> Day 38, Part 1 – Leaving Sweetwaters

We were up at 5:30, had breakfast at 6:30 and we were off on a game drive by 7:30am. We’re leaving Sweetwaters today. I’m going to miss the tent.

Reuben headed off to an area along the back of the Reserve with hopes of finding one of the shy Rhinoceros. Black Rhinos, we’ve been told, are very shy and are somewhat hard to find in the wild. Our experience sure proved otherwise! While we weren’t able to get right up next to it, we were able to see a Black Rhino from a reasonable distance and drive along a parallel path as it walked (see photos below). And then we came upon a White Rhino. This particular White Rhino is named ‘Max’ (right). Max somehow came under the care of the Conservancy and now he’s used to educate people about Rhinos. He goes into a pen every night but he’s let out every day to do as he pleases. He was impressive, but nothing will top the Rhino experience I had a few years ago at the San Diego Wild Animal Park when I got to feed and pet an Indian Rhinoceros and then her baby sucked apple pulp off of my hand! Now that was ‘up close and personal’!



Incidentally, Black Rhinos are not actually black, nor are White Rhinos white. The word white in the name "White Rhinoceros" derives from the Afrikaans word for "wide" rather than the color white. The White Rhino has a wide mouth and the translation mistake resulted in the species being called “white” instead of “wide”. To differentiate the species with a narrow pointed mouth, the name ‘Black Rhinoceros’ was chosen.

After seeing Zebras, Giraffes, Gazelles, Cape Buffaloes, Wart Hogs, and several interesting birds, we set out for the airstrip. I was so excited! We were about to get on a small propeller plane that would take us to the famous Maasai Mara.

After watching a few small planes come and go, our plane arrived. I expected to see some people get off, but no one did. We said our final good-byes to Reuben, handed our bags to the pilot (who was opening the luggage compartment under the plane) and hopped on. There were 2 empty seats in the back and we settled in.



I had a much more keen awareness of flying in that little Cessna 208 than in larger commercial jets. There were 5 rows of seats, including the pilot and co-pilot. I listened to African drum music on my IPod and stayed glued to the window. We passed over some reserves and other undeveloped land, and lots of farms. And then we got to the Maasai Mara. It was hundreds of acres of flat land. There were thousands of dots on the ground. As we flew lower I could make out the animals that were those thousands of dots… Elephants, Wildebeests, Gazelles, Zebras… Suddenly I found myself experiencing one of those moments in your life that you know you will never forget. Seeing all of those animals in their natural habitat, flying in a small plane close enough to the ground to be able to distinguish the various herds, infused with the drum music... It hit me that I am, at long last, fulfilling my number one life's dream of going on Safari to Africa… I was overcome with happiness! What an amazing place to see!

We landed on a tiny, nothing-of-a-thing strip of packed dirt. I was beside myself with excitement. The scenery was fantastic! We grabbed our bags, found our driver (it wasn’t hard – there were only a couple of vehicles parked at the end of the landing strip) and we set out for our next adventure.

(See all photos from Sweetwaters in the photo album.)


Airstrip at Maasai Mara and Landscape