Monday 5th September 2016: We leave for our game drive at 6.30 this morning, returning for breakfast at 8.30. As we leave we go past an old lodge which was built in the 70's, but before it was opened the underground water had risen making it uninhabitable - the baboons are the current residents. Because it is in the National Park and the rules don't allow anyone to live in the park, it can't even be offered to the local peoples. We are in Maasai country, these are basically nomadic people. Around the hotel there are Maasai in traditional dress acting as security, keeping the monkeys and baboons away from the houses and eating places - we don't actually see many of them.

As we drive we see herds of zebra, literally hundreds, the green areas are in the lower areas and this is always a good place to see animals - inbetween it is very flat, dry and dusty. We are lucky to see a hyena family with Cubs and a lion 'pose' on a rock for us - there will be photos of other things - flamingoes taking flight just a beautiful pink haze.





 At 10am we leave to visit a Maasai Village - in a stony dry dusty place. We are met by Coco, a warrior in traditional dress, welcomed by dancers then a prayer is shared and then we are taken into the circular compound of the village. The outer circle is made of bramble bushes to keep out the wildlife, then a circle of huts, then an inner circle of brambles to form an enclosure for the cattle, goat, sheep and donkeys at night. The huts are made of mud made from cow dung and there is one hut for each wife as they practise polygamy - Coco has two wives. There are 375 people living here with 4 Chiefs. The Maasai tribes are only found in Kenya and Tanzania and the countries border each other. There are 4 Chiefs, who deal with tribal and Govt issues, 40 Council Elders, who are picked by the Chiefs and act as judges (people get fined in cows), educators (preparing men to be warriors) and organise ceremonies. Warriors: police role - keep wildlife away and keep the peace. You have to be circumcised to be a warrior and this happens at 16-18 years of age - girls are also circumcised, but the Govt is trying to outlaw this. The main diet is milk, blood and meat - they only use the blood from cows and it is taken from the neck area the same way we give blood - they mix it with milk or cook it to a jelly. We had a run down on the various bush medicines used and were all amused by their form of Viagra, but only men with 3 or more wives were allowed to take it - created a bit of mirth - Coco was laughing with us. We were shown how to make a fire with dung and two sticks, taken through one of the huts and they had some of their wares for sale.
 
Coco's footwear is made out of old tyres, very hardy and comfortable - usually only the professional dancers have elongated ear lobes with things hanging from them - not allowed when they are at school. Education is compulsory, they are primary schooled here and then board away to go to college. Just outside the compound we are taken to a proper building which is the kindergarten with a male teacher. The kids are gorgeous, but there are only chairs, a couple of desks and a blackboard that we can see. They sing songs for us in English and we return the favour "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' with actions, which highly amuses them.



 At lunch there is a zebra walking up and down the fence making a terrible noise - crying they tell us because her baby was taken by a hyena last night. At 4 we go on another game drive - the snow covered top of Mount Kilomanjiro comes into view amongst the clouds - it is actually in Tanzania, but Kenya has the view. We go up the only hill around to a lookout over the park and can pick the distinct green areas and the treeless plains - it used to all be covered in trees, but now has a big salt problem as well. This is the first year they have had flamingos here and there are thousands of them it seems.
 
Alex our driver tells us on the way back that a Maasai warriors mother picks his first two wives and then he can pick his third - Alex isn't a Maasai, but he said he picked his wife and that is why he only has one - got what he wanted the first time.