a lioness about to make her kill

I’m on a 15 hour flight back from Nairobi, Kenya. It was an incredible trip there and to Zanzibar, Tanzania as well with a group of friends. For a few days in Kenya, we also flew to Masai Mara National Reserve to safari.

The itinerary said:

Nov 28 (Mon)

11:10am arrive Mara Olkiombo Airstrip

12.30pm lunch @ camp

3pm afternoon visit to Masai Village (hosted)

4pm game drive (optional)

7-9pm dinner @ camp

What I know now is that time you get in a jeep in Masai Mara, it is a game drive. The moment you leave the Olkiombo Airstrip, you are off roading and on a game drive. To add extra adventure, our Jeep wouldn’t start at first. Our guide had to pop the hood and reconnect some wires before we got going. (Keep this in mind).

Our group landed in Masai Mara at 11:30 and at noon, I was taking pictures of topi and zebras. At 12:34 (lunchtime at the camp based on the itinerary) I have a video of a lioness’s failed attempt to kill a topi for her lunch. Less than 10 mins later, the most terrifying part of the trip happened.

For context, our guide is a Maasai man name Jamlick and he is alllllll about you getting the best pictures and videos. He will literally throw caution to the wind for you to get that shot.

Another lioness was spotted with her eye on a warthog family. We watched her go in for the kill and the warthog family took off, but 2 of the babies ran in a different direction than its parents and that lioness got her lunch. Jamlick is determined to get us up close to the lioness with her kill. So in this open top/open sides jeep that I am in, he takes off at top speed, to follow the lioness into this huge bush, that also happens to go into a steep ditch. Jamlick rams the jeep into this bush to get closer to the lioness. The bush is as tall as the jeep so he’s ramming through full on 8-10 foot tall twigs and branches. Branches that are snapping and falling into the sides of our jeep.

And you know what happens next right?

The jeep gets stuck in the bush’s ditch.

And you know what happens next right?

The jeep shuts down again. Just like at the airstrip, after a couple of cranks, the engine won’t turn over.

A JEEP I AM IN, WILL NOT START IN A BUSH DITCH DOUBLE MY HEIGHT WITH A LIONESS THAT JUST KILLED A BABY WARTHOG.

This is happening at 12:45pm when the itinerary says I’m supposed to be at the camp eating lunch.

Jeanita: can we close the side windows of the jeep so the lion can’t get in. Jamlick says no. ( I actually asked him at the airport could we put the windows up if we felt uncomfortable and he told me that is a “Big No”.

Jeanita: can we walkie someone and tell them we are stuck in a ditch with a lion. Jamlick is outside trying to fix the jeep says hold on. We text our group of friends like come back we are stuck.

Jeanita: praying like she’s never prayed before not to die in a bush ditch with a lioness like one of the people you hear about on TV.

Jamlick gets out of the jeep, to pop the hood and restart the jeep. It takes him several attempts to get the engine to turn over. Then it takes him several more attempts to ram, in reverse, out of the bush ditch.

At 1:10 we arrive at the camp and they offer us welcome juices to which most ask for a shot of alcohol to be added. They oblige us.

We learn later many drivers will not go off road and getting out of the jeep for any reason is a huge no. One of the other drivers said if a jeep is stuck they will use another jeep to ramp the front of it to get it out but no one would get out of the jeep.

I am afraid of just about every animal possible. Going into this trip I believed I would opt out of most of the optional game drives and stay at the camp. After going to the Maasai village and meeting some of the people and talking more with Jamlick, I have a better understanding. The Maasai have a relationship and respect with the wild life of Masai Mara. They are alert and prepared to handle the animals, but they also know “Don’t start none won’t be none”. Their ability to articulate and demonstrate how they live amongst animals everyday and have a respect for their life oddly put me at ease.

Okay, not “ease” but made me feel better and not really in harm’s way.

Of course I am linked with the Maasai driver that has the actual heart and bravery of a lion. By request, he was our driver for the remainder of the trip. As it turned out, I opted into the other “optional” game drives and they were amazing. Thanks to Jamlick, we saw all 5 of the Big 5 animals in Masa Mara. Often, it takes several times out over days, weeks, or trips even to see all 5. We saw:

Day one:

African Elephants (at sunset no less)

Cape buffalo (drove through a large herd of them)

Leopard (up in a tree at sunset with a kill)

Lions (sleeping, making kills, and well the bush ditch)

Day two:

Rhinoceros!

There are a total of 35 in all of Masa Mara and we found three: One alone hiding in a large field of bushes. ( of course Jamlick drove into the bushes to get as close as we could without scaring it off). The other 2 were together and were also shy about coming out of the bush, but after patiently waiting they both came out and we got the photos and videos.

Sleeping in a tent, hearing Hippos make all kinds of noise all through the night, meeting a Maasai tribe in their village, hot air ballooning at sunrise, countless laughs and memories with friends are experiences in Masai Mara that I will never forget.