We got up early to head out for a quick game drive on the way to the airport.
There was a bit of excitement during breakfast as we saw two lions running on the other side of the river.
On the drive we saw two hyenas.
Then we boarded the smallest plane we have each ever flown in to fly from Nairobi to the Massai Mara which is we are told the best place in Kenya to view wildlife. The Massai Mara area is a large conservation which is a consortium of multiple Massai Tribes to keep people from building on the land. The plane has 11 seats but it felt tiny. We were and still are terrified by these small planes. The ride is bumpy but the plane is brand new and the pilots seem great as all the takes off and landings are super smooth. The plane has auto pilot so it is a little strange watching the pilot read the newspaper or play with his iPad.
After making one stop at another airport on a tiny dirt runway with a very bumpy takeoff (due to the rocks in the dirt not turbulence), we landed at our runway.
Some baboons.
I thought I saw elephants from the plane. It turns out I did as we were quickly upon them on our drive from the airport.
We also saw hyenas...
The elephants were amazing. There are so loud and active as they are constantly eating and digging and destroying trees.
They shake huge trees to get the fruit.
Some warthogs.
We saw a giraffe on the ridge.
Topi, a type of antelope with blue marks and there is a baby topi.
More buffalo. We are told buffalo are the most dangerous animal because they charge without warning or reason.
Stork...
Baboon...
Lots of baboons.
Baby baboons. They are all very noisy.
More elephants...
And more antelope...
Eland, the largest antelope.
Then we arrived at our camp, Kicheche in the Massai Mara. The tent is awesome. You need a guard to walk you to your tent at night because having lions, elephants, buffalo around the tents is common. You need to flash your flashlight to have them come get you. There is a whistle and a walkie talkie in case of emergency but the whistle has never been used.
You can see all the animals right from the tent.
Our tent is the honeymoon tent which is the farthest from the main camp. There are ten tents but all are empty on our side of camp. Three people on the other side.
We headed out for an afternoon game drive.
Mongoose
Guinea fowls
Giraffe
Tons of elephants
Baby elephant
Very small baby elephant
Then we saw a pride of lions but the adult male stays on his own. We never got to see him.
Tons of zebra running around.
Baby hyena, we saw three.
Mother hyena
Other baby hyena
I forget what this one is called.
Colorful lizzard
Another hyena
Then we saw a cheetah eating an impala. Quite gross. They are very careful not to puncture the stomach because of the bacteria.
The cheetah's adolescent child was there to join in the feast too.
We watched the sunset and the cheetah while we drank vodka sodas and ate snacks they had packed--they call the drinks sundowners.
Then we returned to the camp to sit by the fire and enjoy dinner with our new three friends from the UK.
Another awesome day!
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