Capturing the Moment

They get close here Lion in a Tree   When people go on their first safari one of the major goals is to find the 'Big 5.' This group of animals was nicknamed by the hunters during colonial times, not because of their size, but because if you shot one of these five animals and only wounded it then it could charge and kill the hunter. Hence there is no giraffe on this list. The Big 5 consist of Lions, Elephants, Buffalo, Rhino, and Leopard. Cuteness factor with baby lion cubs   We were lucky enough to encounter all of the Big 5 here in the Masai Mara. While a lot of the major national reserves and parks in Africa house the Big 5, it can be quite difficult to see them, especially in just one park over the course of several days. We managed to see the Big 5 in just one full day here in the Mara.   We had several lion encounters including a family taking down and eating a warthog, which if you haven't read about the click here for a play by play. We saw another...

Jackson pointing out plants Since we were staying at andBeyond's Bateleur Camp in the Masai Mara we had the opportunity to head out on foot into the wilds for a walking safari. It is a very different way to experience the African bush and one that I didn't want us to miss. Our wonderful guides Jackson and Massek led us first through the neighboring jungle and then up the escarpment. Watching the monkey turf war   In the jungle we quickly came across a tree hyrax, which looks like a giant hamster but is actually closely related to elephants. It saw us and scampered higher up in the tree, but that is when we noticed a second hyrax head poking out a hole, and this one belonged to a baby hyrax. Then we heard a commotion nearby so we went to investigate. It turned out to be two rival troops of blue monkeys having a bit of a turf war. Massek talked us through what was going on and pointed out things before they even happened. Maggie's natural Maasai toothbrush  ...

Sunrise over the Masai Mara What is up in that tree?   We awoke to an incredible sunrise over the Masai Mara. After a big breakfast we jumped into our safari vehicles for a full day safari all the way to the Tanzanian border. Our goal for the day was to track down some hunting cheetah out in the savanna close to the political border. But, as usually happens here in the Mara, other animals pop up making it difficult to stick to the original plan. It is a very good problem to have...especially with what happened today. Tree climbing lion of Kenya   We got word that some lions had been spotted by our other vehicle. Luckily it was in a part of the park where off roading was allowed. As we got closer we could see our other vehicle parked next to a solitary tree in the middle of the high grass. Then I was quite surprised to see a resting female lion up in the tree! Then we saw a second, young lion up in the tree as well as a few others on the ground. If the encounter...

Terry and Sherry arrive in style   Warm Welcome to the Masai Mara      After our narrow escape from the charging elephant in Samburu, we split into two 12-seater prop planes for a quick flight down to the famous Masai Mara. I was excited to see everyone's reactions to our next destination, which is considered the jewel of Kenya. Plus we were staying in style at andBeyond's exclusive Bateleur Camp. Not everyone can travel Africa like this, but if you can it is an incredible experience. Flying into the Kichwa Tembo airstrip was an Out of Africa experience as the closer we got the larger the herds of zebras and antelopes became. There were topi and zebra grazing just off the side of the airstrip as we landed. Massek with champagne Jack and Erin in Africa   We were met by the team from Bateleur Camp right as we disembarked the plane. They took care of all our bags and walked us over to a beautiful picnic table. Snacks, cold drinks, flowers, cof...