Serian Masai Mara National Reserve

... were from all over, Germany, UK, Belgium, Georgia, Washington, Sweden, etc.

Two of our favorite people we met were Lynn and Peter, a couple celebrating their wedding anniversary. They were with us in our safari jeep everyday and we ate most dinners with them at night.

We tried some new drinks in Kenya....Kenya Gold (coffee liqueur), Amarilla (fruit creme liquor ...

Friday Aug 14 09. After breakfast we drove to the Masai Mara Game Reserve. (368 Km in 7.5 hours) The roads were the absulute worst I've ever been on. A very rough ride.

We went to the Kenia Camp which is a very basic permanent tented camp. We had 2 beds in our tent. There is no electricity here. Dinner was by lamplight. We had an afternoon game drive and saw lionesses sleeping and a the end of our drive saw 2 of them hunting and chasing ...

Game drive with Kirin as it was nothing happening this morning, yes; apparently some days are like this. So, as I was saying nothing was happening much so after breakfast, nice by the river, I must say it is all very pleasant. So, out of desperation we went driving around and got really adventurous by getting through a marshy area LOL, and as things would have it we got bogged and had to wait for an hour to be rescued as Hamish was on the other side of the park ...

... got it as we waited for an hour and I was captivised by the hundreds of water buffalo eating in a slight cooling breeze then. Some of the older ones were looking up all the time and no doubt would have seen the 2 young lions approach even from down wind. These were 2 young male lions trying their luck and skills so ...

Second highlight was to see a cheetah with a gazelle kill feedings its 2 young cubs. We ...

... East Africa. I don't see the danger here, I find it just as safe as any other city, but I also haven't been roaming around the city at night much. The safari was absolutely fascinating. I spent 3 days in the Masai Mara and one day in Lake Nakuru. East Africa has what's known as "The Big Five". These are the 5 animals that the British were most afraid of when they came to Africa; lions, buffaloes ...

... bath and I tried to photograph a little pink lion tongue. I succeeded, but Travis was not impressed with my artistry. The male was much better fed than the ones we'd run into yesterday, and he was older, as evidenced by his dark mane. We were so close to them! Note to Lion King fans: Simba means lion in Kiswahili. It's really quite an educational film... After this initial excitement, there was...not much. Our first night really spoiled us for a ...

... goers, Mike and Lorraine from Scotland, at the Boulevard Hotel. They had just been in Madagascar and were heading home right after the safari. Our driver and guide, Dixon, picked us up and we began the 5 hour drive to Maasai Mara. It was just the four of us so there was plenty of room to spread out, and the van was pretty comfortable in any case. If I haven't mentioned this already, the roads in Kenya are horrible. This road was no ...

... The housed were made of sticks that were covered in cow dung and consisted of a central cooking room and rooms which are the size of the bed which are made of twigs and cow hide. They eat once a day a meal of blood, milk and salted boiled meat - although some of the young men go across to the camps to get a more varied meal! The village was about 20 related families and each one has an entrance gate... the men ( after they have lived in the wild and killed a lion) come ...

... also combine their blankets with wester clothing as well. They generally look a bit scruffier than their Tanzanian counterparts. Many of them work at the campsites in the Mara, and as guides. Jono bought a club which apparently, if used correctly, could kill a lion - but it would have to be very close to you! We head back to Nairobi tomorrow, back to the Boulevard for our last night in Africa, and the last night of our trip. How can it be so close to being over?!

We decided to do an all-morning game drive and not return until 11:00. William, our room attendant, woke us at 5:45 with hot chocolate and cookies. We left at 6:30 for the safari, and had breakfast around 8:00 picnic style on the Maasai lands. It was perfect. We sat on blankets in the fields and watched the zebras around us, while Joseph stood guard against any predators. The first thing we saw in the morning was a pride of ...