March 24-26
Hello everyone!
You can find animals anywhere. For most creatures, you would
look on the ground. Some you would search for in the ground. Others would be
found in the water. The most elusive, however, are often a bit higher…
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| Leopard |
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| Lion |
The only member of the ‘Big Five’ – the five animals
historically thought to be the most dangerous in Africa – which I hadn’t seen
in the wild was the leopard. I have seen one at close quarters in a
rehabilitation centre in Namibia; the thrill of spotting one of the rarest cats
in its natural habitat had eluded me on all previous safaris thus far.
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| This is Wahu, looked after by AfriCat in Namibia |
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| He can't be released as he is too used to human interactions |
This wasn’t the only reason for me to visit the Masai Mara
National Reserve in Kenya. For one thing, the East African country was a
suitable point to meet up with my sister Laura, who was coming to sub-Saharan
Africa for the first time. Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, is the transport and
business hub of the region, and is one of the three regular international
destinations you can fly to from Malawi.
From the chaos and traffic of Nairobi, it was a seven-hour
drive to the entrance of the Masai Mara. This included some stops for
breathless scenery.
Being the rainy season, I wasn’t expecting to see a plethora
of animals. What I did assume was that we would be driving through stunning landscapes.
We certainly weren’t disappointed…
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| I was surprised at how green the Masai Mara National Reserve was - very vivid and lively hues |
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| A giraffe gracefully meandering through the long grass |
It’s always nice to go on safari with someone who hasn’t
been before. Their sheer joy is something which I take great happiness in
seeing. Even seeing the more ‘common’ animals, such as zebra and giraffe, put a
wide smile on Laura’s face.
It would be an understatement of the highest order to say
that Laura’s first game drive was a success. Within the first hour she had seen
cranes, zebras, buffalo, elephants and a number of different species of
antelope.
We then saw an annoyance of jeep (a collective noun I’d like
to patent) in the distance. Word on the radio was that there were lions. Off we
zoomed, our drive Zac showing little regard for driving rules or laws of physics.
The lions were across a large crack so we turned left, looking for a route
around. Suddenly, we swung sharply to the right and ground to a halt near a
large tree.
There it was. A solitary, snoozing, black-and-yellow sphinx.
My missing piece. A leopard.
As quickly as we saw it, the cat sprang into life,
descending the trunk of the tree and vanishing into the bush.
Our car crept around the bush, trying to get a visible on
the leopard whilst not disturbing it. Through the zoom of my camera, I managed
to see its fur in detail. I then found its eye…staring at me…
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| The famed leopard print |
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| The leopard is watching... |
The annoyance had gotten wind of our sighting and were
zipping across the lush grasslands en masse. Zac hatched a plan, deciding to
move back to our original position. His thought process was that the number of
jeeps would annoy the leopard into moving, with its only escape route being the
way it came in. You sometimes get a feeling that you have a special guide –
this proved that Zac belonged in that category.
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| The annoyance of jeep gathering on the other side of the leopard's bush |
After all that, Laura still got to see her lions on the
first drive!
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| A proud, pondering, female lion |
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| Two younger lions messing around |
Lions were the theme of the day on our full day drive, which
pierced into the heart of the 1,600km2 park. We inexplicably drove
past a lioness lazing on a rock in the bright sunshine. When we returned, we
found two of her cubs in close proximity. Cute doesn’t begin to describe them.
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| National Geographic quality? Surely? |
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| Two cubs keeping each other company on the rock |
Later on, we were driving through the grass and came upon an
isolated tree standing over a small but deceptively deep stream. Laura spotted
two lions. In the tree…
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| Only an idiot would drive across that, we thought... |
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| Awake but dozing |
Unable to see the faces of the lions, Zac opted for the
somewhat high-risk move of driving under the tree, through the small but
deceptively deep stream, to see if the view was better from the other side.
I’ll let you decide whether safety was a high priority; though the rooftop was
kept wide open, I was told to sit down. Nerves frayed a little when the car
struggled to get up a muddy verge on the other side, with the lions clearly
watching our bravery/stupidity closely.
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| The view from under the tree - the car was shaking violently as it struggled through the water, mud and rocks |
Arguably my favourite of many memorable moments, aside from
the thrill of seeing a wild leopard, was tracking a cheetah, which swaggered
along the savannah early on our final morning. It had such a sultry walk,
showing the arrogance a natural born killer can exude. I’d never noticed just
how pronounced a cheetah’s leg/shoulder muscles are – little wonder they can
run at incredible speed. We witnessed it trot a couple of times but it never
burst into full pace.
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| Sleek and speedy |
The Masai Mara is a wonderful park, full of colour,
adventure and a simply staggering number of animals. The migration must be a
truly special event. The park will always hold a special place in the hearts of
me and my sister, however. Turns out the best bet is to look up!
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| Still watching... |
Love you all
Matt
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