twaffle

Everyday, so far, had thrown us something special although I know it isn’t always so, I was just incredibly lucky and had an extraordinarily canny and intuitive guide.

By this stage it was time to head back towards camp so we headed off to see if the lion pride had moved yet, as it was on our way home.

The big male had been joined by another male and they had a brief argument but were in thick rushes and I couldn’t see them well enough for a photo. The lionesses and their cubs all moved off to climb onto a large pile of rocks and dirt giving me some nice photo opportunities.

The sun set on another fabulous day, but the realisation that I only had one full day left made me feel incredibly sad.

The penultimate sunrise in the Mara was stunning, and despite feeling that I needed more time I knew that I had been blessed with some great sightings given the time of year and had enjoyed wonderful, varied weather and met fascinating people.

This last day was to be spent in the Mara North Conservancy and I really didn’t do it justice. Having only had one other game drives plus this one day was not nearly enough and we saw only a very small part of the area.

We heard the alarm calls of monkeys in the distant trees and Kimansi made his way over towards this copse of trees surrounding a small creek. We could see the monkeys all staring in one direction, their distinctive barks ringing out over the plains, and we knew that there was some sort of predator nearby.

We very carefully and slowly drove through the trees on a track which wound along the creek’s edge, seeing nothing. Then we circled the whole copse in one direction and then the other. Still nothing. Eventually, we decided to leave the monkeys to their warnings and the predator to its’ hunting and headed off in a different direction. I don’t know what made Daniel take a last look behind us towards the trees, but as he searched with binoculars I also glanced around not expecting to see anything. Suddenly a leopard leapt out from behind some thick reeds and dashed towards the tree line. It had been hiding more or less out in the open the whole time we had been staring at and between the trees. No time for a photo but the fact that we saw her at all was a bonus.

twaffle

Some 40 minutes after leaving camp we found a couple of lionesses from one of the local prides. They were busy with their morning cleaning ritual when one of the lionesses stopped what she was doing and looked into the distance with an intense gaze.

We noticed a 4x4 from one of the neighbouring camps drive along the edge of some bushes and trees, then stop, turn and drive off. Nothing over in the direction the lionness was gazing at however Daniel suggested we drive over that way ourselves.

About 10 m from where the other vehicle turned around we found the rest of the pride. A magnificent male lion known as Caesar, some cubs and another lionness or two. I wondered how often we had just missed some special sighting and decided that it was better not to know.

For more information on these lions you can go to the Living with Lions website
http://www.livingwithlions.org/mara/

As we watched, the large male casually lifted up the carcass at his feet, letting the head of the topi hang loosely.

samcat

Wonderfully written and very intersting. I'm reading on Safari Talk, which I'd never before visited! Only on the second page, but am enjoying it.
Thanks.

twaffle

Thanks samcat, I've got the last bit written and posted on ST but I just need to adapt it for Fodors because of the lack of photos which I depend on to reduce the amount of writing … how lazy of me!

samcat

I just finished the report on Safaritalk. It was wonderful to the end. The lion pictures particularly took me back to the Mara -- the feel, smells, sounds. As others expressed, I was sad when it ended.
Thanks again.
Samcat

kathyf

Wow, Twaffle. You sure set the bar high! Great trip report here and on SafariTalk and amazing photos. I read the whole thing and stayed up past my bedtime to do it!

I'm just back from 3 weeks in Kenya and will be doing a trip report and posting photos soon, but geez.... I know I will feel inadequate. I was glad to notice somewhere in your replies a comment about your entering a professional photo contest, so at least a bit of the pressure is off.

Thanks for sharing such beautiful words and images.

Kathy

twaffle

Thanks kathyf and samcat for wading through all those pages, I appreciate the effort. No pressure on anyone from me, I just love reading about other peoples experiences and see their photos and I usually find myself quite envious because everyone sees something incredible.

Now it just remains to plan and save up for another trip!

Kits55

Twaffle, I just can't get enough! I've read every word on your ST trip report as well as on here! I am so in love with your sunrise image..it is breathtaking and I'm hopeful I will see one like that in August.

When you got the special rate from Serian did you book directly through Serian or did you find the special through a booking company?

Thanks for the fantastic trip report...it's not 11 am and I'm still not up and ready for the day because I could not bear to tear myself away from your report!

TC

Amazing trip and photos. Thanks.