Oh boy, yet another Masai Mara report? A return to the Mara, February 2019

[janzin]

1 hour ago, mapumbo said:

 

What was the temperature like?  It looks hot.

 

That day and that area was hot, as there was little shade. But not unbearable (nothing like India-hot!) I don't recall being uncomfortably hot at any time. We actually had some clouds and some rain too.

[janzin]

Heading back we took it a bit more leisurely and had opportunities to stop for some birds.

 

This first shot I actually took in the morning...oops! I told you some might be out of order!

 

 

Here are a few that we saw after leaving the Musketeers.

 

We came upon this beautiful pair of Grey Crowned Cranes.

 

 

 

A muddy stream bed held these Wattled Lapwings.

 

 

 

 

Pretty sure this is Winding Cisticola, as we heard it calling.

 

 

A small group of Zebra at a river crossing.  I haven't yet mentioned that at this time of year, we found zebra everywhere. (Well, except where the 5 Cheetahs were, as the grass was too high there.) But closer to the river, in the Topi Plains area, Bila Shaka, Double Crossing, and the Marsh area, they were just thousands of them. In Mara North too. I thought they were migratory but Ping said they are actually always there...you just don't notice them when they are mixed in with the Wildebeest. Since there were NO wildebeest just about anywhere we were (I think we saw three the whole trip), the zebras really stood out.

 

 

 

Topi sparring.

 

 

It was getting close to six o'clock, but we still had some time before we had to get back to camp, so we headed back to the area where we'd seen the cheetah Olchore on our first night. Maybe he'd be around, or perhaps some lions...

 

[Atravelynn]

5 big cheetahs together is unusual enough to be a bit startling.  You got nice photos of them.  Each additional cat increases the difficulty of a good photo by about 4-fold.  Hard to get 5 looking pretty but you did.  One more thing on yet another Mara trip report.  It helps build a track record.  I find track records--that are positive--reassuring when booking a trip.

[janzin]

Sure enough, it wasn't long before we found Olchore again on Topi Plains.

 

 

He was resting, but soon he got up, and fingers crossed, maybe he'll hunt...

 

Looking a little scary  (but just yawning, really.)

 

 

 

Now looking regal, as a cheetah will...

 

 

So we looked around for some prey but there didn't seem to be any he would go after. Still, we waited a bit. And then here's when we made a bad decision. We saw several cars congregating around a gully just up the road. Ping got word (don't ask me how) that there was a Serval in there. Did we want to stick with Olchore, or go see the Serval?

 

Serval, please!

 

Unfortunately, the view was not great.

 

 

And here is where we saw some really bad, and disturbing behavior. One of the vehicles...which was from a renowned photo camp...started to drive right into the bushes and down into the gully. I won't hesitate to call it out here: Oltepesi Photo Camp. We saw them the next day as well exhibiting really bad behavior. Ping said they always do but it seems that the authorities look the other way, I don't know why.  Anyway, this of course just spooked the Serval and drove him deeper into the grass, running away from us.

 

 

There were also several other vehicles gathered around and the poor cat seemed to hunker down in the gully, definitely not coming out with all these cars. So in disgust we decided to go back and see what was going on with Olchore.

 

Well, needless to say...our timing was bad because this is what we found!

 

 

Arrrgh!!!! We'd missed the hunt, and a kill, all in the space of the 15 minutes we were at the serval spot.

 

Sigh, oh well, that's safari for you. There would be plenty more opportunity for cheetah hunts, we still had lots of time.

 

And heading back to camp we had a lovely sunset to end this fabulous, if a bit frustrating, day.

 

 

 

[Zubbie15]

Wow, unfortunate about the bad behavior. I wonder why the rangers don’t stop them, I imagine someone has friends in high places unfortunately.  It’s tough to have missed the cheetah hunt, but I can’t imagine most people would have turned down the chance to see the serval.

 

i have to second what @Atravelynn said, the more trip reports about an area the more confident you feel when contemplating a trip.  I’ve never considered the Mara too seriously given the reputation for crowding, but all the reports in here, especially those that include the conservancies,  certainly have made me reconsider, especially if I want a shorter safari at some point.

[Atravelynn]

1 hour ago, Zubbie15 said:

Wow, unfortunate about the bad behavior. I wonder why the rangers don’t stop them, I imagine someone has friends in high places unfortunately.  When you call yourself a PHOTO camp, there may be extra pressure to deliver unique photos and the clients may demand these intrusive measures, hence the bad behavior.   It’s tough to have missed the cheetah hunt, but I can’t imagine most people would have turned down the chance to see the serval.

 

i have to second what @Atravelynn said, the more trip reports about an area the more confident you feel when contemplating a trip.  I’ve never considered the Mara too seriously given the reputation for crowding, but all the reports in here, especially those that include the conservancies,  certainly have made me reconsider, especially if I want a shorter safari at some point.

 

[philw]

Great report and photos Janet - thanks for sharing. We were in Zambia at about the same time a couple of years ago ago and it sounds like you preferred the Mara? We are doing seven nights the Mara in the second week of November - 3 nights with Ping at Enaidura followed by four nights at Mara Plains in Olare Orok/Motorogi (where Ping guided us twice a few years back).  I was a bit disappointed when I heard that Ping moved his camp from the mara triangle to the main reserve - but I guess greater traversing scope offset by the main reserve being more busy (although the Eastern sector where you saw the cheetahs is the busiest).

 

May be`its just me but, speaking very personally,  I feel the naming of the cats takes away a bit from the wild/wilderness factor? I know it happens in most places now and makes it easy for research - so its probably just old fashioned me!  

 

  

 

 

 

[janzin]

35 minutes ago, philw said:

Great report and photos Janet - thanks for sharing. We were in Zambia at about the same time a couple of years ago ago and it sounds like you preferred the Mara?  We do prefer the Mara, but in part it could be that we just had a bad experience in Zambia with both our camps--we didn't like that they didn't take breakfast out, all the schedules seemed much more regimented than in the Mara. And we saw much more wildlife and more action in the Mara, both times we've been. The only thing better (for us) in Zambia were the night drives. But we might have been unlucky in Zambia. I'd be willing to give South Luangwa another shot but I am not sure I'd get my husband to agree.

 

35 minutes ago, philw said:

 

May be`its just me but, speaking very personally,  I feel the naming of the cats takes away a bit from the wild/wilderness factor? I know it happens in most places now and makes it easy for research - so its probably just old fashioned me!  I know that some feel this way and I believe I recall a whole thread on SafariTalk awhile back with the pros and cons of this issue. I like it--it makes each animal more relatable, an individual rather than just "a lion" or "a leopard" and one feels like one has a more direct connection to it and hence a stake in its welfare. Case in point, the outrage over "Cecil the lion."  But I know this is controversial. No matter, in the Mara they do seem to be named and so when I know the name I will use it. In Zambia, I don't think they named any of the leopards or lions, at least no names were ever mentioned.

 

  

 

 

 

 

[mapumbo]

I like the fact that the rangers would depend on Ping to police the other cars when they left.

Our guide, George, another Wild Source guide, was disgusted with others bad behavior in Tanzania.

[penolva]

On 6/22/2019 at 9:36 PM, janzin said:

 

 

The 5 Musketeers are well named and we saw them in 2017 and 2018. One had a collar in 2017 but apparently it dropped off. It's great to see the same animals thriving over the years. I am looking forward to seeing the chetah cubs and if there are still three as there were in 2018!! You may not have been in Bahati's area or she may have only just given birth to her three, now two, cubs? Great photographs as usual. Pen

[janzin]

1 hour ago, penolva said:

The 5 Musketeers are well named and we saw them in 2017 and 2018. One had a collar in 2017 but apparently it dropped off. It's great to see the same animals thriving over the years. I am looking forward to seeing the chetah cubs and if there are still three as there were in 2018!! Are you referring to Amani's cubs? You'll find out soon   I'm almost up to the Mara North section, where we saw Amani. You may not have been in Bahati's area or she may have only just given birth to her three, now two, cubs? We looked for Bahati but didn't find her. Not sure about cubs. Great photographs as usual. Thanks!! Pen

 

[janzin]

We didn't have any specific goals for our last full day, but of course leopard, my favorite cat, was high on the agenda. So we started out the morning returning to the Kaboso's (and daughters) territory, hoping to find Kaboso.

 

On our way to her territory we found some jackals in lovely light.

 

 

 

And a mob of banded mongooses! Very entertaining to watch!

 

 

Mongoose stretchie!

 

 

 

Upon reaching Kaboso's territory, we found quite a few vehicles there already. Kaboso is well known as being rather accommodating to vehicles, not particularly shy.  We had driven up and through this area on the first day but didn't find her.

 

However, this morning we had some better luck!  It wasn't too long before she was spotted emerging from the forest.

 

 

 

But she was moving rather fast. And I have to say this is the other area where there were just too many vehicles, some (especially the Oltepesi vehicle) behaving badly. There was a lot of racing around trying to follow her, and some going off-road (we won't mention who AGAIN  ) 

 

 

Ping of course kept his cool and hung back. Kaboso soon was as disgusted as we were, and ran into the thick brush.  Ping thought she might emerge much farther up (her territory was a long stretch of a narrow corridor of forest.) So we drove back and forth along this corridor for awhile, crossing and criss-crossing the stream bed that ran through it. Most of the other vehicles had given up, although some were just sitting and waiting. But no luck...she disappeared that morning for good.

 

While driving around looking for Kaboso, we stopped for a few birds. Like this impressive Martial Eagle.

 

 

This Egyptian Goose was on a nest.

 

 

And a Speckled Mousebird.

 

 

Eventually we gave up and headed in another direction.

 

Zebra everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

And giraffe too...

 

 

 

We found a cheetah lying in the shade. We waited and watched hoping he'd move, but he (or she, can't really be sure) seemed content.

 

 

It was a nice change to see/photograph a cheetah in some greenery instead of dry yellow grass.

 

At this point we were pretty far from camp, and it was getting close to lunchtime. Ping asked if we wanted to have lunch brought out to us. We could go off a bit to a tree and then return to see if the cheetah had moved.  I remember Ping telling the camp we were on Rhino Ridge.

 

Well, sure!  It wasn't too long, maybe 20 minutes, before lunch arrived. I was expecting just a vehicle with some boxes of food, but they sent half the staff  

A table was set up for us under a nearby tree.

 

The Enaidura "delivery van."

 

 

 

Now that's service! After a nice lunch in the shade, we went back to the cheetah. He/she hadn't moved an inch unfortunately, and was now asleep. So we moved on.

 

What might we find after lunch?

 

 

 

 

[janzin]

Ping suggested we head to the territory of another well-known leopard, Siri. It seems she'd been hanging around in an area of rocky outcropping along the river.

 

On our way over, we came upon this female lion who was hunting. She obviously had cubs.

 

 

Soon though she decided that hunting just wasn't working, and came down for a rest.

 

 

We stayed with her just a short while as we didn't want to interfere with her hunting (and it didn't seem likely she would get anything right there, there was no prey in the immediate area.) We continued on to Siri's territory, which was only about 10 minutes from this spot.

 

We circled the rock outcrops a few times with no sign of a leopard. But suddenly I saw movement on one of the rocks. Stop! I yelled...what's that??

 

 

A lion cub! This was most likely the cub of the lioness we'd just seen. He was a bit shy, but eventually came out.

 

Waiting for Mom.

 

 

You can't tell from these photos but he was actually high above  us in the rocks, looking down at us.

 

 

We soon realized that there were at least two cubs, as there was another, shyer cub in the foliage. That one only peeked out and then went right back in.

 

Well, it seems clear that Siri wasn't hanging around here now (thankfully, for those cubs!) so after watching them for awhile we moved on.

 

In this area, far in the distance, we saw some elephants. You may wonder why I've posted no elephants so far. Well...there weren't any! In fact these were the first elephants we'd seen in our three days in the Mara. That was a big change from our time there in September 2016. We would see more in Mara North, but in the Reserve...they just weren't around.

 

 

I would have liked to get closer to this group but Ping said there were no roads in that area.

 

The rest of the afternoon was very quiet. We made another try for leopard right at the end of the day. We went to the territory of Bahati, which was not far from Enaidura camp. But came up empty. 

 

We found some male impala who were having a bit of a dispute.

 

 

And ended the day with a nice sunset. (Yes I know the caption says Mara North...but that's a mistake

 

 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2019 by janzin

[janzin]

We had one final morning before moving to Serian camp. The plan was that Ping would drive us partway and the Serian guide would meet us somewhere near the border of the reserve, where we'd transfer vehicles, and get to Serian in time for lunch. Ping had to meet some new clients at the airstrip at around 11 a.m., so we couldn't dawdle too much.

 

We headed out straight to the Marsh pride area. We had learned earlier that the rangers had closed off the roads in the Musiara Marsh area because there were tiny lion cubs. So we hadn't been able to go into the Marsh itself. But we could skirt it...in fact needed to head that way to meet up with our transfer.

 

Soon we came across a lion pair. Ping thought they were in the Ridge pride.

 

 

They were just ambling along, not interested in hunting apparently. The Zebras were wary anyway.

 

 

We followed them a bit and they joined up with some other lionesses.

 

 

But wait...we could see there was trouble brewing. A Buffalo was eyeing this acacia bush and the lionesses was worried. Buffalo will trample lion cubs...purposefully...as they are seen as a future threat. Many lion cubs meet their fate at the hands (well, feet) of Buffalo.

 

 

One lioness climbed up into the bush. We realized there must be cubs inside/under it.

 

 

And then the situation got even worse...

 

 

Three Buffalo were nosing around this bush and the lionesses were doing their best to keep them at bay.  There were now two of them inside the bush. We were a fair distance away so couldn't see any cubs, but we knew they must be inside there.

 

It was harrowing to watch! My heart was in my mouth! Once or twice we saw a bit of a cub come out of the grass and we shouted...go back, go back!!

 

 

While all this was going on, the male lion was just sitting and watching. Not helping at all! I was really mad at him!!

 

But the lionesses persevered! Eventually the Buffalo moved off!

 

 

Whew, I could breathe again. 

 

Mom came down.

 

 

And checked on her cubs.  Hard to see but if you look very closely you can barely make one out.

 

 

After a bit Mom decided it would be a good idea to move the cubs. Finally we could see that there were three, and very small.

 

 

She and her (sister?) led them far away from the bush (the Buffalo had moved in the opposite direction, so they were distant now.)  The light was high and harsh now but of course I couldn't resist a lot of cub photos...especially after that harrowing experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope those cubs realized how lucky they were to be alive!!

 

Finally, we left Mom doing a bit of a scratch.

 

 

Soon, we met up with our Serian driver for the transfer, and said a fond goodbye to Ping and to the Mara Reserve. It had been quite a fantastic final morning!

 

 

Mara North, up next!

Edited June 25, 2019 by janzin

[MMMim]

Oh my gosh, you had me so worried for those cute little cubs.  I'm so glad they made it.

[janzin]

20 minutes ago, MMMim said:

Oh my gosh, you had me so worried for those cute little cubs.  I'm so glad they made it.

 

Us too!!

[TonyQ]

Wonderful photos as always, a real treat.

 Excellent sightings, in particular the cats, but beautiful jackal as well. Ping is obviously an excellent guide.

 

It is interesting our reaction to the possible danger for different species. (and I mean “our” as I would be the same) Buffalo or Lion cub. Buffalo possibly protecting their young, lioness protecting cubs.

 

Looking forward to the Serian section.

[ELIL]

On 6/19/2019 at 11:01 PM, janzin said:

The flight on Kenya Airways was fine, I don't remember too much about it, which means it was uneventful. It actually arrived almost an hour early and we were the first through immigration, with our e-visas in hand it was super quick. In fact, so quick that our ride to bring us to the Eka Hotel was not there yet.  A very nice man standing in the taxi area saw us looking lost and when we explained the situation, he lent us his phone so that we could call SafariTrails, the ground agent who was to pick us up. They were surprised we were already there but sent their driver who arrived in 10 minutes.

 

After lunch at the Eka, we spent the afternoon resting. If we'd know we'd get in so early we might have booked a trip to Nairobi National Park, but we just couldn't be sure what time we'd actually arrive or how much time we had, so I didn't want to book anything in advance. Anyway, resting wasn't a bad idea.  We had our first Tusker with dinner at the Spur steakhouse in the Eka, and then a good night's sleep.

 

Pretty well rested, the next morning we were off to Wilson Airport and our flight on Air Kenya. I was expecting a little bush plane, but we were on a huge 50-passenger plane, a Dash 7.

It was a change to see the Mara so green...our September trip had been much drier.

 

 

Our airstrip, Ol Kiombo, was to be the last stop of a multi-stop trip. We landed at the first airstrip, in Mara North, and were met by a bit of a surprise. Everyone off the plane!

 

 

 Its not unexpected to get a flat tire on safari...but you don't expect it to be your plane!

 

 

So we were a bit delayed...actually almost an hour...getting back up in the air. This was a large plane and they actually had to dig the wheel out of the dirt before they could change the tire. Miraculously, several mechanics magically appeared to do the deed, while the pilot watched.

 

Eventually...almost an hour later...we were off, and finally arrived at Ol Kiombo. A warm greeting by Ping, and we were off to Enaidura camp for lunch.

 

Just a quick word about the camp: when we stayed at Enaidura previously, it was a mobile camp, situated in the Triangle. But now it has a permanent home along the Talek River, on the Reserve side. This location is fantastic during crossing season as it is near many crossing points; however in this season it seemed a bit far from where the action was. More on that later.

 

 

 

 

Looks like the Mara North airstrip does not like tires. Exactly the same happened to my outbound flight from MNC last Saturday. All passengers had to go off, a lot of improvisation with stones to stabilize the jack on the soft ground and some digging to remove the wheel.

 

Great photographs!

[janzin]

On to Mara North!

 

 

(Ok, this photo was actually taken as we left, as we didn't come in by plane obviously. But it seemed like a good place to put it.)

 

Actually I mis-remembered earlier, Serian camp did NOT pick us up--they were originally supposed to, but due to some mix-up about timing, they didn't have anyone available to do so.  So another staff member from Enaidura met up with Ping and us after the lion sighting, and we transferred vehicles; he drive us to Serian. Funny how as one is writing the report, things come back to you which you'd totally forgotten!

 

Driving into Mara North Conservancy from the Reserve, at first we were a little concerned because there seemed to be lots of cattle and community bomas. But soon we were past all of that activity and back to the wild, empty plains we associate with the Mara. We didn't really see or stop for much on our way to camp;  it was midday and so pretty quiet, and our Enaidura driver had never been to Serian before, so we got a bit lost. We finally found what apparently was the back entrance road where supplies are driven in, and someone there pointed us in the right direction; we weren't too far away.

 

We arrived in time for lunch and were warmly greeted by Aslin, who had recently started as camp manager; and Rosin, the prior camp manager who some of you know.  We also were very excited to meet WiFi...Rosin's dog, who was visiting for a few days along with Rosin and her daughter Charlotte. He is quite famous on Facebook

 

WiFi drinking from the birdbath. BTW, this is the only Wifi at the camp

 

 

A few words about Serian camp. We chose it, in part, because all parties get their own vehicle and private guide. Of course, this is reflected in the cost, but its one less variable to deal with. All of their guides are silver rated and we were very fortunate to get James, who is a favorite of @Kitsafari , and I can see why. He was hands-down the best guide we've ever had in Africa..extremely knowledgeable and personable.  I would say he was even better in some ways than Ping...which says a lot, and we really enjoyed every moment with him.

 

Because you have your own guide, you can set your own schedule...go out all day, do a night drive, even bring dinner out in the field. They will accommodate just about anything you want to do.

 

We also loved the camp. Our tent was spacious and the furthest from the main area...but not too far, as they only have 7 tents in total. An interesting feature of some of their tents is that the bathroom/shower is outside in a separate building, a few steps down and away. However, a few tents have a secondary toilet room attached. We requested one of these as honestly I don't like going outside in the middle of the night to...well, you know! Nothing to do with fear of animals but I find it just wakes me up too much...all that zipping and unzipping of the tent, getting a flashlight etc. and then I can't go back to sleep.  Also... bugs! Anyway, our request was met. Here is our tent, you can see the little supplementary toilet room on the far left; it had a toilet and sink.

 

 

And here is the attached room with other toilet, shower, and a tub too. Another nice thing about Serian is full-time hot water...no bucket showers here.

 

This photo was taken during one lunch break where it poured rain. This, and one evening, was the only rain we had. But it was really drenching for awhile!

 

 

 

The view from our tent. Across the river you can see their sister camp, Ngare Serian, which is even more exclusive, with only four tents. This is also where they have their tree-house, The Nest, which you can book for a night. There is a footbridge to cross the river. We never got over there, unfortunately...just ran out of time.

 

 

We never saw much wildlife down at the river...just a Grey Heron who was hanging out. But no animals, oddly not even a hippo or crocodile.

 

The dining/community area. Dining was at communal tables or you could opt to have a private dinner on your tent deck.

 

 

The whole area was excellent for birds, and they had a water feature (which Wifi is drinking from, above) which attracted many birds during the mid-day heat.  Knowing the camp was right on the river was actually another thing that tipped me over to Serian, as I really enjoy spending my lunch break shooting birds in camp. We actually picked up a couple of lifers there--African Blue Flycatcher and Spot-flanked Barbet, although I didn't get any decent photos of those.

 

This Fish Eagle was perched across the river from our tent. It was actually the only one we saw on the trip.

 

 

All of these next birds were in the camp during midday, photos taken during the lunch breaks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have to mention one other under-rated perk of Serian. They often have a photographer-in-residence, who is available to either go out with you on a drive or just chat with you about photography. No extra fee and they are just like any other guest, eating meals at the communal table and available to ask questions or give advice. I honestly didn't expect to utilize this (expert photographer that I am, --just kidding, we all can always learn something new!) but as it turned out, it really added to our experience there. The photographer who was in residence when we were there was Trai Anfield, a really lovely woman and excellent photographer, who was a joy to talk with. She was also a Nikon photographer which was great for me as a Nikon shooter, so we had plenty to talk about! After meeting her we decided we would definitely go out with her for one morning drive. More on that when I get up to that day in this report!  More on Trai here: https://serian.com/trai-anfield-photographer-residence/

 

They have a few other photographers who rotate and I'm sure they are all excellent, but I'm really glad we got to meet Trai.

 

Trai was planning to build a bird blind somewhere in the back of camp and she had started doing that when we left, not sure if it was completed. If so, that would add even more to the bird photography opportunities right in camp.

 

Okay, soon time to go out on our first afternoon safari with James....

 

Edited June 26, 2019 by janzin

[Atravelynn]

Photographer in residence at Serian Camp--now that's a dream job, even if it is just room and board.

 

The buffalo and lion cub sequence is quite harrowing and even ended up with great photo ops for you.

[monalisa]

That buffalo and lion encounter is edge of your seat stuff!! 

 

Glad nothing happened to the cubs. My gosh they are so cute. I love how small and fluffy they are!! 

[janzin]

21 hours ago, Atravelynn said:

Photographer in residence at Serian Camp--now that's a dream job, even if it is just room and board.  Yeah I wonder if they actually get paid...but sure I'd take it for room and board!

 

The buffalo and lion cub sequence is quite harrowing and even ended up with great photo ops for you. I actually don't have that many photos because I was too scared for the cubs to shoot!

 

 

 

[janzin]

We had been instructed that we had several options for night drives. a) We could go out regular afternoon game drive time (4-ish) but come back late and join dinner towards the end, around 8:30--normally dinner started at 8.  b) We could go out regular time and bring dinner with us to eat in the field, then stay out after dinner. c) We could have a very early dinner at the camp and then go out afterwards.

 

Every evening, before dinner a staff member came around to ask you what your plan was for the next day--would you stay out all day, do a night drive, etc...so that they could plan your meals.

 

This first night, we opted not to do a night drive, as we'd have four more nights to do them. We decided to come back and have dinner at the regular time, so that we could eat with the other guests, get acquainted with the staff and Trai Anfield, etc.

 

At Serian, they served an afternoon "tea" at 3:30, with departures for your afternoon drive around 4. So after a glass of iced tea for me and iced coffee for DH, and some delicious freshly baked cake, we headed out.

 

We had heard from Ping that the cheetah Amani, with her three five month old cubs, was in this area of Mara North. Of course we asked James if she was around. Oh yes, she's been hanging right near by for several days. Yay! So of course we headed to her area straight away.

 

Didn't take long to find her!

 

 

She and the cubs weren't doing much.

 

 

And seemed a bit sleepy.

 

 

But cubs are always cute!

 

 

 

James told us that they had several unsuccessful hunts in the last few days and so were pretty hungry. The problem was that the cubs were just at the age where they thought hunting was fun play! And so every time Amani tried stalking, they would interrupt, trying to play, running around and ruining the hunt. But hopefully we'd get to see some success over the next several days...after all we had four full days to spend in Mara North.

 

I won't keep you in suspense, lol...you will see a LOT of these cheetahs over the next few installments...I said at the beginning this trip was cheetah-mania; between the 5 Musketeers and this gang, it was cheetah, cheetah, and more cheetah. (And some other cats thrown in for good measure

 

But for now, we left them to see what else was around.  And this evening we didn't see much.

 

A sleeping lion.

 

 

 

A bird

 

 

and I'm sure some other things, but I don't seem to have many other photos from that evening.  No matter, we were already loving Mara North; and getting to know James who we immediately liked.  I think one thing that really drew us to him was that he was always engaged, and engaging. And warm. Even when just sitting and waiting, he always had interesting facts to share; answered all our questions; always seemed to be paying full attention to us, and really loving what he was doing. And of course, he really knew his stuff, knew how to position the vehicle, when to move, when not to, etc. 

 

This may be my last update for a few days as I am going out of town for the weekend, so this will have to hold you. But lots of good stuff coming up...including my absolute favorite sighting of the entire trip...and maybe one of the top five safari experiences ever 

 

Stay tuned!

 

[Atdahl]

32 minutes ago, janzin said:

and maybe one of the top five safari experiences ever

 

You big tease! 

 

Fantastic cheetah photos so far.  You can never have too many so I look forward to seeing them all.

[Zubbie15]

That sleepy lion looks like he's really at peace.

 

I would happily accept room and board from any camp that would have me, in return for the title "photographer-in-residence."  

 

Hmmm, quite the cliffhanger there.  Not cool!