Friday 10-24-08 The Final Day

Jambo from Mara Intrepids

His has arrived :-( our final day on safari. It has gone by so fast, and we have seen some incredible things and I am sure the memories will stay with me the rest of my life. BUT WAIT! There is still another morning and afternoon game drive so let's get to it!!

The Cheetah's of yesterday were amazing and we were thinking, how could it be better, but to our surprise it could. We found the mother Cheetah with the young cubs again and they were right by the road having breakfast of a Thompson Gazelle that mom had caught in the pre dawn hours. We had a small rain shower overnight so the grass was a little wet and the ground was a little muddy but that did not stop the cubs from playing and rolling around in the mud. They were having the time of their lives running, rolling and sliding in the mud. 

We stayed there the entire morning and I believe I shot nearly 500 images of the cubs. The youngsters were running under our rovers and stopping to look up at us looking out the windows at them. They would climb up the tires and sit in the wheel wells and look out at us. You just wanted to pick one of them up and take it home with you.

As we headed back to camp for lunch we were somewhat saddened with the realization that we had come to the last drive of the safari. If the afternoon drive held nothing for us that would have been OK because the things we saw up to this point have been amazing. Just when you thought it could not get any better that what had seen the safari gods smiled on us one more time with more Cheetah cubs, this time they were dry. We needed go not further because the images that unfolded in front of us were simple unforgettable. The love that is shown between the cubs and there mother compares to what you feel for your children you could see the affection in the actions of the cubs  as they snuggled with their mother and safety she provides.

 I just hope that these cubs can grow up to be the majestic animals that they are and that there will be these cats as well as all the animals around for the generations to come. The experiences that I have been so fortunate to have are a reminder of just how may beautiful and fragile places there are on this planet.

So as I say goodbye to our final Safari I would like to thank all my friends who have followed me on this journey. I look forward to seeing you all in the near future and relay to you all the wonderful times I had.

See you all soon.

Doug off Safari!!

Thursday 10-23-08 Countdown to the End

Habari za jioni

(good evening)

Thursday begins with the realization of just 4 more game drives before we are heading back to the USA. With mixed emotions we head out for our early morning game drive at 6 am with the anticipation of what we have in store for us today.

We were still looking for the Cheetah with small cubs and, yes you are right, we found them. We found the mother lying on a small patch of bard ground and partially hidden in the grass were 3 adorable Cheetah cubs that could have only been weeks old. They were cuddled up in a little ball to keep themselves warm in the cool morning air. We decided to wait them out so we stayed there for at least an hour and finally the cubs started to get up and play around wrestling with each other and mom.

It was a treat to see them running around and exploring there new world. In this area we were only allowed to stay on the roads so we had to watch the cubs from a distance but were still able to get good pictures.

Our morning was a success so after another of our buffet lunches and a sort rest to download the morning images we were out for the afternoon to see what else was in store for us. As it turned out it was more Cheetah's, you would think we would be getting tired of all the Cheetah's, NAH!!!! 

We found three brothers lounging a termite mound relaxing after a large meal, at least by the size of their bellies that had eaten something, in the afternoon sun. The one brother was on top of the mound posing as a lookout. The storm clouds were building off to the East as the sun was heading for the horizon and the light was getting warmer which made for some really nice light on the Cheetah.

We took our final shots before we headed back to camp for what would be next to last dinner out in the Mara.

Don't leave now there is only one more day

HATA SISI SEMA TENA

(until we speak again)

Doug on Safari

Wednesday 10-22-08 Nearing the end of the Adventure

Jambo:

As I close in on the final days of my African Safari we are still searching for more leopards and of course a Cheetah with small cubs.

We started from our new base camp at the Mara Intrepids in the area known as the upper Mara. This is a vast plains area known for it's abundance of animals including several Leopards and Cheetah's. the early morning started with several grey backed Jackel pups who were very curious and came right up to our rover and tried to climb up and look into the windows.

There was a pride of several lions roaming around looking for their first victim but it seemed all the possible prey knew they were there so they weren't having much luck. In the distance we could see the migrating herds of Wildebeest that had to number in the thousands.

The afternoon game drive started out with a radio call that a leopard had been spotted, no pun intended, so we immediately headed in that direction and were on of the first to arrive to see this beautiful cat stroll through the grass. As luck would have it she climbed up onto a termite mound and just laid down to pose for us. After a few minutes the leopard started calling her cub to her with some low growling sounds and before long the cub was spotted coming through the brush towards the mother.

You can't imagine how many vehicles showed up one the word went out that a leopard had been spotted. It reminded me of the "bear jams" that they have in Yellowstone.

We stayed until the mother and cub let the mound and headed into the brush. At that point we felt we should give the camera's a break since we gave them a workout with the leopard. We headed back to camp for a hot shower and a wonderful dinner.

Two more days adventures to follow. So Stay Tuned

HATA SISI SEMA TENA

(until we speak again)

Doug on Safari

Tuesday 10-21

Only a few more days left!

We left the Mara Serena Lodge, in the Mara Triangle, for our morning game drive with much anticipation of a possible river crossing with hundreds of animals. As the sun was coming up we were treated to a really great sunrise, since it seems that the morning are mostly cloudy this time of year.

Right outside the gate we saw approximately 25 baboons on the ground looking for food with the mothers carrying the babies either on there back or hanging on under their stomach. Hippos were in the river, doing what hippos do, which appears to be showing off by opening their mouths in a display of dominance.

Not long after that we saw our first Cheetah with cubs. There is nothing more cute than a Cheetah cubs face, except maybe a 59 Les Paul with a flame top, Ok just kidding. Now for the gruesome part, now you must remember this is nature it is not my fault, the 2 cheetah cubs were rolling around and chasing each other and just having a fun time when one of the cubs scared up a juvenile Thompson Gazelle and the chase was on. Now keep in mind this is how cubs learn to hunt. They ran around chasing this Gazelle for about 5 to 10 minutes just knocking it down then letting the "Tommy" back up so they could chase it some more. Finally the mother had had enough of the horsing around and killed the Gazelle so the cubs could eat. I will not, however, put any of those pictures on the blog.

That is all for now as i must get some sleep before another game drive in the morning.

Boy this photography is hard work!

Stay tuned

HATA SISI SEMA TEMA

(until we speak again)

Monday 10-21 The Adventure Continues

Habari za jioni

(good evening)

Hope all is well with everyone

The morning game drive started at 6:15 am with slightly overcast skies. Within the first hour the skies were starting to clear with temps in the low 60's

The first of the many animals we encountered was a black rhino, we got a call over the radio, we are in constant touch with the other 4 vehicles so if someone finds something good we can all motor to that location to get some shots, about some lion cubs with there mother, as it turned out, one of the mother lions was relaxing in the morning sund on a huge rock. Not far away was another lion in a bush with 5 newborn, about 2 month old, cubs.

We waited around for the cubs to come out and play but they spent most of there time in the nearby bush. We were able to get a few shots in spite of their shyness.

The afternoon game drive looked as though it may be cut short due to a storm front approaching but we went out anyway to brave the weather to try for the perfect shot. As the clouds were building we were getting some amazing light form the sun through the clouds.

We saw a heard of Impala, no not the Chevy's with great light as the massive storm clouds built up in the background. We also caught a glimpse of 2 golden mained lions relaxing under a tree with amazing light on their faces. The afternoon drive was cut short by the thunderstorm that rolled in so we headed back to the Lodge.

Stay tuned for more

HATA SISI SEMA TENA

(until we speak again)

Doug on Safari

Sunday 10-19 The Adventure Continues

Habari za Jioni

(good evening)

Back Again!

Today is my first hot air balloon ride, but what makes it special is that it is over the Lower Mara.

We got to the launch pad a 6:00 AM for preflight and our instructions on what positions to take upon landing so that no one gets hurt but it was all for nothing because we had very light winds so the landing was just like stepping out of your car, when it is stopped of course,. The lift off was amazing and the views of the wildlife and landscape from the air was breathtaking. After touchdown we were treated to a champagne breakfast, man it is rough out here, out in the Mara under a huge Acacia tree that earlier in the morning had a Leopard sleeping in it, but unfortunately he was gone.

After breakfast we continued on with our morning game drive and as expected saw more Lions and huge herds of migrating animals. We had lunch and relaxed for a couple of hours before our evening game drive. The evening game drives differ from the AM drives in the respect that the animals like Lions and Leopards usually rest or sleep during the hot part of the day and as the sun begins to set the predators begin to stir.

We saw some amazing things not the least of which was a huge, I would guess at least 4,000 lbs, hippo grazing in a field with, really no water in sight, when we noticed in the grass 3 male lions stalking this hippo. We thought this would be incredible photographs if we could witness this attack. After a few minutes of re-positioning themselves I think the Lions thought better than to try and take on this monster and the hippo went on to graze on the grasses. I don't think 3 Lions could have brought down that hippo anyway.

We thought that was the highlight of the day and started back to the Lodge, since it was getting dark, when our driver David spotted something in a tree by a stream. As we got closer, there it was, my first wild Leopard sighting in the wild, see the attached photo for proof, (no picture no fish). Leopards are simply beautiful animals and that was definitely, for me anyway, the highlight of the trip so far but according to others who have been here before the best is yet to come. So stay tuned

HATA SISI SEMA TENA

(until we speak again)

Doug on Safari

Saturday 10-18 The Adventure Continues

Jambo, 

We survived the 6 hour drive the Keekorock Lodge in spite of the roads, man are they bad, so bad that we had a flat tire in the middle of nowhere and as we were changing the tire all of a sudden 4 little Masi children just seemed to appear out of nowhere. When I say we were in the middle of nowhere there was not a soul to be seen for miles and yet these barefoot kids seemed to appear out of thin air. Unbelievable that someone could walk on that ground barefoot.!!!

Our first game drive in the Mara was nothing short of spectacular right off the bat we saw 2 female lions with 5 cubs that were no more than 1 or 2 months old. On the cute scale they were off the charts!! We started to see huge herds of Zebra, Impala, Elephants on of gourse Gnu (or Wildegeest) across the planes of the Lower Mara.

We saw multiple beautiful birds including, again my favorite, the Lilac Breasted Roller of which I will attache a picture. We were told not to venture out of our cabins alone at night because there are no fences and the animals are free to wander around. This proved to be true when we saw 2 hippos eating grass not too far from our cabin. Need to download todays photos, only 340, so that will be all for now.

HATA SISI SEMA TENA

(until we speak again)

Doug on Safari