Highlights of Kenya: Part 2!

This one is going to be a lot of pictures.

On Thursday, September 19, we packed up our belongings and headed off to the Masai Mara for a three day safari. The Mara is located in southwestern Kenya, right on the border with Tanzania. On the Tanzanian side the same reserve is called the Serengeti. Each year in late summer/early fall, hundreds of of thousands of Thompson's gazelle, wildebeest and zebras migrate from Tanzania to Kenya. The Great Migration is considered to be one of the wonders of the world.

We booked our safari with Skylax Safaris, the same company that I used to organize our Amboseli trip. I went with them partially because they offer good pricing, and partially because I wanted to ensure that we could get Mathias as our driver again. He's the one who took us on our Nairobi National Park safari, and one of our drivers from Amboseli, and he's amazing. I wanted Erich, Laura, and Paul to have the best safari experience possible, and the driver is definitely the most important part.

We were joined by two other people on our trip, a lovely older couple named Debbie and Rick. They were from Tennessee by way of California, and they were totally wonderful. When deciding where to book our stay, we determined that since the drives would take up most of our time, it didn't really matter where we stayed. We chose the budget option, which had us staying at Enchoro Wildlife Camp. It was....BUDGET. But fine. Except for when the generator didn't work Friday night and we couldn't charge anything or see our dinner. But, you know...we made it work, haha.

The inside of our tent. Note that the doors don't go to the ceiling. Or stay closed. It was quite the bonding experience for Erich and I, hahaha.

The outside of our tent. The twin bed tents were named after planets, and the double bed tents were named after animals.

The dining area.

Dinner. Not awful, not incredible.

Most of our time was spent out on game drives. After the five hour drive from Nairobi to the Mara we had a little time to rest and grab lunch before heading out on our first evening game drive. It was beautiful, and we got very lucky right off the bat. There were lions EVERYWHERE, much like the elephants at Amboseli. Really very cool. The closest I can get you to actually being there is by sharing a ton of pictures, so here goes!

Entrance to the Masai Mara National Reserve.
Photo credit: Laura

Rainy first day on the Mara.

Thankfully it cleared up!

Tommy G! T. Gaz!

Hey lady lion!

And friends.

Lions sleep roughly 20 hours a day.

And during the 4 hours they're awake they spent a lot of time looking like they wish they weren't.

These three moms were hanging out.

With a buttload of baaaaabies.

They got REALLY close to the car.

Look at all those little lions!!

Cubs galore!

I. wanted. to. steal. him.

So so very fuzzy.

I mean, come on. Look at that face.
Photo credit: Laura

Overall we had really solid weather, though we did go through some rough patches of absolutely torrential downpours. Frankly, I'd prefer a quick, drenching rain to the mists that make it difficult to keep the pop-top open and leave you cold and soaked. After one rain storm, we saw literally the brightest rainbow I've ever seen. The pictures don't do it justice. You could see every single gradient of colour. It was ABSURD.

Just LOOK at this thing! Insanity.

Soon after, we spotted a lion running off in the distance. The lioness had taken down a baby Thompson's gazelle and was clearly ready to eat dinner. Unfortunately, she had three teenaged lions, who she obviously felt were old enough to get their own damn food, that wanted to mooch off her tiny meal. She was not happy. We parked for a while and watched her run away from them. At one point she thought she'd gotten her point across, and laid down to eat. Slowly by slowly (as they are fond of saying in Kenya) the youths crept up. She spotted them coming in time and jumped up to take her food elsewhere. 

Thankfully I had people with good eyes in my safari van. This lady was spotted from QUITE far away.

Not getting my dinner!

Stop. Following. Me.

GET YOUR OWN FOOOOOOD!

One of the younger lions (still all spotty!) pouting that he couldn't get some of mom's food.

I love how expressive their faces are.

Thinking they can catch her if they pick up speed.

Fuzzy face close up!
Photo credit: Laura

Love.
Photo credit: Laura

But she didn't give in. (Note dying rainbow on the left.)
Photo credit: Paul

Sunset on our first day.

We spent all of Friday out on the Mara, including bringing a packed lunch (and peeing in the bushes). 

Dik diks are a deer the size of a dog. They have the pointiest faces ever. Look at that pinpoint nose! They also mate for life, which is just about the cutest thing ever. And they have a mohawk.

Pop tops unite! Taking a break at the airstrip bathroom.

We even got to see a few planes take off and land.

Our safari group!
Rick, Debbie, Erich, Paul, Laura and I
Photo credit: Random Korean stranger that Erich befriended

Rockin' the pop top!
Paul, Laura, Erich, me
Photo credit: Debbie...I think.

Oh, what's that? Just a cheetah!

So gorgeous.

At one point she caught sight of some gazelles in the distance.

And acted aloof.

 

Then she got up like she was going to run them down. We got really excited....until she decided they weren't worth the effort an flopped back down. (In other news, look at that aerodynamic little pin head.)

I really enjoy the colouring on the topi.

But their babies have terrifying little goat eyes!

Mama and baby topi.

Secretary bird, looking sassy as per usual.

Wildebeest have THE most accusatory faces.

WILD BABY ELE!
Mathias guessed that this little one was only a couple of weeks old. So precious.

Wrinkly baby elephant butt!

Just hanging out with mom.

This picture is EXACTLY why I hate poachers so much.

Off to eat some lunch.

So wrinkled. The elephants here are much more gray because of the soil, as opposed to the babies in Nairobi who all look red because they play in the red soil mud all day.

Erich Ziroll: Travel Photographer

Pull up a tree, drop down a blanket, and let's have lunch.

Wildebeest herds on the northern side of the Mara River.

Someone once told me a group of hippos was called a pod. Apparently that was a lie that I blithely believed. But the truth is even better...the correct collective noun is a BLOAT of hippos. So good.

Teehee look at the little one all sunburnt!

An absurdly amazing animal.
Photo credit: Laura

Suddenly, as we were watching the hippos tool around, a huge cloud of dust springs up to our right. "Hold onto yourselves!" says Mathias, as he peels away. "They're jumping."  We raced down the river, along with about 100 other safari vehicles, to the area where wildebeest were taking the famous plunge across the Mara River to get to the northern pastures where there was more food. It was incredible.

During the Great Migration, hundreds of thousands of wildebeest make their way to the Mara River, swim across, and hopefully struggle up the steep banks on the other side.

Many, many wildebeest die on this journey from Tanzania to Kenya, either falling prey to predators (crocodiles, lions, etc) or from sheer exhaustion.

It was pretty incredible.

A couple stragglers make their way across.

And on to greener pastures.

Suuuuper attractive vultures hanging around a wildebeest carcass.

A whole family of elephants out for a stroll.

Poetry in motion?

Mama and baby.

We were careful to stay downwind of the elephants, as to not upset them. But at one point, we accidentally found ourselves between the matriarch and the rest of the herd. She was...not pleased. But after some engine revs from Mathias and slow movement out of her way, we were okay.

I love this photo.

Later on the clouds rolled in. You could see a defined edge to this storm, and watch it come across the plains. It was very cool. It reminded me of Semester at Sea, when we would sit on the deck and watch the storms come in from the distance.

Wet adult male lion, scratching an itch.

He looks like Scar.

Full on adult males are kind of a big deal, so there was a GIANT gathering of safari vehicles around these two. Somehow Mathias got us front row center. The driver of that Pullman van tried to do the same...and succeeded in getting them completely stuck in the mud.

See, told you there were lots of vehicles.

So SLEEPY.

You know in THEORY that they are really just big cats, but moments like this remind you of that fact.

They were not at all bothered by the vans. They just walked right between them.

And found a new comfy place to lay down.

So cool.

Just chilling out.

On our way out, in the fading light, we saw this lioness bringing a dead baby warthog (why's it always gotta be babies, Mara Lions?) to her cubs who were hidden in some brush off the side of the road. We happened to be there at just the right moment, and we were the ONLY ones who saw it....which was fantastically cool.

After our full day out, we returned to camp to find that the generator wasn't working. We hung out for a bit, ate dinner in the pitch dark, and called it an early night. The next morning we woke up early to get in one more game drive before heading back to Nairobi. I was really happy that we did, because I got to see two animals I've never seen before, and the most beautiful sunrise I've seen in ages.

I have roughly 8 billion pictures of this sunrise.

It was spectacular.

Such a perfect end to the trip.

New animal #1: Jackal. In all of our stories (Boy Who Cried Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood) we always replace the wolf/dog with a jackal. I didn't know they were this small and cute.

And, sure a little vicious.

Who?! MEEE?!

New animal #2: Banded mongoose.

And, of course, a very very sleepy lioness thrown in for good measure.

Heading for the road.

Couldn't really care less that the cars were there.

So. Tired.
She walked right under our window. We could have easily stuck out a hand and pet her.

Some days this is how I feel before I get my caffeine, too.
Photo credit: Laura

And, with that, it was time to say goodbye to the Mara and head back to Nairobi! 

Goodbye, guards with guns who like to relax on the not-so-welcoming group of skulls just inside the reserve's entrance!

Goodbye Masai gentlemen who guard Enchoro Wildlife Camp!
Laura and Erich with their new friends.
Photo credit: Paul

Goodbye Masai Mara!