we were able to also access that private reserve where you could go off of the beaten path a little bit. And that was where we really saw like a family of cheetahs, a mom with what, four babies or five babies? There was a total of
There was a total of five of them. Okay.
Okay. So four We babies. saw a lot of five of them. So four Okay. babies. We saw a lot of, you know, the lions and stuff like that.
Yeah. And, you know, like Melissa said, part of the package includes the guide there. So this is the first time we have a non-McKay guide. However, they had particularly made sure that we would have someone that Piper McKay has used many times when visiting Amboseli. So, you know, I just keep bringing this up, but it's the importance of choosing the right partner to provide this safari experience for you because they are constantly out in the field. They're constantly testing these different parks. They're testing the, you know, the conditions and they'll tell you if it's, you know, if it's not right, they're going to make a change and they're going to go with something better. But in this case, Ali was our guide and he had been around for a really long time, was very well known. And he was just a different personality, I would say as well. You know, we were like, Ollie doesn't get excited about anything. If he does, he hides it very well. But we did get to the point where we're like, you know, if we started asking him about animals and he was being a little bit, you know, nonchalant or not answering, it's like, okay, shut up. He's headed somewhere that he wants to show us something. Yeah. Whereas
Yeah. Whereas like, for example, in the Mara, you know, Sammy would be like, tell us exactly what, you know, was spotted and kind of what we were heading and just like 90 to nothing to, you know, get there. It was just a completely different personality. And again, that just gives you a variety of experiences on the same, you know, the same safari. Yeah. And
so Amboseli is really known for its elephants. We spent a lot of time watching elephants with their really, really long tusks. Matter of fact, they have some named elephants that live there, you know, in and out of the park. And they've got these tusks that almost come down and drag the ground. And that was something unique that we saw in Amboseli that we didn't see anywhere else. And also with the
And also with the elephants, like such a juxtaposition because you have, it is dusty and you see these dust, what do they call them? Dust. Anyway, but then on the other hand, there's these elephants like crossing this water and you'll be like, wait, those elephants are like standing down in the water up to their, you know, up past their bellies or whatever. So such a juxtaposition, you know, like drinking and so just such a neat way to be able to watch them.
Yeah, I think these are underground springs that come off of Mount Kilimanjaro. So, you know, there is some water there. It's just the rest of the landscape is very dry and dusty. And so in this particular case, if you're planning to go to Amboseli, I would definitely recommend that you take a scarf or something to cover your mouth and nose. Because this was the one time where we'd get back to the room and we'd be like, oh, my God, we have to take a shower immediately.
Yeah. So stay tuned in just a second. I'll share a couple of things that I wish that we would have had. Other highlights from Amboseli?
The sundowner.
Yeah, the sundowner. So we did do a bush breakfast here. We had and we didn't mention did do a bush breakfast We had also, also, it, here. and we didn't mention we did a bush it, breakfast in the Mara that was completely different. The camp in the Mara had had table and chairs and, you know, we were able to get out and sit around and stuff like that. This one, we, again, we just kind of stood around, but the sundowner. So this was our first experience on the sundowner, which in the Mara had been cloudy in the afternoons too. So, but that was fantastic.
Yeah, we went up on top of this hill and, you know, the really neat part was our waiter for the time that we were there, they had sent him out to set up the sundowner. So Timothy, I think I talked about him in the last episode, but, you know, he set up that sundowner and, you know, Melissa said it in the last episode, But, you know, he set up that sundowner and, you know, Melissa said it in the last episode, like, you didn't know which direction to look in. You had Kilimanjaro out one side, you know, you had the sunset in front of you, you had animals to the other side. It was just like constant awe while we were up there on top of that little hill doing our sundowner.
Yeah. So and just all those experiences, right? So it's the experience of seeing the animals, but it's the experience of being with the gods and then people like that. And they had set up the bush bar, the sundowners and the breakfast and the animal. Like there's just so many things that together, I think, make up that experience.
One of the last things I would say I thought was a highlight of Amboseli was we saw all of these school students coming into the park. And, you know, Richard had talked about it to some extent of, you know, the people around Samburu never go in there. Like most of them have never stepped foot inside of that park. And yet they have these most tremendous resources there. But in Amboseli, all the school kids, they would, that would be their field trip, is they would get to go into the park. And I thought to myself, how amazing is that? And so I think you're going to see a lot of future generations of guides and hosts and, you know, the people that work in the camps and stuff like that are going to come out of these kids and even rangers, you know, out of these visits that come to the parks.
Yeah, that one was neat because you do stay on the roads in that park and it wasn't muddy like in the like you Mara, could never it wasn't muddy like in the Mara. Like you could never have driven a school bus through the Mara. You'd be stuck in like two seconds. But yeah, just seeing them in their school uniforms, you know, getting to go through. And I was like, wow, like what a field trip is to, you know, be on a field trip and on a safari. That was just that was neat. And having them wave. Yeah, they loved waving at the white
And having them wave. Yeah, they loved waving at the white people. There was a safari. That was just, that was neat. And having him wave. Yeah, they loved waving at the white people. There was a specific name. I can't remember what he told us it was, but, you know. So after Amboseli, McKay actually surprised us with a private charter flight back to Nairobi, which ended our safari experience. And so, you know, this, I, I got off the plane or matter of fact, I think during the flight, Melissa was up front and she said something and I told her, I said, Oh, when we start shopping for our aircraft, our sunshine travelers aircraft, like this is the model airplane that we have to buy.
Yeah. And I said, okay, well, when we do a group trip, we can, we can have this experience. But the pilot was so cool because he like explained everything he was doing. And he was like, well, I was sitting behind him at first. And he said, oh, if you want to, if anytime you want to come up here, just climb up here. And I mean, I was immediately, you know, here I am. I was like, I knew that that was going to happen immediately up there. And he took us, when we took off, he like swung back around. He was like, so you can say bye to the elephants. And we flew over the flamingos. He
He stayed really
He stayed really low, but then he just basically explained, you know, here's what we're doing. And I'm going to communicate with these people. And y'all had headphones so you could hear what he was saying, what he and I were saying. And when we came back,
what he was
we came back, you know, he would point out different landmarks. And so that was just, that was really incredible. If that's something that you can work in, I mean, you don't need to do it for all of them, but if that's something that you can work in, he said he has the best job. So he basically, you know, flies people from here and there and, and just, he, depending on, he said, of course, during the Great Migration, he's super, super busy. But just a neat, very neat job.
Well, Melissa, last week you told us that Intim Camp in the Maasai Mara was your favorite accommodation. Which park was your favorite?
Oh, geez. That one's hard. I think, I don't know if I can pick between samburu and lamara i think it was just i think it was so different i think i would just i think i'd have to say those two of the four those two were probably my favorite just what we what we got to you know what we got to see and the experience that we got to have yeah i Samburu was probably my favorite
yeah i Samburu was probably my favorite park. And I think that's mostly because the fewer vehicles that were there. And so those experiences we had were often very authentic and very private. And so it was just a really great experience that we had there. What about, is there one thing from the safari experience that you'd do differently on your next trip or on our next trip? So I think the one thing that I would recommend,
thing that I would recommend, even though all along I'd be like, oh, I could use one more day at Makushla House. I could use one more day, one more day. But I think realistically there should have been either one morning where we could just like sleep in or one afternoon where maybe we only did a sundowner or and not a sundowner and a game drive or something like that. Just because it was just like early, late, a travel day. And I know that you want to maximize your game drive experience and all the experiences. But for that many days, I think we could have just used one morning or one afternoon where it was just like super chill.
Yeah. And I think that is the challenge is you want to and they want you to have the best experience possible. And so just hanging back and sleeping, they can't provide you anything there. So I get that and understand it. But I would say if you're on a, so we did 10 day safari. If you're on a 10 day safaris, give yourself at least one morning midway where you don't book a game drive and you just get a little bit of rest.
Yeah, because there were lots of amenities at the camps that you could just have sat in red or, you know, gone to the pool or.
Yeah. So who's this trip good for? Who would you say this trip is good for? Wow.
Everybody. I know that people take their kids on safari.
And I think that's, I mean, that's an important thing, right? What, think about that education those kids are getting on safari.
I don't know how you would structure it. I think some of the stuff that we did in the long would be hard because there was one time in Amboseli where it was like teenagers in a vehicle and they literally all look like they have on their headphones and they're asleep. So you don't want that to be the experience. I don't know how you structure that. But I think it is like if that is something, especially if you have a kid who is old enough to, you know, understand and appreciate and, you know, loves animals, I think that would be a great experience. I mean, I think this is something that literally everybody needs to experience. And I know there's tons of ways you can do this. We've talked about, you know, what ours, there's tons of places you can go. But I think you really do have an appreciation for the place, what they're trying to do to protect the animals, the people, the tribes, you know, their culture. So one of the things I think that you wanted to point out, though, and one of the things that we have pointed out before is what about people who may have mobility issues?
Yeah, I would say it's a real challenge if you have severe mobility issues, but it's not impossible. You told the story of watching the guy that they had the wheelchair that they took him up to the vehicle, right? And so, you know, yes, he depended on the wheelchair to get to the vehicle, but once they got him in, then he was able to enjoy it. There is lots of sitting during the day, so think about taking the small kiddos, right? I don't know that I'd do it on my first safari ever, but if maybe you've been a couple of times and now you want to take the family back, yeah, kids need to see this. They need to get away from technology. They need to get away from all of those things and enjoy this nature. But then the other thing I would say is there's really bumpy roads out in these parks. And, you know, they call it the Kenyan massage when you're bouncing around a lot. But you're definitely, you're going to feel that after a few days.
Yeah. And I think, though, that if you said I have back issues, I have neck issues, I have something like that. Right. Where you can't do, you know, the same as like an amusement park or something, then they would just like cater that to more. Right. Because they were very and we mentioned this last that they were very hopeful and aware with your aunts, right? They put us in ones that are closer and that, so I think they could, I mean, it would be a different experience, right? You couldn't go hightailing it on, you know, some of these roads or they might recommend, oh, this is the places you need to go and that kind of thing. So I think you just need to say like, these are my issues. And then how can we, how can we cater that? So, but. And they'll be really good at catering around
be really good at catering around that. Yeah, for
for sure. So one of the things we've kind of gotten
of the things we've kind of gotten away from a little bit in our podcast and we want to bring back in is the packing list. So what do you need to bring? And maybe just as important, what shouldn't you bring on a safari?
Yeah. And keep in mind that what the things I'm going to mention, Scott and I wore in Egypt and it worked fine too. And here, and then we also wore the same clothes in Cape Town and all this was fine. And so, but what we did cater our list really to have what we needed for the safari. So we basically chose a few pieces in colors like the tan and the olive. I got a couple of things that were like a burnt orange just to have a little bit more for like dinner and for the other places. But basically, not realizing, and I guess for us, it really wouldn't have mattered because we'll laugh like Sammy had like a red hat and I think he had like a red parka and they had said, you know, cause it would, you know, detract or scare the animals. And I think they're just so used to that, that that's not as big of a deal. But a couple of the things, like they said, black is not particularly good just because the bugs could be attracted to it. White is hard because like if it gets dirty and stained and stuff like that. So just kind of keeping those things in mind, although the colors weren't as huge of a deal, I think as we. So I basically had, and this was for the whole three week trip. Keep in mind that we washed several different times. I had like four pairs of loose, loose fitting or like hiking type pants. One of them, the legs zipped off, but I'll be honest with you. I also brought some shorts. I would have just like, I wore them one time. I would have just left that off and stuck with the pants. You brought some polos, button up or short sleeve shirts in those same colors. I brought some like cotton t-shirt, like solid colors. They're like cap sleeve that look more, you know, that way I could put like a jacket on with it. I could put a sweater over it. So I brought a lightweight sweater, a lightweight sweatshirt, a canvas jacket. I brought a rain jacket. I don't know that I really needed it. It was one time when we, one morning, I think when we really had to bundle up and I brought a scarf that I could use. And I brought like a beanie cap that I wore a couple of times. I think what in the Mara, it was chillier. Of course, your socks, underwear. I brought three pairs of shoes, tennis shoes, a pair of sandals and a pair of slip on like driving mocks, just so I'd have something a little nicer. And you brought a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of sandals and just your chukka boots or just the two chukka boots and a pair of sandals. Yeah, I brought the
Yeah, I brought the three. I had my Tevas, I had my Chukka boots, and I had a pair of tennis shoes.
I had
Yeah, so now for our safari, Scott mentioned, we didn't do a lot of like walking. And so I didn't need like any hiking boots. And so the tennis shoes actually worked out really well. So it really just depends on what you're going to be doing and if you're going to be out of the vehicle and doing like a little bit of a hiking safari. So just, you know, keep that in mind. And so I also had a couple little things that were super handy. I brought like a little crossbody bag that I could put things like chapsticks, some bug spray wipes, my phone in to kind of keep it handy. And then I also had brought in my bag, like a fold out tote. And sometimes I would throw the water bottle, some extra camera stuff in that. So those ended up being like huge. I did bring a safari hat. I ended up not wearing it. It didn't end up working. I didn't really need it. And I actually ended up throwing it away. It got so mashed. I wish I had taken a ball cap that could have gotten, you know, folded up or, you know, just whatever. That may have been nice to have a little you sometimes. bit, know, But I did bring a couple. I threw a couple of bandanas that I happened to have that were in those same colors. And I actually ended up using those you I had this open air vehicle. because, know, I ended up pulling my hair back and kind of putting that around as almost like a headband to keep my hair from blowing and being ready for the camera. Those ended up being great because then I could kind of use them to make outfits and stuff like that. So that was something that I hadn't originally thought of that I think I used more than anything else. We didn't end up needing a lot of bug spray. We opted for the bug spray wipes so we didn't have to worry about spilling them, but we probably bought, brought like 10 times more than we needed. So a few of those and we didn't end up using a bunch of sunscreen. I have a, like a makeup face sunscreen that I use. The two things I wish that I would have had, I brought a little bit of eye drops, but the dryness I could have used a lot more like eye drops and then some kind of nasal saline spray for the places that were dry. And you mentioned that, you know, just some little bottles that you could have, that would have been very helpful. So I mentioned about washing clothes. I will say two things about this. When we were in the camps, they wash these clothes and dry them by hand. So they do need to be like durable material, not anything that can't be hand washed. But some of the stuff did get kind of stretched out. So don't also bring anything like you could be super attached to. A couple of the sweatshirts just got shrunk. Some of the socks ended up being like 10 miles long. I have no idea. But then also, and I don't know if this is this way everywhere, but they couldn't wash your undergarments. But they did provide washing stuff and those things typically dry quick. So just knowing for men and women, they couldn't wash undergarments because of their cultural stuff. That was a non-issue because they had washing
was a non-issue because they had washing powder in the bathroom. You just washed it in the sink and hung to dry.
Yeah, and they would have it back by the day or the next day. And so we would just kind of rotate these things out. And so I know a lot of people are like, wow, I couldn't have gone that many days on those amount of clothes. But honestly, it was no problem. It was really no problem in that, you know, using our packing cubes that we always mention. And, you know, having that duffel in a backpack with, you know, the other stuff. I mean, it really, it was easy and you don't want to have more stuff than that if you're moving every two or three days. Melissa and I both agree that this safari was
that this safari was hands down the best experience that we've ever had. From beginning to end, everything about this trip was amazing and something we will never We were told everything forget. about this trip was end, amazing and something we will never forget. We were told by people who have been on safaris before, it's almost impossible to do just one. You will be planning your next one while you're on this trip. So when we had dinner with Piper and Mark from McKay Africa after the trip, my first comment was, where are we going next? If you've been on a safari before, send me an email at scott at sunshinetravelers.com and let me know where you went and what kind of experience you had. We are always inspired by your travel stories. We hope you enjoyed this episode and found some inspiration to help you with your travel journeys. If you could take a moment to leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform, it would be greatly appreciated. Your five-star reviews help us get discovered by others and possibly featured on your favorite platform. Don't forget to follow or subscribe to our podcast to get notified of new episodes as they are released. You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook at Sunshine Travelers Podcast. Remember, that is Travelers with one L. Most importantly, please share it with your friends to help them catch the travel bug. You never know, they may become your greatest travel companion.
