Day 1
I landed at the Keekorok airstrip around 12.30pm. The drive from the airstrip to the Sarova Mara camp was one of best transfers I have had over the years. It was a mini game drive. Giraffes, impalas/gazelle, wildebeest, wild buffalos, zebras and some beautiful birds – all very close to my vehicle. But the highlight without doubt was a female lion that appeared to be pregnant. My guide spotted it at a distance and stopped the vehicle, switched off the engine and in a hushed tone, asked me to be quiet and not to make any abrupt movement. To my luck, the lioness walked straight to my vehicle and when it got close, I thought my heart skipped a beat! The lioness ignored the vehicle and its occupants and walked right past royally. If I had stretched my hand, I could have touched the lioness. But if I had done that, I would not be writing this post!
Also spotted a rhino that was a little distance away but clearly visible.
After buffet lunch and some rest, I was out on my first real game drive around 4pm. The guide took me to a spot where a pride of lions, comprising 5-6 lions and 3 cubs, had made a kill and was just about finishing their meal. It was quite a sight, with some of the lions resting, possibly after having had their fill, one still eating and a flock of vultures patiently waiting nearby for the lions to move on. Soon, about 20 vehicles congregated but the lions just did not seem to mind!
A little distance away, there was a large herd of wild buffalos-definitely over 100. A heavy downpour put paid to my hopes of seeing more game but driving around in that heavy rain was fun by itself. It also made me realize rainy season is not the time to visit Masai Mara!
Day 2
I left the resort at 6.30am for the morning game drive. A few minutes later, spotted a herd of elephants-about 10 of them. It crossed the road just behind my vehicle-could not hope for a better photo opportunity!
Thereafter, the guide took me to the spot where the lions had made a kill last evening. Surprisingly, the pride was still around, though the carcass had been neatly reduced to skeleton. The vultures too were still hanging around.
After driving some distance, I spotted 2 cheetahs. As usual, about 5-6 vehicles were already there. The two cheetahs were playing with one another and I was told they were part of 5-member group. I could not spot the other three though.
Few minutes later, came across 2 male lions who were fighting over a kill. It was very unlike movies. One lion had a firm grip over the second lion and both seemed to be playing the wait and watch game. I got bored after 10 minutes!
The evening safari too was quite productive. A pride of lions was snoozing near a bush. A little ahead, a wild buffalo was watching. As the vehicle neared the buffalo, I do not know what triggered an alarm but the wild buffalo charged at my vehicle. Though the guide increased speed, the wild buffalo caught the rear end of the vehicle, creating a fair dent! The guide too was taken aback as he had not expected this. Later, he attributed this aggressive behaviour to the presence of lions nearby-the buffalo was probably scared. It was all over in a few seconds and I was wondering that there was hardly any reaction time. Speeding away was a reflex action but what if the vehicle had stalled?
Also, I had a feeling my guide was a bit overconfident-I could see the buffalo watching our vehicle, it was standing on the side of the vehicle track and when the vehicle started moving towards the buffalo, it must have felt threatened?
Both in the morning and evening, I saw quite a few giraffes, elephants, buffalos, a pink ostrich, zebras, impalas etc.
All in all, a very exciting second day.
Day 3
I combined the 2 game drives into 1 longer drive, as I wanted to get to the Mara river. I left the camp around 7.30am and within a few minutes, spotted warhogs. But the first highlight of the drive was watching a lion and lioness mating. They were lying on the edge of the main road and both the lion and the lioness seemed to look at me a few times and then look away-possibly to figure out if I was a prey or a threat! I was obviously instructed not to make noise or make abrupt movements. I was virtually still with the camera in my hands. It is amazing how long you can sit and watch Lions. The male one was certainly majestic.
Sometime later, it was the turn of hyenas who were mating right in the vehicle path. Had no choice but to wait. And who else was watching? A herd of 4 giraffes!
The guide was driving close to a very small river with trees covering the banks. After what seemed like a long time, the guide spotted what was to be the second highlight of the day-the tail of a big cat hanging down from branch of a tree. Yes, it was a leopard. It seemed so content sitting on the tree. Soon enough, more vehicles arrived disturbing the leopard. It alighted from the tree and walked into the bushes right in front of me.
On the way to the Mara river, a solitary tree in the Mara plains hosted the carcass of an impala left behind by a leopard. My guide informed me that leopards do not come back to the kill left behind. Looks like we are not the only ones to waste food!
Mara river was very peaceful. There were quite a few Nile crocodile I could spot, though most of them were half submerged in water, besides a number of hippos keeping cool in the water. The hippos would only come out in the evenings to eat.
There were the usual sightings of other animals including giraffe, elephants, wildebeest, impalas etc. as well as birds. Another fantastic day in the Mara. I was back just when the buffet lunch was getting closed.
Day 4
During the morning game drive, I realized how much patience one should have to actually watch a kill. Spotted 5 lions behind a bush looking at 3 impalas grazing a little distance away. The lions made very limited moves, all the time ensuring they were not exposed. Somehow, the Impalas sensed their presence and ran a bit further in the opposite direction. The gap was now a bit too large for the lions to make up. 3 of them moved away but 2 of them still hung around. But after 30 minutes, I gave up! I was tired of watching the waiting game! But the male lion did roar deeply a few times…just awesome to hear that in the open, and in the comfort of the vehicle!
Also spotted a rhino that was almost on top of a hill before disappearing. Luckily, the binoculars came in handy.
On the way to the airstrip, 2 female lions were drinking water from a puddle on the roadside. The guide stopped the vehicles right in front. One of them looked at me(the guide said it seemed a bit scared-I was not sure it was me or the lioness!) and then walked away, with the other following close behind. Honestly, I was mildly nervous, like the first day.