GAME PARKS AND RESERVES

Maasai Mara National Reserve

Adjoining the Serengeti National Park of Tanzania, a land of undulating hills and rolling grasslands supporting a huge animal population, Maasai Mara National Reserve is one of East Africa's best-known game viewing areas. Often the casual visitor will be treated to the sight of a cheetah roaming the plains to run down its prey; a lion pride, numbering as many as 20, led by a handsome black-maned male; or a leopard devouring its kill in the lower branches of the sausage tree. Hundreds of hippopotamuses and crocodiles sun themselves on the banks of the Mara River. Elephants, Cape buffalos, giraffes, gazelles, and topis abound. And, from July to September, the wildebeest and zebra migrations overflow into Maasai Mara from Tanzania. Wildlife viewing in the early morning from a hot air balloon delights the eye. Accommodations vary from simple lodges to luxury camps and ranch homesteads.