Lion around on our honeymoon
Rugby star Nick Easter discovers the thrills and beauty of Kenya and Zanzibar
AHONEYMOON is meant to be a memorable, oncein-a-lifetime experience – and ours certainly delivered. After an eight-hour flight, Kerry and I were met in Nairobi by our beaming driver who took us through the chaotic city to the grand elegance of House of Waine, an 11-bedroom hotel set in gardens, 20 minutes from downtown Nairobi in the quiet suburb of Karen.
Our room had a four-poster bed covered in rose petals and there was a bottle of champagne waiting for us. Our candle-lit, private dinner was by an open fire.
Early the next morning, we boarded a small propeller plane for an hour’s flight to the vast Masai Mara, during which our eyes were glued to the breathtaking beauty and wandering wildlife below. We landed on a small, dusty strip and were greeted by Masai warriors in full tribal dress.
After a short drive, we entered our new home, the Naibor Camp, a contemporary tented camp in the heart of the Masai Mara National Reserve, by the Talek river, home to about 50 enormous hippos who would be vocal neighbours for the next four days.
Our large tent had its own veranda with a day bed and a private dining area overlooking the river, and our bedroom had a large, beautifully crafted wooden bed and en-suite with a hot safari bucket shower.
After a delicious lunch within 30 yards of the bathing hippos, we were set for the first safari with the worldly-wise Jackson, our private guide. It didn’t take us long to encounter two lions in the middle of a late afternoon snooze, the wedding-present camera being put to good use. The feeling of being out in the Mara, encountering wildlife in their natural habitat, was magical.
Back at Naibor Camp, we chatted to the other guests around an open fire and compared notes before supper. Exhausted and awestruck from our day, we were escorted to our tent in the pitch-black darkness by a Masai warrior.
Morning safaris are early but we have never been so excited to wake at 5.30am. We were out for between four and five hours in the morning and three and four in the afternoon, with a chance to chill at lunch.
Each day was a new adventure – from following the wildebeest and zebra on their own epic adventure, to crossing the crocodile-infested river and observing cheetahs stealthily plan their next kill.
We watched a lion feast on his breakfast three feet from our truck, then stroll, at his own pace, to rejoin his brother, seemingly for a kip under a tree. But then he was up like a flash and gave a deafening roar, and those amber eyes weren’t messing.
This was the one time I felt a little nervous, much to my wife’s amusement. During my rugby career, we had a psychiatrist go through the fight, flight or freeze survival scenarios with different predators, and when it came to a lion he told us to stare him out and approach him. Having now been in this situation, I believe this advice to be ******** !
Having made a swift exit, we took it more calmly watching giraffes eating from the tops of the trees, hyenas scavenging for leftovers, and enormous, cantankerous buffalos. There were also multiple sightings of leopards.
We visited one of the Masai villages and were proudly shown around the homes, made by the women out of cow dung and mud. We danced and sang with them, learning about their way of life – a heart-warming experience.
We also saw the Masai Mara from above in a hotair balloon. It was slightly terrifying but also exhilarating, and an extraordinary experience. Our incredible memories did not finish out on the safari. In camp we enjoyed private dinners held in the gardens by our tent on the edge of the river.
We were sad to leave Jackson and the team but knew we had another amazing place to explore. So it was a flight back to Nairobi, a quick stopover at House of Waine to freshen up, and then a 90minute flight to the island of Zanzibar where we would spend the next five nights at the White Sand Luxury Villas & Spa. To say the hotel exceeded our expectations does not come close to describing how speechless we were when we were shown around our huge villa. We had our own exotic garden, with ‘his and hers’ hammocks to enjoy the star-lit sky at night, a rooftop terrace, pool and outdoor bathtub, all with stunning views of the whitesand beach – plus a private butler. This was paradise and the perfect tonic following the safari.
After a guilt-driven workout at the quaint outdoor gym, we took full advantage of the secluded spa and enjoyed a couple’s massage, drifting off into pure relaxation with only the sound of the soothing waterfall in the background.
Then we were keen to explore Zanzibar and we organised a boat trip, heading to Mnemba Island, somewhere we had been told was brilliant for snorkelling and the stuff of tropical-island dreams. En route we enjoyed some deep-sea fishing while soaking up the sun.
Mnemba was fringed with palms and powdery sand and surrounded by the most stunning cerulean sea, the most pure, beautiful water we had ever seen, and we were soon exploring the colourful reefs and tropical fish. To cap it all, on the way back our boat was surrounded by a pod of dolphins, so there was only one thing to do: jump in for the swim of a lifetime at the end of a trip of a lifetime.
And so, our honeymoon all too quickly came to an end and we returned home ready to begin our lives as Mr and Mrs Easter.
A LION FEASTED ON HIS BREAKFAST FEET FROM OUR TRUCK