The Most Interesting Man in the World

Daniel, our always-smiling Maasai guide, has a light breakfast loaded into the Land Cruiser. On our seats are traditional Maasai blankets warmed with hot water bottles. There are only six safari camps in the 1,100 square mile conservancy so we rarely come across other people on the plains. I have no idea how Daniel navigates the roadless savanna, most of which looks the same to me.

Daniel’s knowledge of the 40+ animals we will see is encyclopedic. He knows how to position our open-sided 4x4 to get the best light for the photos I shoot with my father’s fancy schmancy camera. Daniel is an expert in using every last function on that camera and helps me shoot better pictures. Having grown up and raised his own family on the land, he is our very own Wayne Gretzky, intuitively going to where the animals are headed rather than where they have been. Daniel tells us that we are good clients because we ask thoughtful questions, plan ahead for when we need to use the bathroom, and remain calm when he kicks it into high gear to ford the streams.

For the last decade and since completing a formal hospitality education, Daniel has made a living as a luxury camp safari guide. This coveted job gives his family financial security and enables his young sons to attend private school. We learn about the semi-nomadic Maasai people, who primarily make their living herding cattle and goats. While Daniel grew up on the traditional Maasai diet of meat, milk, fat, and blood, his sons now have ready access to fruit and vegetables. The Massai people are easy to spot in the landscape because of their bright red robes, colorful beaded jewelry, and spears. Daniel has one of his lower front teeth removed, a Maasai initiation ritual.

When Daniel drops us at the airstrip to begin our 30-hour trip home, we invite him and his family to visit us in California. I hope they do.