Ngare Serian Masai Mara National Reserve

... photos and headed to the business office to upload entries for my blog. Didn’t happen. They couldn’t get my PC connected so I used their desktop but the process was so slow I gave up. I’m told things will be speedy when we get to Nairobi tomorrow.

We revisited the hippos; I am now convinced there might be as many as 200, including LOTS of babies. Cute to see but MAN are they noisy. They make a big raucous when they leave to go ...

... seen three!), a pride of lions with an adult male with a long mane and 2 cubs (no more than 10 m. (30 ft.) away), Masai giraffes, the Masai ostrich, several vultures, a lilac breasted bird, a stork, elephants, topi (a specie of antelop), 2 cheetahs with a fresh kill of an impala, a buffalo, wildebeest crossing a small river. The area we toured this afternoon was actually green and we saw hundreds of wildebeest, zebra and Thompson's gazelles. The ...

... all decided to take the long way and drive for 8 hours to Masai Mara in the purpose of immersing themselves into the culture. Good luck with that. So when the time came we embarked on the plane and had 40 minutes fly over to the Mara. The car was there waiting for us and we went straight into the game we saw zebras, gnus, elephants, Thomson gazelles, impalas, hippopotamus crocs and when we were just about to pull into camp (1 km away) we found a couple of courting lions ...

... to only allow for urine, blood, and a penis to pass, many girls and babies die during childbirth because the girls are not able to stretch large enough for a baby. I took over 800 pictures during the safari and I wish I can share more with you, but here is a small selection. My next stop will probably be Mombasa and the beaches along the east coast. I hope you are well and I'll be in touch soon. peace, Jen

... But its just depressing to be beset so, and then more depressing not to buy anything when you get to the hotel and spend 800 ksh on four cokes and don't think anything about it. Its the bargaining quandary -- if you pay the mazungu rate, you feel cheated because you know they normally sell for cheaper, but then who cares because you can really afford it, so you shouldn't be complaining! Right? Anyway, on to the hotel, which is a lodge of tents (see ...

... the vultures would come down for it. Drive, drive, drive. Secretary birds! What funny, tall birds, with lovely faces and legs that appear to be adorned with leggings. They weren't bothered by us and continued their walking, always staying close enough to be examined and photographed thoroughly. We ended up seeing four of these odd critters. A stop at the border. There's a sort of pyramidal stone in the middle of nowhere that denotes the border between ...

... passed very close, as they are not so dangerous when they together. Is the sole bull you should be aware of. Oh, those cute little baby elephants sucking milk. Elegance and pease they walk with. And that eternal smile they wear... Gracefull giraffes and bubbling hippos. Thousands of buffalos. And one just gave birth... Birds dressed in vivid colorful coats. Warthogs that reminds of a pig, but not very successful one. And vast savannas. Just going through ...

... with delicious meals. During the drives through the savannah, Julius would spot game for us and explain animal behaviors we didn't understand. At first we were mostly interested in trying to spot "The Big 5" the five animals that were the most dangerous to hunt (when they were hunted - that ended long ago in Kenya): lion, elephant, Cape buffalo, rhinoceros and leopard (we didn't end up seeing a leopard - they're shy and it's very uncommon to spot ...

... for photo shoots, or the kids whos waving hands turn into little upturned begging hands - now where have we seen that before hmmmm. There are cattle herders everywhere you look on the road in too. The Maasai cattle are fericious looking things, and can only give about a 3rd of what the cattle in the west can but they are hugely important to the Maasai people. They even build their villages in circles and house the cattle in the centre of the village, building huge ...

... on top of them. They carried on playing - at least we assume they did; we couldn't see anymore but the cameras were all pointed straight down. We had our moment though. By mid-morning the animal drought was over. We came upon a herd of hartebeest all staring fixedly to the right. Off to the right, staring fixedly to the left, were three juvenile male cheetah. Nobody was moving except us - to find a half remembered track to bring us behind and closer. The cheetah weren't ...