Kenyan Safari - Masai Mara Game Drive

Elephant Crossing!

This morning, our driver, Daniel, met us at 7:00 AM for an all-day Game Drive.  We would be out for the better part of the day, so that would allow us to go deep into the Masai Mara Game Reserve. 

We started to keep a list of all the birds and animals we saw over the course of the day but I quickly lost count.  We saw so many different types of animals over the 2 days we spent on the Masai Mara - it was truly amazing and awe inspiring.

Lioness and cubs

Lioness

Cheetah in the grass

Ostriches



Black Rhino

Hyena









 

Waiting for the flat tire

The day was not without mishap.  Throughout the early morning, it became clear that Daniel was worried about the front right tire on the van.  We were seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  At one point, after much chatter on the shortwave radio,  2 other white vans appeared over the hill (we found our later they were driven by Willie and Sugar) and they pulled up beside our van.  The three drivers got out of the vans and much discussion ensued in Swahili.  Kristina and I looked on.  Frown, kick, frown by Sugar, more kicks, more frowns by all 3 drivers and lots of Swahili.  Apparently we were now headed into the nearest town to get the tire fixed.   Daniel dropped us at a local souvenir shop which even sported bathroom facilities while he went off in search of a garage.

 About half an hour later, Daniel reappeared, smiling  Apparently an errant nail had made it into the tire but had now been extracted so we could be back on our way. 

Not to be outdone, our van had yet another another challenge in store for us.
With the heavy rains that had occurred the night before, the trail tracks that these 4 wheel drive vans travel on were quite muddy and there was often 6-8 inches, or more, of mud to cross in the ditches that marked the safari pathways.  On many occasions, I could not believe that we would be able to pass before we started our descent into the mud.  On one particularly steep and muddy ditch Daniel stopped the van midway through the ascent with an "Oh Oh" (Apparently this phrase is the same in both English and Swahili).   It seems that the metal panel that protects the engine had come loose and was jutting into the mud, preventing us from ascending.  He backed the van out while grabbing the shortwave radio.  More Swahili.  More chatter on the shortwave.  Still more Swahili.  Kristina and I looked on - perplexed.  Apparently a decision had been made and Daniel turned the van around - presumably to take a much longer route to the river.  But unable to get through the muddy ditch forward, Daniel had decided to try it in reverse.  We made it down into the trench backwards and then back up again, still in reverse, onto drier ground.   Score 2 for Daniel, 0 for the Van.


Hippos in the Mara River

 Next stop of the day was the Mara River which is one of the most popular vantage points to watch the great migration which occurs in July through September .  Each year around 1.5 million wildebeest and 300,000 zebra (along with other antelope) gather up their young and start their long trek from Tanzania's Serengeti Plains to the Masai Mara. They go in search of food and water.   As the herds cross, this river crocodiles are lying in wait for any weak and feeble animals that can't cope with the strong currents.   This great migration is considered to be one of the wonders of the world - maybe we will see it on our next visit to Africa?

For lunch, Daniel had arranged a boxed lunch from the resort.  We stopped at a high point in the plains and were able to get out of the van.  Daniel put down a blanket from the back of the van so we could have a picnic.  The other 2 vans, were also at the picnic site so we had lunch with Paul and Linda who were visiting Africa from the UK.    Between the baboon that kept trying to steal our food and the dead wildebeest skull that seemed to be watching over us, it was quite a memorable lunch - to say the least.  We loved it!  The only draw-back was the restroom (ie there wasn't one) so Kristina and I had to rely on canoe tripping relief skills that I thought were long-forgotten before getting back in the van for the afternoon game drive.


Daniel and Sugar trying
to dissuade a baboon from
joining our picnic



Paul and friend

Our favourite sighting of the day became known as the gluttonous lion.  If you look at the picture at the side you will see that this requires no further explanation.



Giraffe



In the end, we managed to see 4 of the "Big 5" - only the leopard eluded us.  What a truly amazing experience it was. 

I cant really end the blog without a picture of a giraffe.  These became my absolute favourite animal.  They are so beautiful and so graceful. 

And finally, I will finish today's blog with a picture of the sun setting over the Masa Marai - stunningly beautiful.  What a perfect end to a perfect day!!!

Masai Mara sunset