– When I close my eyes, I can see it. It’s like I’m back in Kenya. Back in the Masai Mara, where animals as tall as trees roam the plains. And Maasai Warriors, the guardians of the land, show us their world. This is our adventure.
– [Georg] Okay, first up, if you’re new here, you’re probably wondering what on earth we’re doing with our kids on safari in Kenya. 10 years ago we were that young backpacking couple you may have met in Southeast Asia. But we always knew that when we had kids we would keep traveling as a family to show them this incredible planet of ours. Muffin, where are we going?
– [Liv] I don’t know.
– [Georg] Yeah, (laughs) I don’t know either.
– Masai Mara!
– [Georg] Yay! Let’s go.
– [Maasai Woman] What are your interests? What would you like to see?
– Liv, what do you want to see, baby? – Elephants! – And lion, yeah.
– [Georg] We just came from Amboseli National Park where we were practically overrun by elephants, but we did not get to see any big cats. The Mara was about to blow our minds.
– It’s time to wake up.
– [Tara] Oh my goodness.
– [Georg] Amazing.
– [Tara] Do you have a special bed, Liv?
– [Georg] After a quick stop at the lodge to drop off our bags, we were already summoned to our first safari.
– [Tara] This is Liv.
– [Maasai Warrior] Liv?
– [Tara] Yup.
– Yeah?
– [Tara] Yep, and Bodhi.
– Bodhi.
– Are you good?
– [Tara] I’m tired, and hot.
– Yeah.
– Going on our first game drive.
– [Georg] Ready, Liv?
– Yeah.
– [Georg] Are you shooting while nursing?
– Yeah, I have to. Otherwise I could never do anything else.
– Can the mama pick the baby elephant up? And rock the baby elephant? Cheetahs!
– That was amazing. The cheetahs might hunt the wildebeests or the little impalas. And we’re just gonna wait and see what happens.
– [Maasai Warrior] Hunting here.
– Why?
– [Georg] Not long into our first safari we got to witness the infamous Fast Five or “Tano Bora” as they are known locally. Cheetahs are usually known to be solitary hunters, but these five males have formed a coalition to be more successful in taking down prey. But their hunt today took an unexpected turn when a pumbaa mama turned on them and the hunter became the hunted. – Liv, there’s a big papa lion over there! This is so amazing.
– [Georg] It’s so close. – [Georg] That night, we were kept awake by the sound of lions outside our tent. So the next morning, Tara and the kids slept in while I went on a solo sunrise adventure.
– [Maasai Warrior] Yeah, there’s many noise. Lions, hyenas, everything.
– [Georg] Are those the lions I’ve been hearing all night?
– [Maasai Warrior] Yeah. (laughs) – Now we just spotted these lions here. Which is really cool. So they’re missing out a little bit. But, hey, you know, sleep, lions, meh. There’s this whole crew of baboons down there. Wow. Morning! (Liv making excited sounds)
– How epic was it?
– [Georg] Rhinos.
– No.
– [Georg] Giraffes.
– Nuh-uh.
– [Georg] And, uh, hippos.
– Seriously?
– [Georg] Right down the river. No, we didn’t see any of that. (both laughing)
– What kind of tree do you think you’re going to plant, Liv?
– Flower tree.
– A flower tree?
– [Maasai Woman] And this one?
– And he’s just gonna try to not eat the dirt. That’s his goal for today.
– We’re at Basecamp Masai Mara and we’re going to go plant some trees. So all of these trees around us have been planted by visitors and by staff of the camp as part of like a reforestation effort that they have here. Even the Obamas planted trees. So we’re going to go plant trees just like them.
– We have the yearly target of 100,000. This is the nursery. So, welcome. The roots here, you can dig it, then the water you put, then in the following morning the water is clean.
– [Georg] One of the most astonishing things to take place since Basecamp Explorer started the reforestation program, is that the forest has created its own micro-climate, which makes it rain more frequently over the area, which in turn leads to further growth and even more biodiversity. – [Tara] Did you eat dirt? Did you eat dirt baby?
– [Georg] Bodhi, you had one job.
– This is the tree we planted, looks like sausages hanging out of the tree. (laughing)
– I feel like it doesn’t really matter what we do out here. Every time we go out, it’s like the experience is just enhanced by the people.
– [Georg] Hey Liv, do you see the giraffes?
– Hippos!
– [Tara] Oh, look!
– [Georg] How cool is that?
– So crazy. Everything here is so, so cool.
– Giraffe! Right, here!
– Hey Liv, you cannot drink this whole thing, do you understand?
– Yeah.
– What do you think about that?
– Good.
– [Tara] Where’s the lion? (baby sounds)
– [Tara] Hi, lion. (whispering) Why can’t you touch a baby lion?
– It will eat me.
– [Georg] We got back just in time for some amazing insights on the Maasai warrior take on conservation.
– [Jack] I have a knife here, but we no longer kill lions using the same knife. For the past years, we used to kill lions to protect our goats, to protect our cattle. But now, it is for protecting the lion, this is for protecting the elephant, this is for protecting the buffalo. Because all of us have a right, we have now that knowledge of knowing the importance of conservation, of knowing the importance of wildlife. No matter what happens, we will always stand to fight for the right of the people, the right of the wildlife, and also the right of the planet at the same time.
– [Georg] Jack here is also heavily invested in humanitarian programs with the local Maasai tribes. Check out the description below for more details if you’d like to get involved.
– Papa!
– [Georg] Hi! Did you already have breakfast?
– [Liv] Nope!
– [Georg] Where are we having breakfast?
– Right here.
– [Georg] Bodhi, what are you doing? (Georg laughing)
– [Georg] Hey Liv, do you want to make a bracelet?
– This is a really great project that Basecamp has to empower and employ a whole bunch of local women. And Liv even got to… What’d you do?
– Make a bracelet!
– Asante sana.
– Asante sana!
– [Georg] On this safari, we experienced something really special. Mpanti and Jack got on the trail of a leopard mother calling and finding her way back to her cub. Apparently they can leave them for days on end while they hunt for food. But that moment, when the young sees its mother it was incredible to see this level of affection and joy in the animal kingdom. Heavy-hearted, it’s time to leave Kenya and to get on with our next adventure. Until we meet again.
– [Georg] Hang on. What does the sign say?
– Where of the monkeys are.