Day 4 - Maasai Mara to Lake Naivasha

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We climbed in to the van at 6:20 this morning for our final game drive. After a slower evening drive last night searching for the Leopard, we asked Francis to focus on Cheetah and Lions this morning.

We got in to the park and I asked Francis to stop at this scenic view I had been meaning to take pictures of since we got here. Only a few photos in the radio was a buzz and Francis eagerly asked if we were good to move on. When we said yes he floored it. Clearly there was something cool going on, but we didn't know what and had come accustomed to waiting for the surprise.

Francis turned down the same road we traveled last night. The same road that we got skunked on the night before. I told Sarah there must be a Leopard ahead since this is the area Francis had seen them before.

We raced with another van, slowing down only for deep ruts in the road. Francis was going so fast we weren't able to stand like we usually do.

As we approached a group of 6 or 7 vans, Francis told us - a pride of Lions - 17 of them. WOW!!! Just plain wow!

Of course the lions were nice enough to set up shop mere feet from the road. The temperature was cool enough that they were active, wrestling around with each other. One lion swatting at the other lion within paws reach. One knawing on their siblings back. Two young males playfully sparring. They were scattered over an area the size of a football field with different groups together. We could see so many, maybe 14.

After a while they started to head away from us and in to the brush. The temperature was going up and they were starting to seek out shade. Francis asked if we were good and when we said yes, the race was on again. I thought we might be heading around to get in front of the lions but quickly found out that wasn't the case. Whatever it was, there is no way it could be better?!???

We saw a group of 8 or so vans in the distance so it must have been something big. We hadn't seen that many vans grouped together before. As we got closer Francis asked Sarah if she was ok seeing a lion eating a baby wildebeest...to which she said yes.

As we pulled up to the group of vans it wasn't just any lion that was eating a baby wildebeest, it was a Lioness. A Lioness who had killed the wildebeest to feed her 4 cubs. The Lioness laid next to the cubs as they ate, protecting them. She won't eat until all of her cubs are full.

And again the Lioness was nice enough to have all this happen 10 yards off the road with a beautiful scenic backdrop. It was definitely the biggest site we had seen as any time a van left another was there to take its place.

Interestingly there were still herds of animals maybe a hundred yards away. They were slowly moving away, but didn't seem to be in a panicked hurry like I would have imagined.

Francis explained that this mother is part of the same pride we had seen earlier. But while the cubs are still so young (~4 months) she protects them by keeping them away from the juveniles that may abuse the smaller cubs.

We watched for a while. We were really hoping they would finish eating and we could watch the cubs stroll off in to the brush. That didn't happen and eventually it was time for us to go back to the lodge, pack up, and head on to Lake Naivasha.

The drive to Lake Naivasha was about 4 hours. As we got further away from the park we noticed something strange. The Maasai people further from the park seemed more wealthy...Although wealthy isn't the right word. Instead of stick fences they started to have barbed wire and then chain link. This seemed strange as the Maasai people near the park make money from the tourists. I asked Francis about this and he said some Maasai really like their way of life, which is understandable. A little hard to imagine wanting to be literally dirt floor poor, but people don't like change and the Maasai have a ton of history as a people.

The rest of the drive was uneventful. We arrived at Lake Naivasha around 3:30 and went right out on a boat tour around the lake. We saw (forgive the translation and spelling) White Chested Comorante, Long Tailed Comorant, Pelican, King Fisher, Flamingos, Spoon Billed, Ibis, Marabou Stork, White Headed Eagle and many many other birds. There is a crescent shaped island in the middle of the lake that they imported game from Maasai Mara many years ago for the purpose of getting rid of some other species. The cats have all been returned to Maasai Mara but the giraffe, buffalo, zebra, impala, water buck and other animals remain. They were never successful rounding up all the hyena so they are there too.

The boat ride was nice and relaxing. We enjoyed being out on the water. The scenery was beautiful with big lush trees. Quite the change from the savannah. The only real excitement was when we got a little too close to a Hippo and he came after us with his mouth wide open. The boat driver sped up a little and we were out of harms way. I think this was just a touristy trick and we were in no real danger but who knows.

Our lodge that night, Carnelly's Camp, was miserable. Our room was terrible, basically a big storage container, and we ended up having to move rooms to something slightly less terrible. There is some kind of problem between Kenya Walking Survivors, our tour company, and Carnellys Camp and we got caught in the middle. Something around payment issues and area tours but it also seems personal.

Neither of us got much sleep and both of us are fairly grouchy this morning as I type this on our 6 hour drive to Amboseli National Park. Plus the rough night didn't do any favors for Sarah's head. It'll all be ok though. We've had rough experiences in our travel before so we know we just have to push through and a cool experience is right around the corner to lift our spirits.

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