Wildebeest Migration, originally uploaded by Kattaka.

On Friday morning Lauren, Tim, Darryl and I set off with our driver/guide Steven to the Maasai Mara National Park. It is about a 6 hour drive down into South Central Kenya. Our campsite was actually about 40 minutes drive from the park but the surrounding area had tons of wildlife including tons of monkeys, baboons and bush babies at our site. Oh, and spiders the size of your hand that tended to hang out in the bathroom.

Friday afternoon we went for our first game drive and I could not believe how many wildebeest were there. I mean, you would look at the surrounding fields and hills and they would be covered with black dots- the wildebeest. They migrate up across the Mara River every summer from Tanzania to feed for a few months. Then in August and September, over 1 million wildebeest head back, traveling primarily through the Maasai Mara Park. One of the most interesting sites is seeing them cross the river, often trampling each other or falling prey to the waiting crocodiles. We didn't get to see this, but as we crossed the river we managed to see piles of stinking wildebeest carcasses being picked over by the vultures and marabou.

The guides and drivers communicate with each other over radios to let each other know of a sighting of some of the must-see animals. This is one reason why it was good that we didnt go on our own– most of our great sightings came from tips from other drivers who probably wouldnt share such information with a foreigner (muzungu). Another major reason why it would have been tough to drive on our own was the mud. I honestly dont know how these drivers can manage to get these vans through deep mud on the trails without getting stuck.

Memories that stick out:
- seeing a mother cheetah with her 6 baby cubs scampering after her
- there were lots and lots of lions everywhere but the nicest viewing was finding a pride of lions that included 3 or 4 cubs– they were staring at us for a while and then just went to sleep.
- the hippos with their pink bellies were actually out of the water sunning themselves. These are some of the most dangerous animals in the park due to their tendency to attack if you get too close or are blocking their path to water. For such tubby animals they are pretty tough.
- wildebeest everywhere– as you drove past them they would stare at you– their heads following your movement. Clumsy, stupid animals. A good argument why the pack mentality is bad.
- Finding another cheetah (and we were the only van there) who was so close to us– she walked down to the grass in front of our van as if to put on a performance, rolled around in the grass and then after we had taken enough photos, walked past us again and under a tree for a nap. What a beautiful animal.
- Dik-Dik– tiny little antelopes that look like mini-me versions of deer– but they are fully grown at about a foot tall.
- Giraffe– in varied colours and styles– including seeing a pack of 12 before we even got close to the park. It is always so strange seeing them– you feel like you are imagining it– they are just so huge seem like creatures from another time.
- Elephants– there are hundreds in the park– we saw a large herd of about 20 including some babies– although I am disappointed with the photos– they are hard to photograph and strangely enough difficult to see– the gray somehow blends in with the shadows.
- A lucky chance saw us encounter 2 HUGE elephants walking outside the park– we had been delayed with a flat tire but once we set off there they were– walking along side the road, and crossing right behind us– paying no real attention to us stopped there in awe. They were very close and they move so fast! I wouldn't want to be chased by an elephant.
- A jackal, some hyenas in the distance (and hearing them at night), vultures, marabou and other scavengers picking apart the rotting carcasses left by the predators. What a smell. YUCK.
- Lots of monkeys and baboons (big beasts who I am glad I was in the car when I saw them– they almost looked like gorillas they were so big)
- saw 2 rhinos (black, I think) in the distance on a hill– they were far from a track that we could have taken to see them. These are extremely rare and close to extinct.
- Warthogs and Zebras and strange birds and lots of antelope, gazelle, springbok, buffalo, impala, eland and oryx

It was a pretty incredible weekend. Just standing in the van with our heads out of the pop-up roof– driving around this beautiful park was an unbelievable thing.