Wednesday - Hippo Pool

---

Today we had breakfast first and then left on a game drive at 07.30. We were going to have a longer drive, aiming to be back just in time for lunch. John wanted to take us to the hippo pool right on the border to Tanzania and then have ample time to look for other animals. We took the main road down to Keekorok Lodge. Just next to the lodge there is a football field with proper goals (surprise). This morning there seemed to be a match between the impalas and the warthogs. In reality the animals were simply eating the nice green grass on the football field.

Along the road we saw hot air balloon tourists having breakfast. It was an impressive arrangement with chairs and tables and a group of cooks in full uniforms. If you have USD 400 to spare you can have a ride in a balloon and see the Mare from above.

We saw a huge herd of wildebeest with some zebras moving among them. It was very interesting to see how the zebras would lead the way, and suddenly the wildebeest would follow in a long line. Fascinating.

The concrete slab marking the border between Kenya and Tanzania was nothing to see, but if you fancy the idea of standing with one foot in Tanzania and the other one in Kenya, this is a good place to do it.

Just next to the border marker is the hippo pool. It is a bend in the Mara River just next to the New Mara Bridge. John told us we would be escorted down to the river by armed park wardens and if we made it back alive was supposed to give the warden a KSh 200 tip. It all sounded a bit scary. As it turned out, the hippos were on the opposite side of the river, and we felt safe watching them from a distance. There was not much to see, really. All we could see was the eyes of some hippos above the water to the left and right and seven or eight shining, wet backs of the 1500 kilo hippos in front of us.

The warden informed us he had seen two large crocodiles just a few meters up the river. He suggested we should take a look. “It is perfectly safe” he told us. Elsie was not so sure. But we followed along through the bush hoping the warden would be able to kill lions, leopards or, God forbid, crocodiles who would think that two Norwegians would be a nice supplement to their diet. He assured us there were no wild animals in the bush. Every morning they did a security check. That calmed our nerves a bit. When we saw the two huge crocodiles, we were extremely happy that they were on the opposite riverbank. We dutifully took some pictures even though none of us think crocks are very nice to look at.

Returning to the hippo pool one of the baby hippos was slowly making its way out of the water. “When one comes up, the others will soon follow” the warden informed. He pointed to a spot near the river and warned us not to go any closer. Then he left us. We got some nice pictures of the large animals.

Later in the morning John saw some zebras about to lead a large herd of wildebeest. He stopped and waited as they made their way down into the valley and hoped they would cross right in front of us. John told us that the wildebeests do not make decisions of their own, they simply follow the zebras. It was so interesting to see how the zebras led the way and the wildebeest forming a long line behind them. The zebras waited by the edge of the ditch, then decided to cross over. Soon all the wildebeest came running after them. It was not a crossing of the Mara River, but it was still very impressive.

There was nothing much else exciting to see as we drove through the tall grass. In places it was 150 cm high.

The afternoon seemed to be rather unsuccessful as John tried to find some hyenas for Elsie to see. They had apparently gone on vacation. Early in the evening drive we saw the three cheetahs we had seen yesterday, but they were far away and just laid flat in the grass. Just as we were about to return home for the evening we saw a cluster of safari vans in a depression. That is a sure sign of some interesting animal. As we came closer we saw a large waterhole. Suddenly a female lion came up the steep bank and on to a small elevation. John had positioned us perfectly and the cameras were clicking wildly as the large animal walked about and laid down. We thought of staying there until we had to return, but then decided to go back to the cheetahs to see what they were up to at six. Nothing. They just lay flat out as a number of us waited.

On our way back we stopped by the nice acacia tree I photographed last year and have as wallpaper on my computer. It was nice to see it again.

---