Masai Mara

The Masai Mara is the Kenyan side of the Serengeti. It is beautiful, with broad stretches of savannah, peppered with acacia trees and grey termite mounds.

The herds of animals stretched forever, it was amazing.  There were many different kinds of antelopes, gazelles, impala, topi.  Wildebeest were there in the thousands, as well as buffalo and zebras. We had two drives through the park, one in the afternoon and one at dawn the next day.

Afternoon

As we entered the park, there was a small group of elephants. One of the females trumpeted and within seconds a baby elephant, not more than a few months old, came running out of the brush.  His ears were waving, his little legs going a mile a minute, with his trunk in the air.  Adorable.  Once he reached her, she sent him right back with another trumpet.  When he reached the brush, he turned around and let out a tiny trumpet to let her know he made it.  It was the cutest thing ever.

The diversity of animals in Masai Mara is amazing, but what I think is the coolest is how close you can get to the animals.  I was 5 feet away from a full grown adult lion.  Mind you, I wasn't separated by glass.  i was in a truck with completely open windows.  If he had wanted, he could've jumped right in.

The lions gave us a real show, as it was apparently mating season.  Most of us couldn't stop giggling.

Dawn

We found the pair of mating lions again and the rest of their pride, 3 lionesses.  The girls swatted at each other and rolled in the grass before heading off down the road.

A group of spotted hyenas.  Family groups are led by a female

Cheetahs! These are two male cheetahs, resting in the shade.

We found a lioness enjoying a wildebeest. I could hear her jaws cracking and crunching the bones.

There was this very large crazy looking bird walking amongst the herds.  It looked like a pokemon.

We found a troop of banded mongoose moving across the grasses.

What an amazing safari. I can't wait to see what the Serengeti has to offer.

That night we camped inside the park, surrounded by a barb wire fence (not electrified). There were so many more stars than usual. It was stunning. I fell asleep that night to the sound of hyenas in the distance.