By
Holly Foat, responsibletravel.com
It was nearly six years ago that when I was asked what my ideal job would be and I replied ‘I’d love to work for the BBC on Big Cat Diary’. It wasn’t the best response considering I was in an interview for a telemarketing job, but last week, there I was, six years later in the Masai Mara watching a cheetah stalking a Thompson’s gazelle.
OK, I don’t work for the BBC but the cheetah was a matter of metres away and the thrill of sitting silent, in the pouring rain, watching the cheetah’s muscles twitch as it hunched down ready to hunt was exactly, if not better than I’d dreamt. I didn’t know at the time but the Big Cat Live team must have arrived in Kenya about the same time as I did. It’s probably for the best that I didn’t see them or star struck I might have embarrassed myself.
Kenya is still suffering from low tourist numbers after the civil unrest earlier this year put many travellers off visiting this beautiful country. Sadly, Kenya Wildlife Services who look after the national parks such as the Masai Mara are dependent on the tourist dollars to finance staff and fund conservation of the amazing wildlife they protect. As the Big Cat Live team have shown, there is more to a safari that the big five. Although impressive, some of the most magnificent animals in Kenya are overlooked by the big five spotter’s checklist. My Masai guide was a bit of a bird enthusiastic and thanks to his sharp eyes we saw eagles, hornbills, sunbirds and a whole array of beautiful coloured starlings that we could have easily overlooked whilst looking for the bigger animals. Two of my personal highlights was spotting a family of mongoose as they disappeared into the bushes and seeing a serval, which is a not-so-big cat but is equally as beautiful as a leopard or cheetah.
Another must whilst in the Masai Mara is of course seeing the Masai. We were very privileged to be able to visit a Masai village, share a barbequed goat with some Masai men, sing and dance with the Masai women and even have a jumping competition with the Masai men. It is very easy to get focused on the wildlife in Kenya but it is the people who have made and protected this wonderful environment. The Masai people were all so friendly and welcoming, and so proud of their culture and with good reason. Oxfam have recently said that the Masai way of life is a perfect example of how to farm in desert and scrubland; a real lesson to us all as we face the threat of climate change. With such amazing people and ten percent of the land conserved by national parks status, Kenya is a great place to visit and eye opener to an alternative way of life.
To find out more about similar holidays, take a look at our
Kenya safaris
To experience big cats for yourself, check out our
African big cat safaris
Why not visit the
Koiyaki Guiding School, as featured on the BBC's Big Cat Live programme?
Or see the famous Mara on one of our
Masai Mara safaris here
