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Background Information for the Instructor:

Maasai Mara:

Basic Facts
Size: 1,672 sq kms
Province: Rift Valley
District: Narok
Geographical Location: South - Western Kenya bordering Serengeti National Park, on the Tanzania border.
Altitude: 1,500-2,170m
Vegetation: Open grasslands with patches of acacia woodland, thickets, and riverine forests.
Fauna: In the dry season July-October) the reserve is a major concentration area of migratory herbivores including approximately 250,000 zebra and 1.3 million wildebeest. There are also gazelle, elephant, topi, buffalo, lion (Kenya's largest population), black rhino, hippo, hyena, giraffe, leopard, and mongoose.
Bird Life: Prolific, including 53 birds of prey.
Visitor Facilities: Several lodges and campsites.

Details
The Maasai Mara is Kenya's finest wildlife sanctuary. Everything about this reserve is outstanding. The wildlife is abundant and the gentle rolling grassland ensures that animals are never out of sight. Birds too are prolific, including migrant birds and 57 species of birds of prey.
The climate is gentle, rarely too hot and well spread rainfall year round. When it rains, its is almost always in the late afternoon or night. Between July and October, when the great wildebeest migration is in the Mara the sensation is unparalleled.
The wildlife is far from being confined within the Reserve boundaries and an even larger area, generally refered to as the 'dispersal area' extends north and east of the game Reserve. Maasai live within the dispersal area with their stock but centuries of close association with the wildllife has resulted in an almost symbiotic relationship where wildlife and people live in peace with one another.

The first sight of this park is breathtaking. Here the great herds of shuffling elephants browse among the rich tree-studded grasslands with an occasional sighting of a solitary and ill-tempered rhino, Thompson's and Grant's gazelle, topi and eland and many more species of plains' game offer a rich choice of food for the dominant predators; lion, leopard and cheetah which hunt in this pristine wilderness.
In the MaraRiver, hippo submerge at the approach of a vehicle only to surface seconds later to snort and grumble their displeasure. But this richness of fauna, this profusion of winged beauty and the untouched fragility of the lanscape, are all subordinate to the Mara's formost attraction, the march of the wildebeest.
After exhausting the grazing in Tanzania's northern SerengetiNational Park, a large number of wildebeest and zebra enter Masai Mara around the end of June drawn by the sweet grass raised by the long rains of April and May. It is estimated that more than half a million wildebeest enter the Mara and are joined by another 100,000 from the Loita hills east of the Mara. Driving in the midst of these great herds is an unimaginable experience.

Whilst the eyes feast on the spectacle, the air carries the smells, the dust and the sounds of hundreds of thousands of animals. There is nowhere else on earth to compare with this wildlife marvel. Once the Mara grass has been devoured and when fresh rain in Tanzania has brought forth a new flush there, the herds turn south, heading hundreds of kilometeres back to Serengeti and the Ngorongoro plains. there the young are dropped in time to grow sufficiently strong to undertake the long march north six months later.
Apart from the better known species, there are also other rare ones that can be added to the visitor's checklist. These include the roan antelope, the Bat-eared foxes and thousands of topi.
The combination of a gentle climate, scenic splendour and untold numbers of wildlife makes the Masai Mara National Reserve Kenya's most popular inland destination.

Transport
The main route into the Reserve is via Narok, on the main B3 road which leaves the old Nairobi - Naivasha road at Maai-mahiu. At Ewaso Ngiro, 15 kms beyond Narok, are a crossroads where the left branch forms the C12 to Keekorok via Sekenani Gate, tarred for a further 40 kms.The right branch forms the B3/C13 to Kichwa Tembo Lodge and Oloololo Gate. At Aitong, another track (the E177) branches off towards Keekorok via Talek Gate.
It is also possible to approach the park from Migori (on the main A1 Kisii - Tanzania road) via Lolgorien. The last section of this route is very steep and the road is seldom used. When driving in the park remember that only two bridges cross the MaraRiver which effectively divides the park into two: the northern MaraRiver bridge is near Kichwa Tembo lodge; the southern Mara bridge is on the E176 main park track between Oloololo Gate and Keekorok.
In terms of public transport, buses from Nairobi go as far as Narok, and private transport from there will have to be arranged. Arriving from the west, there are occasional buses to Lolgorien from Migori or Kisii.

Tours
Masai Mara National Reserve is presently one of Kenya's most popular safari destination. Most tour operators based in Nairobi offer excursions to Masai Mara. Some combine Masai Mara with visits to Ngorongoro crater and the Serengeti plains in neighbouring Tanzania. Tour operators specializing in Masai Mara National Reserve are Let's Go Travel, Kobo Safaris, Suntrek Tours & Travels, East African Wildlife Safaris and Safari Camp Services.

Lodging
There are many lodging options in and around Masai Mara National Reserve. In the reserve itself, options include: the Mara Sarova Camp with 150 beds; the Mara Sopa Lodge with 144 beds; the Mara Serena Lodge with 152 beds; the Keekorok Lodge with 158 beds; Governor's Camp with 76 beds; Little Governor's Camp with 34 beds; and the Mara Intrepids Club with 60 beds.
On the periphery of the Reserve, lodging includes: the Fig Tree Camp with 140 beds; the Kichwa Tembo Camp with 102 beds; Sekanani Camp with 30 beds; and Ol Kurruk Lodge with 38 beds.
Lodging located in the game dispersal areas include: the Mara Safari Club with 80 beds; the Mpata Club with 20 cottages; the Mara River Camp with 52 beds; the Siana Springs Camp with 76 beds; Oseur Camp with 44 beds; and the Mara Paradise Lodge with 156 beds.

Camping
Approximately 25 campsites are located in the Masai Mara Reserve area, but no single map produced by the Reserve or elsewhere marks them all. Officially, all campsite reservations have to made at the National Parks headquarters at the main (Langata Road ) Gate of Nairobi National Park, but in practice you can arrive at any public site without prior booking. If you require a special campsite, check with the Nairobi Headquarters first or contact the warden at the park directly at P.O. Box 60, Narok.
An effective government plan allows for the Masaai to earn income from campers who stay at campsites within the Reserve. Campers usually pay at one of the gates for the number of nights staying at a campsite while they pay local Masaai for the costs of a guard, firewood and any other requirements at the sites themselves.
A non-exhaustive list of the campsites in and around the reserve include: Crocodile Camp, a private campsite just outside the reserve; the Oloololo Gate Campsite near the gate of the same name; the Mara Serena Lodge Campsite, located west of the Mara River near the lodge; the Talek River Campsites (10 of them), near the Talek River just outside of the Reserve boundary; the Mara River Campsites (4 of them), in a Masaai concession outside the Reserve; the Musiara Gate Campsite, next to the gate of the same name; the Talek Gate Campsite on the nort bank of the Talek River; the Sekenani Gate Campsites (4), about 0.5 kms before the Gate; the Naunerri Campsite, 3 kms from Sand River Gate; the Sand River Gate Campsite; and the Fig Tree Campsite, west of the Talek Gate Campsite

PICTURES AND MAPS

The Great Rift Valley:

The red line on this map shows the eastern and western faults of the Great Rift Valley, which travels 4,500 miles from southern Africa, under the Red Sea, and into Syria in southwestern Asia.

Peru: