Ed's visit to the Mara - 21st June

We had planned for the early morning game drive, and our room steward woke us up at 6.00 a.m. with a pot of hot Kenyan coffee to keep the chill away and some biscuits – yum! Dennis, our driver guide was already at the car park by half past six.

The plains are very beautiful at this time of the morning. We were driving towards the Simba-Talek area just as the sun was rising on the horizon.

Five minutes from the Mara Explorer camp, we come across a lone female ostrich. She looks like a typical tree on the plains, until you notice her movements. Behind her in the Fig Tree area, we can see balloons taking to the skies. This is the best way to see the plains – from above. Followed by champagne breakfast at well-chosen spots. There were many balloons on this day; the early birds were taking advantage of the low season rates to enjoy the Mara.

Ten minutes into our drive, and Dennis was getting concerned, “The animals are hiding.” Then he stopped the jeep abruptly – he had spotted lion spoors on the track. “There were lions here. These are fresh prints.” The grass is long, so they are not easy to spot. I stood on the back of the 4 x 4 to get some vantage as he moved on along slowly.

“Stop! Reverse!!” I called out excitedly. We’d just passed a lioness lying on the grass just a few metres from the road. Dennis obliged.

“Look, there’s another!” We were now craning out necks looking out for them. This is the Olkiombo pride, which is almost 30 strong! We were only seeing about four females.

Five minutes later, and there were four cars around the pride. One of the lionesses, annoyed by the all attention shows her displeasure by walking further into the long grass.

We drove on to see what more the plains have to offer. The plains are teaming with herds of wildebeest and zebra. The migration is we and truly on! We parked in their midst, and that constant call is all over the air. Maasai legend has it that the gnu were created by a committee – thus their funny looks. I concur.

On the banks of the Talek River, we came across a float of hippos enjoying the early morning sun, no doubt satisfied after feeding all night.

There were buffaloes around too. We had to watch out though because this lone male was looking at us aggressively.

This fella wasn't really happy with our attention. Why risk his wrath? Off we went!

Ndeithi Kariuki, Lo'mon LeHeritage Admin