twaffle

That first early morning wake up call and cup of tea comes too soon and is surely the hardest one. I hadn’t slept well, probably still adjusting, and fell into a deep sleep seemingly 5 mins before my alarm and tea disturbed me. With scrambled eggs for brains I stood outside my tent in the early morning glow trying to remember if Mark had said I needed an escort only at night, in the dark, or whether this half light constituted a semi safe zone for walking. As no one was around and I had both my bags with me for the camp transfer, I decided to live dangerously and make it on my own figuring that I’d hide behind my bags; clobber any predator on the head with my bags; or any combination of the two if necessary. Needless to say nothing remotely exciting happened and I arrived safely at the vehicle.

We set off at a great pace, heading towards a suitable landscape for some dawn photography. A leopard in the tree would have been the icing on the cake, but it wasn’t to be.

We ambled across the cattle belt and down the road towards the Mara Reserve gate but before we had travelled too far Daniel saw some movement on the ridge in the distance. We headed over that way to find a two lionesses, a young male in very bad condition and a few cubs, also pretty scrawny. Not knowing whether I would see many lions, especially cubs, I took a number of photos but nothing special. They were on a mission to some better place … hopefully somewhere which included a good meal for all the youngsters. In the very far distance we could see a large male lion heading towards the Marsh but as he was being followed by a vehicle already we decided to go our own way.

We stopped on the side of the slope to watch an elephant silhouetted against the ridge when something whizzed behind my head. Startled, I turned to see what it was when another went passed. It turned out to be two swallows who were taking advantage of our vehicle to check out possible nesting places. We stayed where we were for a while whilst they flew in and out of the car, occasionally perching on the back canvas. Eventually we had to leave them, before the disappointment of losing their new home became too hard for them to bear.

twaffle

Finally we made it through the gate and headed off down the track towards the Musiara Marsh area. In the distance we could see a car coming towards us and as we came closer it started to slow down, eventually stopping by the side of the road. As we narrowed the gap between us we saw what had stopped the others in their tracks, a beautiful cheetah lying on the dirt verge. Well worth sharing this sighting but as we were admiring her, a small furry bundle appeared at the top of the verge as well. Our lovely cheetah had a cub … what a wonderful early morning surprise. After an interval of letting her cub play with her, viewing into the distance, then lying down again, our girl set off down the road with purpose in her stride. She left the cub in the long grass, I never did see how she told the cub to stay, then off she crept onto the plains. It is an awesome sight to watch a cheetah hunt, in no time at all she was on the far horizon, just a blur in silhouette. Unfortunately for her, no success this time but it was still a thrill to see her at full flight.

I think I remember 3 vehicles at this sighting, and we all kept our distance.

twaffle

Leaving the cheetah to reunite with her cub at her own pace, we continued on our way carefully looking for our next bit of activity. No 2-way radio telling us what was around the corner, nor any mobile phone chatter. An occasional chat with a passing car to exchange news but all in all a quiet and natural amble through the wilderness. We were blessed by very few cars and most of our best sightings were ones we found ourselves and consequently shared with at the most, one other car.

It was not long (in fact it was less than 10mins) before we saw another predator, this time a smaller spotted cat. I couldn’t believe that it was a serval as I have found them impossible to find. This cat was out in the open in full daylight, hunting in the small bushes.

It was now 8.45am and I thought our luck wouldn’t continue but 7 minutes later we found two young male lions resting on a mound of grass. They sat up for a short while then assumed the ‘lion position’ of flat out. We didn’t hang about, I find lions in the resting position less than fascinating.

After an hour or so of general game viewing which was varied and interesting we came across a rather magnificent kori bustard in full courtship display. I can’t remember seeing one displaying this well before, so was pleased to get some photos of it.

twaffle

By now it was after 10am and my head ache was raging and I think we were all pretty hungry for breakfast. So much had been happening that there had been no time to think about food. Daniel and Kimansi found a nice spot under a tree in a clearing where they proceeded to spread out breakfast. No cardboard boxed for Serian visitors, we had a table cloth spread over the Landcruiser tail gate which was covered with cereal, fresh tropical fruit, chipolatas and bacon, pancakes, bread, marmalade, hard boiled eggs (breakfast wouldn’t be breakfast in Kenya without them!) and fresh coffee and tea. Daniel faithfully put out a chair for me at each meal stop but after so much sitting it was better standing around looking at the view and chatting. Poor things probably would have preferred me to sit quietly, but there was too much to talk about and we tended to keep pretty quiet in the vehicle.

twaffle

Still on our morning game drive we left our breakfast spot and returned to our spotting duties. First we came across 2 cheetahs lying under a small tree. I thought initially that they were brothers, but Daniel informed me that it was a mother and her almost adult son. We watched them for a short time before moving on as they didn’t look particularly active. Besides Daniel had spotted a vehicle in the distance under a tree looking interested.

We left our spotted cats and headed towards the tree which now had no vehicle under it. False alarm. Then Daniel whispered under his breath “leopard, I see its’ tail” and sure enough there it was, sound asleep in the tree.

We stayed for a while watching to see if it would do anything interesting but we decided that our luck had really run out now.

twaffle

For the next half an hour we enjoyed an excellent sightings of a giraffe and her calf. a group of 4 or 5 topi all vying for top spot on a large termite mound, many birds …

Until we spied a number of vultures sitting at the top of a tree in the distance. Driving over there we found a large, damp and bloody patch of ground with nothing around. Strangely enough, the vultures were in the tree so Daniel thought it likely that whoever made the kill was still in the vicinity. Just as he said that, 2 vultures landed and started looking for scraps of meat which had been left amongst the grass. This activity roused a lioness who came over to check that she hadn’t left anything significant, and she was joined by another lioness. They were so close to the car which was an open sided vehicle, that I felt amazingly alive and vibrant. Across the creek bed we could see a number of other lions with stretched bellies making their way across to a shady tree.

A tawny eagle and a white headed vulture watched from a tree. Later on Alex would explain to me the differing techniques of the various vultures to access a carcass and their role in the clean up. Very interesting.

As we left the lions Daniel and Kimansi started to look for a suitable place for lunch. In the end we ousted a giraffe from under a tree as it was the only appropriate place for us mere mortals to feel safe, given that it had a lot of clear ground around it. Shortly before reaching the tree we found a ground hornbill sitting on a tree branch, its’ 2 mates were wondering around on the ground looking for a meal for themselves.

twaffle

After lunch we went back to see if the leopard had moved, not a chance. Maybe an eyelid, but even that was doubtful so we continued our journey of discovery.

Returning to the 2 cheetahs was much more productive as they had come to life and looked seriously interested in hunting. Those teenagers are not good to take hunting though. Every time the female crept close to her prey, the young male trotted up exuberantly making it impossible to get close enough to start a proper run.

The gazelles and topis were curious onlookers at these antics. The chorus of alarm snorts from the topis reached a quite musical note but none of the animals were ever in any real danger.

As the shadows started to lengthen, Kimansi started driving towards our camp, Nkorombo, on the banks of the Mara river. We stopped along the way to photograph a dik dik, such cute little antelopes and then came across another breeding herd of elephants.

twaffle

We found 3 cheetah brothers doing not much at all, and since we had such good cheetah viewing already we decided to continue onwards again. Whether these were Honey’s boys, I don’t know, but they were great looking cheetahs nonetheless.

The next sighting was all mine and was very pleased to see the ears of 5 Bat eared foxes appearing above the grass. These cute little creatures entertained us for a while before heading off to hunt, leaving the cubs in the den.

Under a tree right near the camp was a couple of Jackals. One appeared very annoyed because its’ mate wouldn’t follow and insisted on staying under the tree despite our presence.

We reached camp 11 hours after leaving Serian in the MNC. Tired but exhilarated by what we had seen and experienced. It wasn’t even the seeing but more the feeling and the sounds and smells of the wide open spaces and the camaraderie between Daniel, Kimansi and me.

The camp was just as I imagined it would be and I was glad to call it home for the next 2 nights.

To finish off the day I had 2 hippos fighting right in front of my tent. What a noise! In fact, the passing parade of hippos and their roll calls during the night made it distinctly hard to sleep but it is all part of the charm of such a natural, authentic camp.

We finished off the evening by a roaring campfire after another wonderful meal.

twaffle

Only one small problem reared its’ head. I had my power board plugged into the generator to charge all my batteries and due to some little incident the whole lot were blown. So day one and I couldn’t charge any camera batteries or my phone … ah the joys of bush living!

twaffle

My second day in Mara began early, much earlier than I had expected. The hippo roll call leaving the river had rattled my tent well before midnight so I hadn’t expected to wake around 3am from what could only be described as an eery silence. Once awake I struggled to get back to sleep as the sounds of the night slowly crept in. Consequently I was up and ready to go long before my wake up call and thermos of hot tea.

I managed to photograph a slight bit of colour lifting above the river before walking vaguely towards the mess tent. No breakfast in camp today but we weren’t spending the whole day out having decided to come back for lunch.

First order of the morning was the sunrise, of course, and what would a sunrise in the Mara be without a balloon or two!

I must say though, the balloons are a terrible intrusion in the wilderness. The noise from the burners can be heard from miles away and you can hear them long before you see them lift above the horizon. I think if I were in charge I'd limit them to 1 balloon once a week! (only kidding).

We came across these two topis fighting and I just settled in to get a nice series of pictures when my camera blipped ‘full card’. Next time I’m not taking anything less than 8gb cards, maybe 16gb. Fewer times to get to the end of the card.

With new card inserted we passed by yet another jackal and made our way towards the tree where we had seen the leopard the day before. I thought it would have left the tree during the night to hunt, but no … the lazy thing was still firmly ensconced in his branch and although he had moved he didn’t look at all interested in anything but rest.

So we left him and moved on. I could pretend that it was different trees and say that I had seen 3 leopards but that would be lying so sadly it is the same leopard 3 times.

twaffle

Breakfast this morning was a little earlier as we hadn’t had the activity we experienced the day before. Daniel directed Kimansi to the look out which commanded magnificent views over the Serengeti and west over the Mara triangle. We looked down on the Fig Tree balloon champagne breakfast … spying really, and enjoyed our own repast which was deliciously fresh and plentiful as usual. My seat was placed with views in sight but I only sat on it briefly whilst I was joined by an agama lizard.

Although meerkats aren’t in the Mara we saw quite a few banded mongooses and they are characters indeed.

As we crossed a small creek bed I noticed a lily and asked Kimansi to stop. Actually, I yelled “stooooop” in a loud voice and I’m sure he thought I’d seen something truly spectacular. Not really, but this ended up being probably one of my most favourite photos taken on this safari. Not the least because of the beetle drinking which I hadn’t seen before taking the photo.

Eventually we made it down to the Tanzanian border, where we had to stand on forbidden land, so to speak. I’m sure all dedicated tourists do that at least once.

On the way to make a short pit stop at the Mara Triangle entry gate, we came across a cheetah lying behind a bush. Looking at it through binoculars we could see that it wasn’t in the best of condition, whether old or sick we couldn’t tell. At the gate I found quite a few agamas displaying so grabbed a quick photo before heading back towards camp for lunch.

twaffle

By now it was mid-day and we decided to make a detour to check our lazy leopard before heading back to camp.

Heavens above, there he was prowling around in the grass. Checking down burrows and in clumps of grass in case anything was alive and just waiting to become leopard food.

He sniffed around the trunk of a large tree and we thought that he was going to head on up and sprawl across a branch … again! But no, he kept on going down into the bush.
We were sharing this sighting with one other car, the occupants deciding that they had seen enough they moved away and we were left alone with our leopard. Remember that we had spent quite some time visiting this boy up in his tree over the previous 30 hours or so.

We lost sight of him then and we were just wondering which way he had gone when Daniel noticed him climbing a large fig tree. We drove closer to it so that I could get some climbing photos but the tree was quite thick. As he climbed two vultures suddenly flew out of the top of the tree in a great flurry, they had a huge nest sitting right on top of the tree.

Steadily the leopard climbed and climbed until he stood right at the top looking around him as if he was truly the king of this valley. Then he carefully stepped into the nest and started to sniff around. We waited with baited breath not knowing if there were hatchlings in the nest or not. Fortunately for the vultures but not the hungry leopard, the nest was still empty. By this time we had attracted another vehicle and we watched the disappointed leopard slowly descend the tree, gracefully turning at the last minute to come down the last bit of trunk. He slinked off into the heavy scrub and we didn’t see him again.

twaffle

I came back into camp bursting with my exciting news. Surely no one else in could have seen such a thing that morning. I was met by Isaac who was running the mobile camp and whilst he was amazed he had some pretty exciting news as well. The lionness we had heard pre dawn that morning had come through camp after a warthog. She was somewhere in the bushes on the ridge above the camp. We decided that as soon as we had lunched and re-organised ourselves we would head out to see if we could find her.

After lunch we roamed around the camp looking for the lionness and it didn’t take long to find her having a siesta in the grass.

There was thunder in the air and she soon roused herself and set off for who knows where.

We skirted the thick bush she had moved into and came around on the far side and waited. It wasn’t long before she emerged into the light and with the approaching storm moving towards us in the background, we had a great photo opportunity.

Daniel had spent many long hours with professional photographers from around the world and was very skilled at finding some great angles and locations, although in the cases where off roading wasn’t allowed, or where the animals were in difficult terrain, we just made the best of what we had.

Leaving the lionness to go about her business we headed off … strangely enough we were the only vehicle to be seen. Mmmm, the others weren’t very adventurous.

We didn’t get too far before we were hit by the storm and I have to say that it was totally exhilirating. Daniel and Kimansi rushed about trying to get the canvas roof on (we had changed vehicles and this was open top and sides) and the sides down. I pulled out my waterproof camera bag cover and huddled in one of the blankets as the heavy rain swept over us. The wind rocked the Landcruiser from side to side and we just laughed and laughed. It really was so much fun. Looking across towards the Serena we saw it slowly disappear in a swirl of mist and rain, flashes of lightning lighting up the sky above the escarpment.

I wouldn’t have missed it if I had been given the chance. Every now and then I carefully poked my camera out through a gap in the canvas and took a photo of the storm.

Soon enough the rain cleared and we went on our way but naturally enough the animals had taken cover so viewing wasn’t as productive as before.

Wet and bedraggled but quite happy we returned to camp where the staff were busily cleaning up the remains of the water which had flowed through the camp site.

Not much of a sunset this night but we had a pleasant and restful evening by the camp fire sharing more stories before heading off to a, thankfully, quiet and peaceful night’s sleep.

I had spent two nights at the mobile camp and I would have stayed longer if it had been possible … it just felt right. Needless to say, we had an early breakfast in camp before heading back to Serian camp.

twaffle

Daniel decided to take me down to the Paradise crossing point on the Mara river to see the place where so much action takes place during the migration. We were specifically looking for crocodiles. As we approached we found two lionesses, obviously still lactating, but no sign of the cubs. We decided to watch them for a while along with one other vehicle. Eventually, one lioness moved across some very stony ground towards a small amount of dense bush. Daniel thought it likely that the cubs were there and shortly afterwards the other vehicle followed the lioness up the slope.

We decided to go down to the river’s edge first to check for those crocs, having been distracted by the lions. Thank goodness we did.

I took a not very good photograph of some weavers nesting on the banks of the river and then noticed a wildebeest and her calf walking in earnest down the far side of the river bank. My goodness, I was going to get my own mini wildebeest crossing out of season! I think Daniel and Kimansi thought I was quite ridiculous getting excited by this, but they entered the spirit of the occasion. Some people spend days during the migration and never see a wildebeest swim across the river … that was in my thoughts anyway.

As they crossed Daniel started to get excited, “look the crocodiles are after the calf”. So I quickly refocussed my attention on the calf and crocs whilst the mother scrambled to safety when Daniel fairly hissed in my ear “quick, a lion here in the grass, quick over here”.

I swung my camera around to the other side of our vehicle where a third lioness had obviously been hiding in the long grass (we never saw her) and now she had her eyes on the wildebeest.

It all happened so quickly. I’ve looked at my time stamps. 4 minutes from when I photographed the wildebeest the first time to when the lioness emerged from hiding.

The lionness went after that wildebeest and within seconds had overpowered her. The calf ran off in confusion and I thought perhaps one of the other lionnesses might grap it, but no, it escaped for the time being.

It was Daniel’s first lion kill in 2 years, Kimansi’s first ever and definitely mine as an adult.

I try not to think of the calf, but it was well grown so may have survived or may have fed another hungry youngster.

We were the only vehicle at this sighting but soon afterwards the car which had followed the other lioness returned, and boy were those tourists peeved.

We all miss things, fortunately we usually never know what it is that we have missed.

The lionness dragged the kill under a bush and it became quite hard to see her. We thought we'd leave the other vehicle in peace to watch from whatever spot they could best see her, since we had seen all the preceding action.

twaffle

After the adrenaline rush we had just experienced, the small clearing amongst the trees on the edge of the river provided a welcome respite. We came to see if there were any more crocodiles and although we did see two I was more interested in the hippo and calf resting on the river’s edge.

Then we paid attention to the birds surrounding us.

We left this quiet haven and headed towards the third lioness was babysitting the cubs, she didn’t look particularly pleased at being left out of the action. The second lionness had joined the first who made the kill and they were having a grand old feast.

We headed back to lunch full of our stories of life on the plains, wondering if anyone had seen the half of what we had seen. What a morning.

AKR1

Twaffle, thanks for a truly remarkable trip report (this + Safaritalk). We are headed to the Mara and the Serengeti this summer and your report is extremely helpful. In addition, I have to say, your report on Sararitalk about your childhood in Kenya really captivated me. Thanks very much for sharing your remarkable experiences.

twaffle

Thanks AKR1, appreciate your comments.

twaffle

For our next adventure we were planning a day trip into the Mara triangle. I had wanted to visit the Western corner of the triangle, over by the Tanzanian border where the kopjes start and the woodlands are. I had been warned that the wildlife density would be low at this time of year but because I had already had such rich sightings I could afford a light day’s viewing. I wanted to go exploring and Daniel and Kimansi were game.

Again, we set off before the sun rose, me bleary eyed and Daniel and Kimansi bursting with energy. I asked them what time they had to get up to get ready to indulge me in my day trip endeavours and they said 4.30 am. I wonder whether we consider these long days for our guides, at least they didn’t have to keep me company in the evening so were able to (hopefully) have an early night.

My main objective in the triangle was to see one of the few, elusive black rhinos still inhabiting the area. I took one look at the very long grass and realised that my chances of seeing much at all were slim.

The dawn was not spectacular this morning, but pretty all the same. We descended onto the plains and through the gates and our first encounter was a rather fine elephant.

The mists rolled down the sides of the Oloololo Escarpment and over the endless plains. It was such a pleasure to enter this richly grassed area.

We headed towards a grove of croton bushes which are prime rhino country and trawled around the area looking for any sign of one but all we found was a stinking hippo carcass covered in vultures. It is hard to realise how devastated the vulture population has been by Furadan when you see so many in one place and that's one of the reasons why it is so important to talk about their plight. If you only visited the Mara you may think all was well.

twaffle

The grass was thick and high either side of the road so we were most surprised when up ahead we saw a beautiful cheetah lying on the side of the road. It wasn’t in any mood to do much and besides, if it had decided to hunt we wouldn’t even have seen the tip of its’ tail in the grass. So after a while of just watching the lovely animal we moved off towards our breakfast spot.

As we neared Serena, we came across a pride of flat cats. Although I was prepared to stay for ages to see if they’d do anything, Daniel rightly surmised that they were there for the day. Seeing the silly little tree whose shade they were sheltering in, I thought they might move but no! Determining that we would pass this way on the journey back we headed off.

We passed the back of Serena and headed off into unknown territory (for me). This was very sparse country with very few trees, endless rolling plains which seemed to go forever. No other vehicles passed our way, we didn’t even see raised dust from a distant car. But then we didn’t see lots of animals either! But we were having a great time, well I was.

twaffle

My impressions of the Triangle were of well maintained roads; very strict rules about off roading so that the beautiful grasslands were certainly preserved in good condition; vast rolling plains; high, thick grass; fairly sparse plains game; almost no tourists … it was hard to see across some of the grasslands and if an animal of interest was in the middle of some of these plains, there would be no way to see it. Of course, for the animals this is all a positive change from the old days of driving anywhere for anything but for photography it becomes harder to get close ups. You have to rely on finding animals close to the road.

We stopped for lunch near the border at a picnic site under a shady tree. It had some rustic tables and logs to sit on so we were in great comfort whilst eating.

After a short stop by the Mara Bridge we headed back towards the Serena on the road closest to the river. There were giraffe and various other grazers but then Daniel became very still, staring into the distance. We stopped whilst he decided if he had seen anything significant when he suddenly said, rhino, over there. I looked and looked through the grass, not seeing it when this rock started to move. Sure enough, a black rhino was slowly coming out of a hollow and moving towards our direction. Daniel said that we were lucky because the rhino had been wallowing in a mud hole and his hide was wet and therefore, shiny in the sun. I felt very fortunate with this sighting, even though he was at quite a distance and I couldn’t get a clear view of him, it was such an experience. Rhinos on both my recent Mara visits.