500 Adrenaline Adventures (Frommer's) - Lois Friedland [143]
Projects Abroad: This company offers so many volunteer-based trips that it’s hard to focus on just one. For example, a trip to the Romanian countryside allows you to work with the History Museum of Brasov to investigate ancient Dacia and the medieval environs of Transylvania. You’ll be in and around archaeological sites in the Carpathian Mountains that have already yielded some remarkable information about the time of the infamous Vlad the Impaler, the supposed inspiration for Dracula. Volunteers may work on digs during the summer or assist with restoration work during the winter. 888/839-3535 in the U.S., 877/921-9666 in Canada; www.projects-abroad.org.
GlobeAware: GlobeAware offers lots of short-term (1 week) adventures in service that focus on cultural-awareness and sustainability. For example, you could spend a week helping with community projects in a tiny village that borders Costa Rica’s Carara Rainforest. The villagers here want to create sustainable community-based tourism. The specific project you’ll work on will be determined based on the community’s needs at the time you are there. Previous projects have included building pedestrian bridges, a recycling center, and a first-aid center. Other countries with adventure trips available include Mexico, Brazil, Nepal, and Laos. 877/LUV-GLOBE (588-4562); www.globeaware.org.
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Wildebeest Migration
The Last Mass Herd Migration on Earth
Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
No doubt about it, nature reigns in Kenya, and the annual wildebeest migration is its most spectacular show. Every year in June, more than a million wildebeest form a single herd and move from Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park toward Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve in search of greener pastures. By August or September, most of the animals have arrived and spread out to graze in the Mara. They fertilize the plains before making their way south in late October. This awe-inspiring event, Earth’s last remaining mass herd migration, lures countless adventure seekers and nature lovers who come to witness masses of animals moving to their own soundtrack of pounding hoofs and guttural grunts.
It’s seductive. As you wait for it, watching, your heart beats faster, your eyes open wider, and your ears hear more clearly. Your body tingles with anticipation. You pass a lone baobab tree. White morning glories dot the earth’s green canvas. And then suddenly you witness it—pure natural wonder. Throngs of wildebeest gallop past, followed by zebras and gazelles. Elephants wave their trunks up and down, rhythmically splashing themselves with red mud (a natural sunblock and bug repellent). A lion and lioness cuddle in open grassland. Hippos pop their heads in and out of water. Warthogs mate. Florescent birds gloat above the earth. Buffaloes graze. A predator attacks a weaker creature, pointed teeth pulling apart flesh, before a hyena comes by for leftover scraps.
To get the best overview of the animal kingdom, fly into Nairobi and out the next day. Spend as much time as possible outdoors in Masai Mara (Kenya’s most well known and popular game park), but also consider spending a few days exploring Amboseli National Park and Tsavo West National Park.
During most times of the year in Kenya, it’s hard to plan or promise things—largely because no one can control what animals you’ll see on your safari. The country’s poor roads and oft-delayed flights also tend to discourage precise timetables. But during the wildebeest migration, you’re pretty much guaranteed to spot wildebeests, zebras, and gazelles in the Mara. In fact, you’ll probably see most of the Big Five—elephant, lion, black rhino, and leopard—or even the Big Nine, which includes hippopotamus, zebra, giraffe, and cheetah, plus hundreds of birds.
The best kinds of accommodations for a safari in Kenya are tent camps