End of our journey in East Africa

We will leave Maasai Mara today and will head slowly towards Nairobi. Africa has been amazing. We’ve seen so much and experienced so many different things. It’s been a challenge for all of us, taken us out of our comfort zones, but I believe we’ve all grown with this experience. It’s the closest we’ve ever been to nature. Seeing all the animals and being in their environment has given us a new perspective on conservation. My only hope is that Ryan and Mia will remember this journey, and remember just how precious all the animals that we saw are, and in their own little way contribute towards their survival and protection.

Breakfast on the last day at Fig Tree Camp. Saying goodbye to our Maasai friend, Shakai, who tried to offer us 50 cows for Mia 😆. 

Our last image of wild Africa. A send off we will not forget quickly. Graceful giants of Mara.

Time to go...

The challenges of driving through undeveloped areas in East Africa. “Roads” which are constantly washed away heavy rains making it impossible for vehicles to pass with many often getting bogged in the mud. 

This truck was stuck, blocking traffic from getting through. The guys were absolutely clueless so Ben took matters into his own hands. He got out of the van and started digging the mud out with a shovel!

Out of the National Park, closer to civilisation we stopped at Lake Naivasha for a spot of boating. Little Lavigne happy to be held by Ryan.

A fisherman setting his nets. Fishing in this lake is dangerous work. These men enter the lake twice a day to set and to pull up their nets each day, walking extremely close to the many hippos who inhabit the lake. 

The lake’s resident hippos

Whenever I think of Africa, this is what I will always remember, and just how precious life in the wild is!

The beauty of the savanna

This would be our last game drive in East Africa, our final day in Maasai Mara. We were all feeling a little sad. Africa has been beyond our expectations, we’ve loved every minute of our time here. Nothing comes close to the feeling of peace and contentment being this close to nature. We set out at 5:45am to catch the sunrise over the savannah. The fiery red and bright orange colour of the sky were stunning. 

Gazelles up bright and early.

The symbolic lone acacia tree out in the middle of the savanna.

Ballooners out at dawn to catch the sunrise.

A couple of Thompson gazelles.

A morning feed for our baby zebra.

Not a morning person!

Ben drove us to the top of the hill...., where we could get out and walk about to stretch our legs. From here, we got an awesome 360 degree view of the savanna. And what a view it was!

During the migration season, the grass is not visible to the eye. All you see is thousands of animals pushed closely against each other. 

Looking out I could only imagine what it would be like to see the migration. It’s definitely something I would like to come back to see.

To remind us that we were actually here. 

Our African family for the last couple of weeks.

Mia teaching Lavigne the cup song from Pitch Perfect.

A very curious giraffe. 

The cutest and tiniest baby hippo we’ve seen so far.

A rare albino alligator.

We stopped for a picnic under this tree. When we looked up this was dangling over our heads. The unfinished meal of a cheetah, a leg and tail of a gazelle.

Maasai Mara is the only National Park which allows visitors to get out of their vehicles.

Thank goodness there were no hungry lions lurking around that day!

We came across this big fella not too far away but luckily we were safely back in the van.

Lion selfie.

You definitely do not want to be too close to this guy.

The last of the Big 5, the black Rhino. Mia has been searching for them for the last few days (I think secretly in her mind, she knows that she didn’t really “see” that rhino in Ngorongoro 😅). In our final few hours, Ben finds this magnificent beast for us. 

The perfect way to end our African adventure!

The elusive leopard

Africa just continues to amaze us. After all the talk about how elusive the leopard is, one walks right across our vehicle as we drove through Maasai Mara. Of course by then several vehicles were already crowding around this young cat. But he was oblivious to all and continued walking around the vehicles and off on his way. As we drove off, we saw two more leopards in the bushes. What an afternoon it’s been!

Malaika

Our first game drive into Maasai Mara and this is what we came across almost as soon as we entered the National Park. Five cheetahs devouring their kill. This is Malaika, her mate and the three cubs. They must have only just chased down and killed this big wildebeest. Watching them tear through the animal brought on mixed emotions. Mia felt very sad for the wildebeestand couldn't bear to look at the start but became less upset once we explained to her that this is part of the circle of life in the wild. Animals die in order for others to survive.

Mum and Dad always on the lookout for possible danger.

This kill will last them three days before the next hunt begins. 

The scavengers waiting for their turn.

Slowly creeping closer with each minute. 

A show of who’s in charge. Not until we’re done!

The second the last cub walked away, the vultures rushed in.

A dome soon formed over the carcass but...

Hierarchy in the vulture world. As soon as these .....bald.... arrived, the other vultures were pushed aside. 

It was back to the dining table once the ..... vultures left. The stomach of the wildebeest was untouched by the cheetahs but nothing would go to waste with the vultures. They were quick to rip it apart and eat it and all the contents.

In a matter of minutes, the entire carcass was picked clean!

With their bellies now full, the family moves on.

But not before marking their territory.