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Day two in the park and again, lucky doesn't even cover it! By half eight we had seen two cheetah with a calf wilderbeast kill and I had seen my hippos (the two must sees on my list were hippos and flamingoes), now they are big beasts, so big intact and such a funny shape that moving looks just too much of an effort, no wonder they pretty much spend the majority of their time chilling in the water! The two cheetah were just stunning, these animals are serene, so slender (although they had full bellies by the time they had finished gauging on their breakfast!) and their coats simply immaculate. The rest of the day didn't disappoint, we stumbled across a pride of 12 lion and then the best 'spot' of the trip - John spotted a couple of lions mating up on the hill. How he could see these guys is beyond me - we were miles away. He may well be called 'King of the jungle' however I'm not sure that was driven from his love making skills. Not even 1 minute I don't reckon! She flirts with him, circles him a couple of times then settles ready for the big boy to climb on (at this point I did wonder whether we should continue watching or if I felt extremely invasive) then wam bam thank you mam - done! When commenting on the speed and lack of affection Daubs and Rupert were quick to jump to his defence - you lucky ladies out there!
It seems ironic but after invading this baby making session the day turned into one of babies . . . . .even Masai John phoned home to hear that his wife had just given birth to a baby girl. We saw topi calfs, baby elephants, warthog families with lots of babies and even an Impala just born, bless her, she was like Bambi on ice trying to take those first steps.
Other sightings today included Ibis, guinifoul , baboon, red chested starlings, monitor lizards, eland (Daubs new favourite by all accounts), mongoose, crocs.
Now, not one to give Daubney too many compliments as he does have a tendency to get a big head but the boy done us proud when it came to driving skills. We found ourselves in some very muddy, rocky and deep watered situations but to his credit he handled our Pajero beast phenomenally. At one point we were coming back across the smellier river (having crossed it that morning with an ok amount of water to get through) and within the space of a couple of hours it had risen to well over the bonnet, slightly concerning - but all good in the end.
So the Masai Mara, well there are no words that can do this supreme place on earth justice. The light is incredible, showing up colours so sharp and reflecting of surfaces you would normally miss - the corner of clouds, edges of leaves and single blades of grass.
The shear expanse is immense and the views are breathtaking. In comparison to South Africa this place has a feeling of space and openness with visibility for miles.
The one thing that I will remember the Mara for (apart from Rupert's obsession with the secretary bird) is simply the amount of game. Pictures won't reflect it, I would even question whether richard Austin could capture something that shows just how many zebra horses surrounded you at one point or the depth of a large heard of wilderbeast. On occasions there are more than one species cohabiting in a large herd surrounding you which is also a crazy feeling. Sat in the middle of a plain surrounded by zebra horses, wilderbeast and impala is an immense feeling but I think I prefer just one species. The impact of colour and pattern is slightly dissolved when they start to mix. A swarm of brown wilderbeast or a patchwork of zebra pattern and the impact is immense.
However, nothing prepares you for being in the middle of 'the great migration' where theses remarkable animals make up the landscape for as far as the eye can reach in a 360 degree circumstance. Astonishing doesn't even come close! With the odd giraffe or elephant wondering across the middle, I wouldn't even begin to put a number on the wilderbeast, but we must be talking hundreds of thousands. After debating whether we cross over into the Mara corner to get even more involved and whether we had the time or wanted to spend the eighty bucks each our Masai friend John negotiated us half an hour in there for free - and that's all it takes so it seems. After driving through this sea of wilderbeasts and on our way back to the gate the herd across the river decided it was time, and put on for us one of those river crossing shows they are famous for. All I can say is goosebumps and butterflies! fu**ing amazing! Clever beasts they wait at one side of the river and build their army before crossing - must be where the phrase safety in numbers comes from. They look like foot soldiers, lining up and getting ready to take on the world or crocs in this case. A success story - even our 3 kamikaze stragglers made it over!
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