Masai Mara, 16th Dec

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I don't recall when I last slept inside a mosquito net and I have never had to apply mosquito repellant before 😊 But Masai Mara is a malaria area, so had to do both. Hopefully that combined with the malaria drugs I had taken before coming should help prevent any issue

The room I have is structured as a tent but with proper flooring, the whole facility runs on solar power, its a different experience

We started the morning game drive at 6.30am, my apologies for some of the pictures being adult oriented (one of the fresh kill by a Lion and the others of Lions mating), but they were the most spectacular sights of the morning drive (apart from the pictures of day break)

The evening drive started with a breakdown of the car (really bad roads), but it turned out to be the best drive so far. Saw a big elephant herd (more than 50), a big lion pride (15+, they were keeping an eye on a 1000+ buffalo herd), a lion in the middle of the road (not more than 2-3 meters away)

So far, I have seen Lions (laziest bums around, I can now understand the regal laziness of all those who belong to the Leo sign 😊, Elephants, Leopard, Cape Buffalo (lions are no contest for them in a 1-on-1 face off) (that makes 3 of the Big 5), Silver backed Jackal, Spotted Hyena, Eland (largest antelop, can way as much as 300 kgs), Common Zebra (their stripes are like human fingerprint, no two zebras stripes matches each other), Warthog, Masai Giraffe (can be upto 6 meters tall, also the male version is the only animal that is born with a horn), Coke's Hartbeest, Wildebeest (part of the amazing migration every year that happens from Masai Mara to Serengiti), Topi, Impala, Vultures, Buzzards and Secretary Bird

One advise to anyone planning a safari trip. Please make sure you have at least a 30-200 lens, the 18-105 just doesn't capture wildlife as well as you would like to.

I had the option of going to a Masai village and spending time with them, but decided against it. Don't like the idea of paying to meet people and learning their culture.

I feel fortunate having seen these animals in their natural habitat, there is serious doubt if some of them will survive long enough. May the Mara survive the onslaught of humanity for the Kabirs and Shauryas to grow up and see them.

My lasting image of this beautiful land is the sun rays breaking out of the clouds and making life possible on these green plains. Its a sight I will cherish even if I never come back to these lands

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Comments

[Lipika]

3 vultures... like the 3 witches from Macbeth