January
24 (afternoon), January 25, and January 26 (morning), 2015
The
vans were loaded early, good-byes were said as the group divided, and we headed
out of Lake Nakura National Park at 7:50 a.m. on Jan. 24.
At
8:30, after some more animal viewing, we left the park gate. Five of our group of ten were headed for
Nairobi to do shopping on behalf of Give Us Wings and then take off that
evening for Amsterdam. Jered, Lea Anne,
and David would return directly home to the Twin Cities; Cammie and Rob would
fly off to England for a few days visiting friends.
The
remaining five of us (Sharon, Mary, Jennifer, Therese, and I) had signed up for
a mini-safari in Masai Mara National Park.
So Patrick, with the five of us, headed in one direction while Muli,
with the returning five, headed in another.
For a while the road was relatively smooth – good enough for me to write
in my journal and even download pictures onto the computer. However, as we got into Masai territory, the
road deteriorated badly. Patrick did the
best job he could in finding the smoothest part, but it was impossible given
the poor condition of the road. We were
driving through the Rift Valley, and Patrick provided information as we drove.
We
saw a few wildebeest outside the park limits.
There would be no wildebeest within the park since they take part in the
October migration into the Serengeti (an adjacent national park located in
Tanzania). The small group we saw also
migrates out of Masai Mara but go in the opposite direction, staying within the
Masai grazing areas. Both groups migrate
back into Masai Mara at the same time.
Seems amazing to me.
The
park entrance:
The roads, while still unpaved, were much better within the park than outside, showing that the national parks do a better job than the government of supporting roads. It was amazing to me that Patrick could find his way to the lodge; there were no signs, and roads ran off in all directions. One must have a GREAT sense of direction to be a guide here.
We
were excited to see giraffes, lions, and elephants as we drove in. Since there were no elephants in Lake Nakura
National Park, this was a first for this trip.
We didn’t arrive at Mara Camp until 3:30, late for lunch. However, they still fed us, and we got our suitcases to our platform tents before leaving at 4:45 for a game drive.
On
this drive we saw many of the same animals we’d seen in Lake Nakura and a lot
of new ones. To Patrick’s surprise, we
saw three zebra standing together. Since
zebra, like wildebeest, participate in the great migration, they are all
supposed to be in the Serengeti, not in Masai Mara. Apparently these got left behind.
We did several game drives; saw some of the same animals frequently, others were a one-time happening. The van required we be a close group.
We
saw many amazing animals, some at a distance, some up close and personal. It was exciting seeing the cheetah mom with three cubs as she moved rapidly across the park, stopping from time to time to let the kids catch up.
We saw both Masai and Rothschild giraffes (differences are subtle).
Impalas fighting for dominance while a warthog ignores them.
We saw only one Reed Buck. I assume there were others.
The cape buffalo is one of the most dangerous animals to be found. Bad eyesight; great smelling.
A lion family with 5 females and about the same number of cubs. Any mom will nurse any cub. We were close enough to hear the nursing cubs purring.
We saw several hyenas, one leopard (being nocturnal and shy, they're difficult to find), and two jackals walking down the road at the end of the day (hence out of focus because of low light).
.jpg)
There
were also a lot of birds, colorful and interesting. It was especially exciting for me to see the
crowned cranes – much different from the International Crane Foundation where
they are confined within fences.
Ostriches are as silly looking in the wild as they are when raised domestically.
The Mara River runs just below the lodge. We could hear the hippopotami snuffling from our tent rooms -- an interesting sound to which to wake up.
The
lodging was very pleasant. The platform
for the tent was finished wood floors.
The walls were canvas with “windows” that zipped open.
The bath was quite fancy (especially for a tent!), and Mary showed how relaxing the lounger on the porch could be.
And
another beautiful pool that I did not use.
Mary at least got in a brief, cooling, swim.
The
sunset was lovely as we said farewell to the park and the animals.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete