Christmas is a much anticipated holiday steeped with traditions; extended family, piles of presents, cheery music, special holiday sweets, and the frezy-like state created from the reminders of the upcoming holiday everywhere you turn.   All these combine to create what our kids know as “Christmas”.  There are many ways to celebrate the holiday but I think there is one universal, no one wants to have a disappointed kid on Christmas.   Yet I was nervous about that ever-present possibility given that we wouldn’t have any of our normal “ingredients” this year.  So I thought why even try to compete with such a longstanding tradition: why not just simply change the playing field entirely?  Choosing to do something completely foreign and totally unforgettable seemed to be a surefire recipe to allow even the most unique of Christmas experiences to be declared a success.   Unfortunately Christmas time is pretty much “high season” everywhere causing prices to soar.  Luckily our first pick, Maji Moto Maasai Cultural Camp in Kenya, maintains standard prices all year round.  A week learning about  the Maasai, a tribe of semi-nomadic people inhabiting Kenya and Tanzania,  including a couple of days of game drives and some warrior training, seemed to fit our needs perfectly.  

The two days of game drives in an pop-topped safari vehicle was a great start.

We felt truly lucky to spot so many animals but seeing as we were accompanied by, Salaton, a Maasai Chief with a lifetime of experience living in the bush,  perhaps it wasn’t a matter of luck at all.  

We had seen many animals in Samburu with Elephant Watch the week prior and Maasai Mara worked out to be the perfect complimentary game drive as we saw an array of different animals and the scenery was taken right out of the The Lion King. 

With just the slightest bit of imagination, one can envision oneself a part of the herd.  We are in very close proximity to these gracious, enormous animals.  They are fully aware of our presence but are not spoked since the Samburu guides leading us can understand many of their actions and noises and act accordingly, making the elephants completely comfortable with our being there.  

One elephant slowly and completely scratches his neck and trunk against a large tree branch.  In the silence we hear the rough sound of his skin rubbing along the bark and clearly see his contentment.