The pilot landed, ticked you off his list, chucked your bag in, and off you went. If you were late, the plane waited for you.The flight over the Rift Valley and out on to the Masai plains, the ground below suddenly turning from a hilly brown to an endless rolling sea of green, must surely be one of the most beautiful in the world. Even before touching down, you understand that you have arrived somewhere truly special.I was there in time for the annual wildebeest migration, when 1.3 million wildebeest trek north from the Serengeti in Tanzania in search of fresh grass. The wildebeest are as big as cows, but in this landscape, and in these numbers, they seem more like insects. Unimaginable streams of them stretch ant-like to the horizon, while in front of you they honk, grunt and chomp. For the predators, the wildebeest are one vast, lumbering all-you-can-eat buffet At this time of year, you can barely move for lions. Unlike in Samburu, the vehicles are dispersed here over a sufficient area for the animals never to seem crowded.
Even without the game, it would be worth crossing the world to come here, so beautiful is the landscape.We travel, in part, to be humbled, to be reminded that the cities in which we live, where every convenience is to hand, where everything has been designed and constructed to meet human needs, is not the natural state of affairs. We visit colder, higher, wilder and scarier parts of the world to be reminded how small and vulnerable we are.There can be few places that issue this message as resoundingly as the African bush. I have climbed mountains that made me feel small, I have travelled through deserts that caused me to feel vulnerable, but I have never before stayed in any place where I knew that if I jumped over the nearest fence I'd be torn to shreds by wild animals and eaten before my corpse had cooled But the fence, nonetheless, is there, and it is electrified You are safe, but with a thrilling sense of danger. Douglas Coupland once wrote that, "adventure without risk is Disneyland". This notion applies interestingly to safaris.As the tourist industry expands, we want more adventure with less risk Safaris cater precisely to this demand. A safari is, in a sense, an adult Disneyland, where the creatures of our dreams come alive and cavort for our entertainment. That it is unscripted and unpredictable simply adds to the appeal This is not to denigrate the experience.
It is a marvellous thing that there is a place where we can go to find in ourselves the awe and wonder of a child.TRAVELLER'S GUIDEGETTING THEREThe writer travelled with Kenya Airways (01784 888222; www.kenya-airways ) and Heritage Hotels (00 254 20 444 6651; www.heritage-eastafrica ). Fares start at a mere P4 (4p) and destinations are displayed in the front windscreen. Alternatively, ride the elevated railway for P12 (12p) or take an air-conditioned cab (make sure you insist that the driver uses the meter). Treatments include body and beauty therapies and "healing and energy work" (reiki and acupuncture).
