Once again we got up early and, fortified by our hot beverages, by the time Salaash and Loli arrived with the Land Cruiser we were ready to go on our safari.
Right away, hoping for a repeat performance, we went in search for “our” cheetah family. On the way we saw a few animals but we did not spend a lot of time with them. We found the cheetahs quickly enough, but this time we were not alone. Word to other guides must had spread via the VHF radio. There were several vehicles all looking at the cheetahs with passengers taking photographs. We watched and waited. The cheetahs leisurely relocated themselves, the pack of cars following. But there was no action. Eventually, as it was getting near lunch time, we gave up and returned to the Topi House.
On the way to and from the cheetah family we saw:
To see an enlargement please click on the picture.
A baby zebra with his avian friend, an oxpecker,
and a jackal.
The cheetah “boys”. Here we watched and watched…
On the way back we saw a group of zebras in the open expanse,
a grey heron,
a mother elephant with her baby.
After lunch and a rest, off we went to the afternoon safari. Salaash told us that he intended to drive us to western edge of the reserve where there was a large herd of elephants and a pride of lions.
We drove for a long time through a swampy area. There was a large, very large, herd of wild buffalos grazing at the edge of this swamp. But, as we were approaching our destination, we had a flat tyre. This was quickly replaced and we continued on and indeed saw both the elephants and the lions, although it was getting on towards dusk. Because of the delay Salaash abandoned his plan for sundowners and we drove back to Topi House in the dark.
Here are some of the animals we saw:
A spotted hyena having a drink in a water hole.
The swamp.
The buffalo herd.
Elephant family and birds.
The male lion sits apart from the pride,
while the pride, female lions and cubs, rests nearby.
We had our sundowners after we returned to Topi House. We were joined at the welcoming fire by both Loli and Salaash as well as John the night watchman.
Regrettably, this was our last night in the Maasai Mara.