At the Mara, we had many game drives and saw great scenery, animals and birds. While our Masaii driver spoke some English, his understanding of OUR English was minimal. However, he took us to see all the big 5 and he had a good command of the names of birds, so Kera was happy.
Eland
Sacred Ibis
Big bird in a tree-- Gray buzzard?
The lions and our cubs.
Banded Mongooses... or mongeese. And below, a black backed jackal. Try saying that three times fast.
A really big buzzard.
We saw the cheetahs on a hill looking out. Then running as if they were playing. Then an unfortunate bush buck ran past.
And our driver tracked down the three cheetahs and the kill. (the brown shape on the left.)
We found our fun secretary bird (about 3' tall) and an Impala, not all that much taller.
This is the first time I know for sure I've seen a black rhino. The mouth is more pointed than the white (or wide) rhino. There aren't many on the Mara, so this was cool!
Then we found a mama leopard...
with her baby.... and breakfast.
Warthogs seemed to be standing...or running away. Not many eating grass this time. But they are fun "Pumba" types.
For the first time we saw a hippo on land. I'm glad he was on the OTHER side of the river from where we had our breakfast! He walked up and down that side several times.
We had breakfast with the hood of the safari van as our table. This was just as we were to leave the river site. John was our driver (pronounced Joan.)
I'd seen the bee catchers in my bird book and was delighted to find one in person... or in wing. I think today he was a dragonfly catcher.
One of Tom's favorites is the Topi.
We saw many elephants.
Several times when we stopped for photos of birds, we saw other animals-- a lion under a tree, some elephants in a ravine. I wonder how many times we drive by, never knowing the animals near by. How many times do we pass by, never seeing the need in others?
When we got back to camp, no one was hesitant to dig into the food. It was very good. Aaron was fascinated by the trees growing inside the dining area... and out the roof.
We saw a number of lions-- in small groups and large. Here there were about 9 lion cubs all sprawled out together.
The giraffes are always so graceful.
While I refrained from getting so many zebra shots this time, Katie made up for it. I wonder if half her photos aren't zebras. And rightly so. They are lovely.
Tom's camera accidentally got on the "take a gazillion photos" mode. So we have dozens of this hyena! Left paw up.. left paw slightly extended... paw stretched a bit more... you get the idea. He also had that on with a bird that took flight. That series was much more interesting.
Sunsets on the Mara are always exquisite. This is the water mill at Telak Gate.
And on the way home from the Mara, we saw buzzards circling. We came closer and found buzzards gathered around a deceased zebra. It was just off the road and out of the Mara. So we got closer, scattered the buzzards, and then watched them come in to land again.
Our drive home was dusty, but uneventful.
This is the first time I know for sure I've seen a black rhino. The mouth is more pointed than the white (or wide) rhino. There aren't many on the Mara, so this was cool!
Then we found a mama leopard...
with her baby.... and breakfast.
Warthogs seemed to be standing...or running away. Not many eating grass this time. But they are fun "Pumba" types.
For the first time we saw a hippo on land. I'm glad he was on the OTHER side of the river from where we had our breakfast! He walked up and down that side several times.
We had breakfast with the hood of the safari van as our table. This was just as we were to leave the river site. John was our driver (pronounced Joan.)
I'd seen the bee catchers in my bird book and was delighted to find one in person... or in wing. I think today he was a dragonfly catcher.
One of Tom's favorites is the Topi.
We saw many elephants.
Several times when we stopped for photos of birds, we saw other animals-- a lion under a tree, some elephants in a ravine. I wonder how many times we drive by, never knowing the animals near by. How many times do we pass by, never seeing the need in others?
When we got back to camp, no one was hesitant to dig into the food. It was very good. Aaron was fascinated by the trees growing inside the dining area... and out the roof.
We saw a number of lions-- in small groups and large. Here there were about 9 lion cubs all sprawled out together.
The giraffes are always so graceful.
While I refrained from getting so many zebra shots this time, Katie made up for it. I wonder if half her photos aren't zebras. And rightly so. They are lovely.
Tom's camera accidentally got on the "take a gazillion photos" mode. So we have dozens of this hyena! Left paw up.. left paw slightly extended... paw stretched a bit more... you get the idea. He also had that on with a bird that took flight. That series was much more interesting.
Sunsets on the Mara are always exquisite. This is the water mill at Telak Gate.
And on the way home from the Mara, we saw buzzards circling. We came closer and found buzzards gathered around a deceased zebra. It was just off the road and out of the Mara. So we got closer, scattered the buzzards, and then watched them come in to land again.
Our drive home was dusty, but uneventful.
Nice post. Thanks for all the pictures. Question: Wasn't OUR driver named John? Did you have the same driver? I love the shots of the cheetahs, especially of the baby. It must have been exciting to watch the Cheetahs go on the hunt.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I recently read about rhinos that the white rhinos are more social than the black rhinos, so the white ones tend to gather in groups, while the black rhinos stay by themselves.
ReplyDelete