The Maasai people are a large pastoral community living along the Great Rift Valley of Kenya and Tanzania. While their exact origins are unknown, Maasai are strongly independent people who still value tradition and ritual as an integral part of their day to day live. They regard themselves not just as residents of the area but that they are as much a part of the life of the land as the land is part of their lives. Traditionally, the Maasai rarely hunt and living alongside wildlife in harmony is an important part of their beliefs. Lions and Wildebeest play an important a role in their cultural beliefs as their own herds of cattle.

This unique co-existence of man and wildlife makes this Maasai land one of the world’s most unique wilderness regions. At the heart of the

Maasai Mara Game Reserve,

it’s widely considered to be Africa’s greatest wildlife reserve. The Mara comprises 200 sq miles of open plains, riverine forest, and woodlands. Contiguous with the plains of the Serengeti (Serengeti National Park), Maasai Mara is home to a breathtaking array of life. The vast grassland plains are scattered with herds of Zebra, Giraffe, Gazelle, and Topi. The Acacia forests abound with Birdlife and Monkeys, Elephants and Buffalo.

The Mara and Talek rivers are ever brimming with Hippos and Crocodiles. Each year the Mara plays host to the world’s greatest natural spectacle, the Great Wildebeest Migration from Serengeti National Park, starting from July to October, the promise of rain and fresh life giving grass in the north brings more than 1.3 million Wildebeest together into a single massive herd. They pour across the border into the Mara, making a spectacular entrance in a rising and falling column of life that stretches from horizon to horizon.

At the Mara River they mass together on the banks before finally plunging forward through the raging waters, creating passion as they fight against swift currents and waiting crocodiles. The wildebeest bring new life to the Mara, not just through their cycle of regeneration of the grasslands, but for the predators that follow the herds. Maasai Mara has been called the Kingdom of Lions and these regal and powerful hunters dominate these grasslands. Cheetahs are also a common sight in the Mara, as are Hyena and smaller predators such as Jackals.

Maasai Mara is an awesome natural wonder, a place where Maasai warriors share the plains with hunting lions, a place of mighty herds and timeless cycles of life, death, and regeneration. Mara is probably the best serviced of all Kenyan Parks and Reserves with a wide range of Accommodation for any budget. The Reserve is a popular attraction, the reserve is ideal for game drives, and some lodges and camps offer good accommodation walks and balloon safaris.

Sojourn in Samburu Kenya

In today’s fast paced and ever changing environment, holidaying should and must be an integral part to our lives. Though there are no known studies that can shade light to this hypothesis, I cannot but share a few of my personal observations on the healing value of taking a holiday.

For a long time, holidays have been used by individuals or families to reinvigorate their relationships, express affection and affirm their love or even break monotony. It is without doubt that holiday memories last a life time and bring us closer to a loved one in a special way.

Men need rest, enjoyment, and change of routine. Therefore we cannot easily ignore the importance of holiday, which has all the three ingredients. It alleviates anxiety of workload and takes away from hectic environment of office.

Holiday is a ‘proper feed’ of the mind and gives it ‘proper resting place’ and ‘timeout’. A day off from school or office is indeed a godsend opportunity.

In general a holiday gives a feeling of continuity, comfort, and security for everyone – especially children. The escapade pulls a family together by providing a sense of belonging. Family beliefs and values are taught and strengthened as children see the importance of friendship, family unity and to an extent sharing.

Lets take a look at some of the remedial benefits of going on a holiday.

• Preparing for the Holiday

When you even start thinking of going on holiday a series of activities happens to your mind. There is a remarkable positive change in individuals who are prospecting to go on holiday. There is a general ‘feel good’ attitude around them and this can easily be noticed on their beaming faces or body language. You can easily pick out someone like that. A feeling of excitement and expectation sets in when we construe the idea of a holiday. This general – feel good attitude – sets the pace as the whole body embraces the opportunity for a break on routine. An individual in this state of mind tends to be more productive in their daily chores as they look forward to holiday.

• While on Holiday

Now that you are actually on holiday, the feel good attitude grows as your expectation of experiencing a new environment continues.

i)        A relaxed mind is a factory of ingenuity: It is a common experience that a puzzling thought finds answers when we are not literally working on it. This underpins the importance of rest and enjoyment for gaining a valuable insight into a situation. Correctly said, “The time that we enjoy wasting, is not wasted.”

ii)       Holidays allow people to reconnect: For example, a married couple found a renewed feeling of togetherness when faced with a break in routine and had to explore each others feelings anew. The holidays allowed them to be together and see a new perspective of each other as they engaged in new activities.

iii)     Freedom from our structured lives: Holidays simply imply freedom! One traveler put it this way, “My daily life is very structured. My job is very structured as well. And in my home, all the domestic duties also bring a lot of structure with them. It s good to leave all of that behind for a while, to see other people and things, to get out of this situation of discipline for a change and to broaden my horizon, to see that there is something outside my home.”

iv)     Experience a different Social Behavior: Holidays in groups also allow us the opportunity to engage in different behavior and to experiment with different social roles. One could be a tourist, an enthusiast of other cultures, or a hiker etc. Travelers develop skills that they had not often used in daily life, such as speaking foreign languages, using organizational talents, plotting routes on maps, or collecting information about their new environment on the Internet. This provides them with memories to cherish and gives them the opportunity to develop skills and possible repertoires of behavior, which aided them in imaging different lifestyles.

v)      Stirs Imagination: When holidaying especially in far off places we encounter new experiences in culture. We also experience new ways of addressing similar situations we encounter back at home. This stirs our imagination to such alternative futures. This puts our daily lives in a new perspective and allows us to reflect on our daily routines and possibly redefine our approach on life.

vi)     Enrichment of life: Finally, holidays bring enrichment to life because of the enjoyment provided. With passion the travelers eat different food, engage in new activities and momentarily experience the luxuries or hardships of this world.

• After The Holiday

After the holiday time is spent, it is now time to return home. The feel good attitude continues as the prospect of sharing in your experiences with friends and loved ones sets in:

i)        Bringing back souvenirs reinforces existing relations

ii)       Bringing fresh perspective to our normal routines.

iii)     You can notice when a person has been on a trip, because he or she is much more cheerful than an ordinary person. One traveler put it this way: “I get inspiration to do things. I clean the house. I get to do a lot of things.”

A short tale would elaborate on the importance of taking a break from your routine: A man was busy cutting a tree with his saw. He was sweating and he spent a long time cutting the tree because his saw was not sharp. A passerby asked him to sharpen his saw at which the woodcutter replied, “Don’t you see old man, I am busy cutting this tree and I do not have time.” The old man replied smilingly, “If you take few minutes to sharpen your saw, you would be able to cut it in less time without more energy.”

It can be concluded that holiday is important for us for the reason of change from monotonous routine, provisioning of enjoyment and tool of ensuring efficiency.

George writes for Edge east Africa safaris an East African Destination Management Company.

Important Links:  Kenya Safari Guide, Tanzania Safari Guide, Zanzibar Holiday Guide, Uganda Safari Guide and Laikipia Safari