Masai Mara MadnessWoken up at 3.30 am, absolutely dead, to have breakfast in time for leaving at 4.30am. The journey from Narok to the Game Park took about 2 hours on what can only be described as the Highway to Hell. This so called “road” filled the bus with death dust which stuck to everything. While we were being suffocated our organs felt like they were exploding from the rollercoaster ride of the road. We arrived at the gate at about 7am were we expected to pick up an armed ranger. This did not happen and we went in with our strong hearts. Animals were not in short supply, wherever you looked there was something strolling about. Wildebeest, Zebra, Elephants, Lions, Gazelles, Vultures, Hippos, Ostriches, Monkeys and Giraffes. It was an incredible experience seeing animals we normally see in cages. Half way round the park, our trusted bus lost its battle yet again and died not far from lions. Our heroic bus driver Jon, also known as DJ, hopped off and hacked away at the wheel arch as the axel had slipped making the wheel rub against the wheel arch. Seeing DJ bend and tear his bus down was extremely emotional, I’m sure we all shed a private tear for him. His efforts were successful and we continued on and approached the border between Kenya and Tanzania. All it consisted of was a rock like statue with the letters ‘T’ and ‘K’. After a few photos we got back on the bus and headed for Hippo Lake.Hippo Lake must have contained about 40 plus Hippos kicking it in the sun. On approaching the lake there was sign that said do not approach without an armed guard, as the Hippos would charge, apparently. We then came across the river separating Tanzania and Kenya. This is where the largest migration of Wildebeest happens every year. There was a smell of rotting carcasses which we soon discovered was 5 Wildebeest that had been taking by the river and had drowned, left to decompose in the sun with vultures tearing at them. The smell was a mix of rotten meat, with a sprinkle of gym locker room and a hint of good old country smellage left to stew on the African sun. We had a quick toilet break at the border and got close up to some monkeys that were very curious of us. It was then lunch time and we left the Game Park to go to a local hotel where we found our Ranger. We then went for a hunt for crocodiles with the ranger, but they had been scared away by some fearless cows. We then decided it was time to head back to Narok, but before that the bus had to be fixed. On the way back DJ stopped at a garage where we stayed for about an hour and attracted some of the local Masai kids. Once the bus had been seen to we headed back to Narok. About 30 minutes after leaving the garage the bus battery failed and we were stuck in the middle of a savannah. Luckily DJ the Magnificent worked his magic and the bus rose again. We arrived back in Narok at about 10 where we immediately went to bed after a 20 hour day. Signing off once again in the safety of our guest house in Narok. Peace and Jam.Callum & Jon