The cutest picture you will see all day.
Have you heard of Africa's Big 5? They are often the biggest, most dangerous animals in the park here in Africa. Its a term left over from the Great White Hunter days, where if you shot one of these animals, but didn't kill it, it could charge you and kill you. The Big 5 are lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and cape buffalo. Well today, we saw all of those and more, here in beautiful Masai Mara. This is truly the gem of Kenya's wildlife parks, and something that every animal or nature lover should experience in their lifetime.
We started off at 5:50am, in order to be the first one's crossing into the park at 6am. Being the early bird paid off with our first encounter with a rarely seen black rhino. David positioned us perfectly so the rhino would cross right in front of us. Luckily it turned and looked at the perfect moment for a photo, before disappearing into its usual bushy habitat. We were still riding a high when we came across a family of lions with four tiny, playful cubs. The cubs were curious about us, and also leaping on top of each other. One of my favorite photos and memories from the day is the one above, where it looks like one cub is standing up to hug its sibling. I think it is actually trying to bit its neck. We stayed with the cubs for quite some time, until a hot air balloon whizzed by, 10 ft overhead, sending the cubs off into the bush. It must have looked pretty awesome from the balloon though! I think they only saw the two adults.
After that the hits just kept coming. We saw so many animals, including beautiful birds, tiny baby elephants walking under their moms legs, and thousands of wildebeest who are part of the Great Migration. After a tremendous morning of animal sightings, we parked at a lone tree on a hill in the middle of the plains, and our guide, David, put on the picnic breakfast feast of a lifetime. We enjoyed our luxurious spread with some hot Kenyan coffee, and a close eye on the lions that were lazing within binocular range. Luckily the smell of cooked bacon did not rouse them. They don't know what they were missing!
Shortly after breakfast we scored the most elusive of the big 5, a leopard. We spotted it hiding in a tree, but waited patiently for it to finally climb down and give us a show. We were all ready for the photo as it descended, and Greg wondered aloud how it could get any better than this. Well, on the way home we came across three brother cheetahs, lounging under a tree. Can anyone say, 'Big 6?'
This was all just the morning. In the afternoon we ended up following the cheetah brothers for a long ways as they started their hunt for prey. Then we ended up at a surprise bush sundowner, where our lodge had set up a mobile bar, campfire, and apps out in the wild plains. Once we finally got back to the lodge, we were greeted by a Maasai warrior dance, which we got swept up into. It was an amazing day that can only happen in a place like this.
I felt so lucky to get this shot of one of my favorite African bird species to photograph, the elusive malachite kingfisher. It is tiny, and beautiful, and this one was hidden by the reeds, but I managed to snag a shot in focus through the green. Such a magnificent bird and a fun find!
It is always fun to see how many eagle species we can see in one park here in Africa. This one, a long crested eagle, we managed to spot several times today in the Masai Mara.
The day started with us being the first ones in the park, and it paid off. We had this black rhino encounter all to ourselves. It turned and looked, just as I shot this photo, and then walked off into the bushes to disappear for the rest of the day.
We had several encounters with troops of olive baboons today. This was my favorite photo out of them all. Showing off the impressive canines of these omnivores.
Three lions from the Oloololo pride walking our way with hot air balloons in the background.
Very young cub of the River pride. We had an incredible encounter with this family. Four playful cubs and two watchful moms. Again, the early bird got the worm.
I was hoping that there would still be some of the Great Migration herds left in the Mara, and we found them out west, towards the border with Tanzania. We were surrounded on all sides by thousands of wildebeest and zebra.
Early morning light on two lionesses of the Oloololo pride.
A third, this one a young male, keeps a close eye on his sisters.
Iconic Masai Mara scene unfolds in the early morning. A hot air balloon glides over a mother lion sitting atop a mound.
The herds are here. The migration is in full swing on the African savanna.
A family of banded mongoose keep us entertained while we scan the savanna.
A coalition of three cheetah brothers takes over the road as they head out for the hunt.
Lions are pretty opportunistic when it comes to gathering food. They are always scanning and looking to see what options might be close by.
I always challenge myself to get a good photo of a cape buffalo. Despite their enormous size, and impressive horns, I find they are a difficult photographic subject. Their dark bodies and silly facial expressions usually make this a solid challenge indeed.
Wow. We found almost everything there is to see on a morning game drive today. Including a coalition of cheetahs. Here they are resting, but we found them later on the move.
Family photo of the River Pride. Its hard to keep those cubs still for too long.
'Excuse me, I just need to step over you.'
Wait!? What's that heading off into the tall grass!?
A spotted hyena looking over its shoulder.
Our patience paid off with some tree climbing action from this elusive male leopard.
Cheetah close up.
I just missed getting this cheetah on the branch looking at me. Then he slipped off, which surprised me just as much as it surprised him.
Having young kids, I know just how this mother lion feels.
Leopard leaping the last few feet off its tree.
Cheetah taking in the view in the Mara.
I'm not sure what I spotted, but it must have been very good!
After a big day of game drives, our driver David surprised us by driving us here, to a bush sundowner. These are all the other guests at our tent camp. In typical African safari fashion, we traded stories and sightings from the day around the campfire.
Migration road block.
Finally getting back to camp, after dark, we were greeted with the yells and cheers of a big group of Maasai warriors. They regretted choosing me to join their jump competition when I jumped higher than some of them.
Now this is how you do a picnic breakfast in the bush!
The minibar and appetizer set up at our bush sundowner. What a day!
Bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs.... I've got to up my camping game back home after this.
As always, keep traveling and keep posting!
- Dai Mar