The soul-searing great thing about the Masai Mara burned via each expectation I had. Shaped via a long time of books, motion pictures and documentaries – and maybe even a portray or two – I had an image in my thoughts’s eye that was immediately insufficient. What the Masai Mara Nationwide Reserve in Kenya awoke in me, left me breathless.
The acquainted reference to nature that I at all times felt after I frolicked within the bush was nonetheless there. However, like every little thing within the Masai Mara, I felt extra expansive and extra uncovered. My coronary heart was laid naked within the huge golden savanna and infinite blue skies, the place a few of Africa’s most imposing creatures roam freely. Because the solar dipped beneath the horizon, it hung impossibly shut, igniting the sky in a fiery palette of colors extra vibrant than any sundown I may recall.
Sport Viewing
A delight of lions laze within the golden mild, their tawny coats gleaming towards the vivid grass. Elegant giraffes browse on the best leaves, their lengthy necks swaying like pendulums. A herd of elephants, sensible and historic, trumpet their greetings throughout the grasslands.
The Mara River snakes via the panorama, and the view conjures up an impression of the Nice Migration – of a thundering stampede of over two million wildebeest and zebra, of tension-filled river crossings, and of the fixed drama of predator-prey interactions. That is, undoubtedly, the Masai Mara – a spot the place the wild whispers your identify and the rhythm of Africa beats in your coronary heart.
One other rhythm beckons as we arrive at JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge. The mud swirls across the warriors’ toes as they launch themselves into the air. This isn’t your common leaping competitors; the Adumu, a Maasai warrior dance, is as a lot about cultural delight as it’s about athletic prowess. This electrifying show is a blur of pink shukas and vibrant beads. Their chants and songs rise above the rhythmic thumps as every warrior strives to the touch the sky, pushing the boundaries of their energy and agility. After which, they invited us to affix the dance amid greetings of “Jambo!” and our hearts had been bursting once more.
The JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge
A brief stroll throughout the hanging bridge over the River Talek brings us to the JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge, which has a completely totally different magnificence. Thoughtfully designed to advertise well-being and a harmonious connection to the environment, your entire lodge is a examine in cosy opulence. From the wealthy textures and heat, pure colors used all through each area to the consideration given to each side of the visitor expertise, the JW Marriot Masai Mara Lodge exudes an air of quiet luxurious, consolation and, in fact, care.
After a scrumptious cocktail served beside the fireplace pit below the sprawling Fig Tree, we loved a luxurious meal at Sarabi Restaurant earlier than retiring to what was our sanctuary.
Tented Luxurious
The 20 tented rooms dotted alongside the riverbank are spacious, fantastically appointed and as near excellent as I’ve ever seen. The huge mosquito-netted custom-made mattress is made extra welcoming by the handwritten word on our pillow every evening, and the en suite rest room holds a treasure trove of facilities that elevate our day by day routines to rituals in self-care.
Our days had been stuffed with journey. From magnificent sport sightings to Maasai cultural experiences, from spa remedies to delectable lunches within the JW Backyard, on the Fig Tree Deck and below a lone tree within the majestic reserve, from a refreshing swim within the pool to a calming hour within the jacuzzi on our personal deck – all of it glided by too quick.
Photographic Safaris
And but, the JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge has devised an ingenious manner to make sure you’ll always remember your stick with them. Partnering with Canon, the Lodge affords photographic safaris replete with glorious cameras with telephoto lenses in addition to knowledgeable photographer who joins the sport drive and teaches you the right way to take higher pictures. In fact, they even provide help to edit your pictures for the very best outcomes.
Armed with stunning reminiscences of loving individuals, cheerful greetings, and the ever-present Maasai warrior to safeguard us towards an opportunity encounter with the resident wildlife, and, in fact, flash drives stuffed with the most effective wildlife pictures we’ve ever taken, we wished this particular place and the those who make it so all the most effective—or relatively, Sahau.
Ebook your keep at JW Marriott Masai Mara at www.marriott.com.
