Day 13 - The Big 5

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An early morning, quick breakfast and checkout and we were picked up by our driver Joseph to go to the Wilson airport for our flight to our safari lodge. Arrived with lots of time to spare. We boarded the plane, taxied out to the runway, did some ‘function tests’ and then went back to the terminal as one of the engines was acting a little funny. So we disembarked, waited, and then boarded again. This time we were able to take off. The flight was only about 40 minutes and we only went up to 12000 feet, but as soon as we were above the clouds, I closed my eyes, waiting until we started to descend so I could see the Mara and the animals, but woke up after we’d landed. Oops.

William picked us up and took us to the Sarove Mara Game Lodge. It’s about 14 km away from the airstip, so we were able to have a mini game drive on the way. Saw elephants, giraffes, impala, zebras, gazelles, even a leopard hanging out in an acaica tree, which are seldom found. What a welcome. We saw 2 of the Big 5 before we’d even been ther 30 minutes!! We were greeted by a Masai warrior at our lodge, shown our tents, which are luxury tents. It’s a 5-star resort, and well-worth the money we spent on it. We had time to pig out on the amazing buffet and settle in before our first real game drive at 4pm. William took us out again, it was just the 3 of us. We’d had another 2 arrive with us, but as the guy had been here “10 times” before, they chose to relax this afternoon. So we headed out. Lots of zebras, gazelles, wildebeests, impala. You get used to those pretty quickly. Then there were some giraffes, a herd of elephants, some cape buffalo (#3 of the Big 5), some topis (an antelope), a couple warthogs, birds, more zebras, etc. Then we found a pair of cheetahs sunning on a rock. Across the plain, sitting under an acaica tree was another cheetah. We sat there for quite away, trying out a couple spots, where we could watch all three. I was starting to get bored, they were just laying there, but then they’d sit up, so we’d stay, then they’d lay down, so we’d wait some more, then they’d stand up again. Just when we’d be ready to leave, they’d look like they were finally going to do something, but it was all just a trick. We went back to an area where there were a lot of safari vans, mostly private companies and not the park lodge vehicles. We heard someone say there were lions, but it was very crowded, and a lot of the vans were driving around off the track, trying to get closer and get a better view. William said that if the rangers catch you driving off the track, it’s a 10,000 KSh fine, so he didn’t want to stick around, but when we returned a while later, we discovered it wasn’t lions, but another pair of cheetahs. These were a little more active, but then they started walking away into the bush, so we didn’t spend much time there. Lots of time spent driving around and not seeing anything, then we’d see lots of different animals, then more driving.

William heard on the CB radio where there was a rhino spotting, so we headed off towards that. Saw a couple elands (another type of antelope) in the distance, very big and not often seen. We got to the right area, and then William said, “have your cameras ready and keep your eyes open for the rhino and the green land rover (the rangers)”. We were going off road. We didn’t have to go far though, as a male rhino came out of the bush as we approached it. There was a female (and a baby we found out later on) farther in the bush, but we couldn’t really see them. We followed the male as he wandered down along the bush, then crossed over into an area where we couldn’t see him anymore. This is Todd’s 3rd safari in the Mara and this is the first time he’s seen a black rhino (#4). Lio

Heather’s a big lion fan (#5) and had asked William earlier if we’d see any today. He said yes, but it was almost sunset now. I was afraid we’d spent too much time watching the lazy cheetahs. But we drove down a track and all of a sudden, under a pair of trees, were two male lions, brothers. We got right up to them, probably within about 10 feet. The safari vehicle is like a long jeep, with the bottom part enclosed, but no windows. If those lions had wanted us, there was nothing to stop them. But they seemed pretty mellow, rolling around, cleaning their faces, checking us out. We got some amazing photos with them and the sunset. I’ve pretty much given up taking pictures and video. Todd was a professional photographer and has a better camera with a better zoom lens, so I’ll just get copies of his pictures. And that way I can really watch and soak in the experience.

So it was now dark out and we’d seen all of the Big 5. I’m not sure why they’re called the Big 5 - I’d rather watch giraffes or hippos, even zebras, than cape buffalo, but whatever. We tore across the park trails, in the dark, at speeds around 60-80 km/hr. That’s really fast when the trails are twisty and turny and bumpy and jumpy. And it had really cooled off, so Heather and I were hunkered down, trying to stay out of the wind. Back to the lodge by about 7:30-8, pigged out on another awesome buffet, walked around until about 9:15 and then headed back to the restaurant/lobby area for some Maasai action. Around 10 Maasai warriors were performing, going around to people’s tables while they were eating and singing. They do these throat and chest grunts and coughs and clicks with their tongues and throats. It’s amazing to listen to. They worked their way out to the lobby and then started doing their jumping dance. It went on for about 15 minutes. When they’d finished one of the warriors explained the songs - they’d done 3 - the one when they kill a lion, when they steal a herd of cattle, and the jumping dance which is kind of a competition, where the one that jumps the highest usually ends up with the most female admirers. Time for bed in our cozy tents. When we arrive back from our game drive, all the screen windows are covered up, the bed is turned down, then when we’re at supper, they put a hot water bottle in the bed. The cicadas and night animals are quite loud, but it’s beautiful music to go to sleep to - almost as nice as the sound of children playing.
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Comments

[SHARON kLANCAR]

thanks, just great
Your safari sounded great and glad all is going so,so good. Love Sharon