Safari

No trip to Africa would be complete if it didn’t come with a few elephants and lions so this weekend we journeyed to Fairmont Mara Safari Club on the edge of the famous Masai Mara Game Reserve. The Tenwek hospital coordinators have arranged a deeply discounted rate at this five-star resort for their visiting staff to go for the weekend so our motley crew of a pediatrician, internist, neurologist, two surgeons, wives, toddlers, and car seats made the trek across the African plains.

It started with a long, dusty, hot car journey over dirt ‘roads’ on Friday morning. Although it is only 60 Km, the trip took 3.5 hours. We arrived for lunch and were greeted with cool, eucalyptus-scented washcloths and fresh mango juice. After a delicious lunch of pumpkin curry and grilled snapper, we jumped aboard our personal open-air safari jeep and set out across the vast grasslands. After an impressive blown tire and a team change that the best pit team would be proud of, we saw elephants, gazelles, giraffes, cape buffalo, zebras, lions, and warthogs. The scenery was spectacular and quite surreal in stark contrast to our usual surroundings at the hospital. We came home for an excellent dinner of lamb chops and grilled vegetables before heading off to our tent—a luxurious canvas room with marble bathroom and private veranda.

Saturday started with a wake-up call by Salim, our personal room attendant, who brought coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and shortbread biscuits. We were out in the jeeps by 6:30 for our pre-breakfast drive where we came across a fresh leopard kill 20ft high in a tree. We also saw a walk of giraffes and a breeding group of Thompson gazelles. Breakfast was made-to-order omelets and fresh pastries with lots of local fresh fruit. I then traded my safari clothes for a bathing suit and lounged at the pool while the rest of the group headed out to a local Masai village to experience some African culture. Lunch was followed by another afternoon game drive where we saw a cheetah mom with her newborn kitten and rhinos! Dinner was an authentic African barbecue before heading back to the tents for a much needed shower and sleep.

Our last drive was Sunday morning where we happened upon lions basking in the sun, hyenas, and ostriches as well as the now ‘ordinary’ herds of elephants, giraffes, and gazelles. Breakfast, packing, and home from whence we came. Now I just need to get in my 17 mile marathon-training run before dinner and bed. Back to the hospital in the morning where I have a whole day of cases in the OR with our visiting pediatric and neurosurgeons before being on-call tomorrow night. Never a dull moment over here in Kenya!