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Home --> 2009
--> Summer Trip --> Safari
Experiences |
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Cheetah Takes a Rabbit: On our very first
safari, the 3:30pm safari on Saturday, we were lucky to find a cheetah.
Our guide, Koech, noted that the cheetah looked skinny and was likely
ready to eat. Koech was right - from our vantage point, we could
see the cheetah stalk and begin madly chasing something. In a
cloud of dust, he suddenly stopped. We drove closer to find that
the cheetah had captured a rabbit - a mere "snack" according to
Koech. |
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Elephant Taunts the Pride: On the Sunday
6:30am safari, we caught up with the pride of 13 lions that we had seen
the day before. The lions are territorial and don't travel far
from their "home" (about a mile from our camp). The lions were
their normal, lethargic selves until a lone male elephant appeared on the
horizon and swiftly walked right through pride, angrily snorting and
taunting the lions. The lions have no natural enemies, but
nevertheless cleared a path as the determined elephant marched through
and headed for the trees. |
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Crocs Get a Zebra: On the mid-day safari of
our second day in the Masai Mara, we headed over to the Mara River in
hopes of seeing a "crossing" as part of their great migration. We were in luck - thousands of
wildebeest and a couple of hundred zebra were gathering to cross the
river and feed in Tanzania. While we waited on the bank for the
animals to cross, several big crocodiles waited in the water. Two
wildebeest escaped the crocs, but one zebra did not. After about
five minutes, each of the three or four crocs swam away with their share
of the zebra.
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Lions Stroll By: On the 6:30am safari on our
third day, we met up with the same pride of 13 lions we saw the day
before. Amazingly, they walked right past our vehicle - almost
close enough to touch. Even the big male lion lumbered right by.
They headed off into the bushes that, according to our guide Koech, is
where their cubs are born. |
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Lions Dine on a Wildebeest: Later, on the
same safari, we came across three lions from a different pride - two
adult females and a baby. Koech said the two adults were teaching
the baby to hunt. The two were credible teachers: the lions were
dining on a wildebeest which they had killed less than an hour earlier.
Apparently the cub had enough to eat, and seemed curious to explore the
safari vehicles that had gathered to watch. |
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Elephants in our Midst:
After dinner on our third night, there was an especially high level of
security - more guards than usual, several with rifles, and all urgently
communicating in Swahili on their walkie talkies. Our guard
escorts told us that there were elephants in the camp, and that it was a
very dangerous evening. Elizabeth asked if the guns the guards
were carrying were for killing or tranquilizing - the guard responded,
"They for keeling, but not keel elephant." The guards led us on a roundabout path to our
tents, and we zipped up tight. Several times throughout the night,
we could hear the elephants, and in the morning we saw "evidence"
of their presence (and were told that they had destroyed fences), but we
never encountered them in camp. We prefer our elephant encounters
from the safety of our Land Rover, thankyouverymuch. |
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Ballooning over the Masai Mara:
We departed Governor's camp at 5:30am and, after a short drive and quite
primitive ferry ride, arrived at Little Governor's Camp for our balloon
trip. We flew low, skimming the treetops and occasionally the grass.
In the trees below, we saw many elephants, giraffes, hippos and other
animals. It was a beautiful ride, gliding across the Masai Mara as
the sun was rising. Bill dropped his prized pith helmet in the
middle of a huge grass field, but happily the crew later retrieved it.
After a crash landing, we enjoyed a champagne breakfast as well as a
nice drive and ferry ride back to camp.
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Our Farewell Safari:
With our departure flight at 4:00pm, the 10:30am safari on Wednesday was
our last. We headed out to the Mara River where there were
thousands of wildebeest migrating but, after waiting about a half hour
it was clear that they weren't ready to cross the river. Greta
suggested that we stop at a swampy area near the camp (the first place
we visited on our first safari drive) one last time as we drove back in.
As if to say goodbye, a dozen elephants greeted us, with one almost
brushing the Land Rover. Three giraffes passed close by as well.
Zebras, topis, baboons, impala and many other animals were there too.
We were there by ourselves - a few final quiet minutes to enjoy Kenya
before we left for home.
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NEXT: Animals --> |
