It was a painstaking process to figure out where we could go during the pandemic to have our visas stamped for a new 90-day stay in South Africa. The restrictions were frustrating and prohibitive for many locations. Many countries couldn’t accommodate us under any circumstances.

After extensive research over the past few weeks, it was in the past week that we considered returning to Kenya. The last time we’d been there was in 2013 when we’d longed to experience our first photo safari in the Maasai Mara.

From this site:

“Maasai Mara, also sometimes spelled Masai Mara and locally known simply as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in Narok, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honor of the Maasai people, the ancestral inhabitants of the area, who migrated to the area of the Nile Basin. Their description of the area when looked at from afar: “Mara” means “spotted” in the local Maasai language, due to the many short bushy trees which dot the landscape.

Maasai Mara is one of the most famous and important wildlife conservation and wilderness areas in Africa, world-renowned for its exceptional populations of lion, African leopard, cheetah, and African bush elephant. It also hosts the Great Migration, which secured it as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, and as one of the Ten Wonders of the World.”

A few years ago, while in South Africa, we booked a fantastic tour in Kenya for which we’d prepaid the entire cost well in advance, at a then cost of ZAR 223225, US $15,000. It was only a few months later that I had to have emergency open-heart surgery when we were only days away from departure for the extraordinary experience.

On such short notice, we lost the bulk of the fare. Thanks to Louise for helping us get a partial refund while I was still in the hospital. We understood that the short-term cancellation had put the host of the tour in a tough spot when it was impossible for him to resell our spot on such short notice. We were grateful to get back the 30% she arranged for us.

But, it never left our minds what we missed on that trip. The one venue of most interest to us was a stay at Little Governor’s Camp in the Maasai Mara, Kenya. Nor, did it ever leave our minds how much we enjoyed many safaris/game drives in the Maasai Mara, unlike anywhere we’ve visited since that time in 2013.

At that time, we stayed at Camp Olonono another luxury tented camp where we had an extraordinary experience as we anticipate we will once again. We went out on two game drives each day and couldn’t have seen more wildlife than we did. At Little Governor’s Camp, we’ll embark on two game drives each day, hanging around the camp for what we hope will be a recurring experience that Little Governor’s Camp is known for, elephants visiting the resort/campgrounds, even at times, entering the dining area and picking food off the plates of the guests. Oh, gosh, this will be the epitome of “safari luck” if this occurs while we’re there.

Of course, as always, we’ll prepare ourselves the elephants may not stop by while we’re at the camp. Instead, we’ll revel in the outstanding experiences we’ll surely have while out on the game drives. If someone were to ask us how many times we’ve been out on photo safaris after all these years, it would have to be well over 100. We never tire of the experience.

We still have a lot to do to complete the requirements for this upcoming trip; apply for online e-Visas, apply online for the complicated COVID-19 form required for entry into Kenya, arrange for hotels on either end, get Covid-10 PCR tests before we depart South Africa and arrange a rental car for three months for our return.

So far, all we’ve done is book the multiple flights and book and pay in full for Little Governor’s Camp required this close to arrival time. The camp has arranged for our small-plane round-trip flight in and then out of the Maasai Mara from a small airport in Nairobi.

We’ll report back later as we work our way through the process of wrapping up the tasks required to complete this upcoming adventure. If we had to leave South Africa for this visa thing, we decided that doing something wonderful was the way to go. We’re both thrilled to have this figured out!

Today, we left the house while a few repairs were being made on our bush house. “Little” had made a massive hole in the screen door to the veranda, trying to get into the house and a ceiling panel in the master bedroom had started coming down after weeks of rain and humidity. While the workers were here, we drove around the park, taking some exceptional photos which we’ll begin sharing in tomorrow’s post. Also, we took exciting photos in the garden early this morning, which we also can’t wait to share.

See you here tomorrow! Have a great day!

Photo from one year ago today, March 3, 2020:

We loved this sign, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, for the Elderly & Beautiful.” For more photos, please click here.