I was lucky to be part of the team that took Jetways Airline’s Inaugural flight to Maasai Mara National Reserve at the onset of the great migration this year.
Jetways Airlines Limited is a Kenyan registered airline company based at Wilson Airport, Nairobi. They are fully licensed to operate scheduled, non-scheduled and ad hoc air charter services in Kenya and the greater East and Central African region.
[bctt tweet=”Jetways Airlines Limited is a Kenyan registered airline company based at Wilson Airport, Nairobi. They are fully licensed to operate scheduled, non-scheduled and ad hoc air charter services in Kenya and the greater East and Central African region. ” username=””]
If you have been wondering where you and your friends can get a private plane for an exclusive excursion, the don’t say I didn’t tell you the airline to speak to.
A Jetways Airline plane.
Crew.
Some of their other services include ACMI lease, Cargo Delivery,Evacuation flights, private charter and relief services.
On that day, I had a breakfast meeting in the morning in Westlands, finished up and headed to Wilson Airport, flew to the Mara, had lunch at Sun Africa Hotels’ Keekorok Lodge, went for a three hour game drive and was right in time for the 7:00 pm news bulletin.
[bctt tweet=”On that day, I had a breakfast meeting in the morning in Westlands, finished up and headed to Wilson Airport, flew to the Mara, had lunch at Sun Africa Hotels’ Keekorok Lodge, went for a three hour game drive and was right in time for the 7:00 pm news bulletin.” username=””]
If you want to get away but you have a busy schedule that can not afford you a few days off,then without a doubt, break fast in Nairobi,lunch at the Mara and an evening business meeting in Nairobi might just be all you need!
The experience
Having gone to the Maasai Mara before by road, it took me about six hours to get there. The state of the road did not make it any easier! By the time I was getting to the park,I was too tired to go for an evening game drive. The idea that that same trip would take less than an hour was everything I needed to hear at that point.
Less than an hour to the Mara? Lets go!
The plane was spacious, clean and service was above average. I did not realize how dozens of tourist throng The Mara on a daily basis until we got to the airstrip that was right inside the pack and found another airline had just landed minutes before us, and dozens of vans were ferrying tourists to their hotels.
Landing at Keekorok Aistrip.
Keekorok Airstrip.
Warm welcome by traditional Maasai dancers.
Business was booming for the locals. Maasai Mara National Reserve is not under the management of Kenya Wildlife Service. Narok County government manages the most visited eastern part of the park while Trans-Mara County Council oversees the western part commonly known as Mara Triangle.
Being a national reserve,a huge chunk of the service providers are the local Maa people.
I was quite intrigued to see how they were still deep in their culture that they even delivered their professional services clad in their traditional regalia.Highlight of the arrival was a warm hearty welcome by the Maasai’s.
The chants were something else! At some point I forgot the mission of the day and wanted to dance with the Maasai forever. They were so friendly and kind.
[bctt tweet=”I was quite intrigued to see how the Maasai at The Mara were still deep into their culture that they even delivered professional services clad in their traditional regalia.” username=””]
Me and my men.
Can you imagine I was given an original Maasai shawl?
Lunch at Keekorok Lodge
After the eventful reception on arrival, we proceeded Keekorok Lodge.
Keekorok Lodge.
Keekorok lodge was as busy as its airstip with lots of check-ins. The fact that the migration was weeks away to its climax, there must have been other reasons why the lodge was so busy.
[bctt tweet=”Keekorok lodge was as busy as its airstrip with lots of check-ins. The fact that the migration was weeks away to its climax, there must have been other reasons as to why the lodge was so busy. ” username=””]
check-ins at Keekorok Lodge.
The receptionist was so welcoming, knowledgeable and spoke fluent Swahili, English and other foreign languages. He gave me all the reasons to look forward to the rest of the day. They say you don’t need a second chance to make a good first impression.
This guy made me feel so at home.
There are so many lodges you can choose from at The Mara. But having tried and tested (and tasted too haha) Keekorok, without a doubt I would highly recommend it to anyone who is visiting The Mara. I have never eaten food so tasty like the one I ate at Keekorok Lodge. No lies. I ate and even forgot to take photos.
[bctt tweet=”There are so many lodges you can choose from at The Mara. But having tried and tested (and tasted too haha) Keekorok, without a doubt I would highly recommend it to anyone who is visiting The Mara. I have never eaten food so tasty like the one I ate at Keekorok Lodge. No lies. I ate and even forgot to take photos. ” username=””]
Lunch at Keekorok.
The guy with the magic hands.
Game drive
After the sumptuous meal, we headed straight for a lunch time game drive.
Maasai Mara is so vast.
Our driver/guide was such a storyteller, I was left in stitches every time he said the Mara river was just down the road but it took us roughly two hours to get to it. Can you imagine two hours of no traffic jam? just rubber and road?
Game drive at the Mara.
At some point we even got a tyre puncture because of the off road terrain. The speed at which the tyres were changed and in no time were on the road again was impressive!
Wheel changing has never been this picturesque.
The guides knew where all the animals hid at and the right places to look for the big five and small five. I heard them mention ‘kichwa’ ever time vans passed each other, only to realized later that they were referring to lions. The wildebeest had just started arriving from Serengeti in Tanzania.
Gnus.
It was so easy to spot game. Grunting gnus, always alert impalas and gazelles, vultures,hyenas, baboons and a whole load of others.
At some point, we got to a place where tens of tour vans had gathered and the tourists where snapping away like there was no tomorrow. I knew there was something unique going on…Well,lets just say I wasn’t far from the truth. A cheetah had caught an impala, tore it open and went with the carcass up on a tree. By the time we were getting there, she had already taken off. The guide however told us not to worry, as the cheetah was a shy one and didn’t like the attention.He mentioned that she would still crawl back and devour her meal.
Drying Mara River
When we got the the river moments later. I was quite heartbroken. The levels of water at the river was shockingly low! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. About a decade ago the river was always almost breaking it banks around the same time during the migration! We seriously need to reconsider how to handle our water towers.
There wasn’t much to write home about the river, apart from two humongous nile crocodiles that were waiting patiently for unsuspecting browsers to pounce on.
Nile Crocodiles at Mara River.
The trip from the Mara river back to the airstrip wasn’t short of a show either. We spotted a lioness that had just eaten and was just minding her own business. She did not even move a whisker regardless of how close we got.
By around 4:30pm,were done with our game drive and all ready to head to the concrete jungle.
My heart was full.
The bird, all cleaned up was all kinds of ready to take us back to Nairobi.
I had no clue until that day that I can get the best of both worlds without planning for a grand holiday.
Get in touch with Jetways Airline using the contacts below…
P.O BOX: 3101 – 00506 GPO NAIROBI, KENYA
Phone: +254 741 800 003 | +254 740 410 710
Fax: +254 20 600 6624
Email: info@jetwaysairlines.com
Website: www.jetwaysairlines.com
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