For the next two-three days we experienced many excellent safaris and saw so many different animals, which can be seen from the photos below. Our guide Simon was very knowledgable and identified the animals and how they lived and survived with so many predators about. We were in a safari landrover with Simon and our friends Bob and Sue which made it more personal and with greater freedom to go where we wanted. All the guides were in radio contact and let each other know where the action was taking place so decisions about where to go were made based on the information received. One of the differences between the Mara and other parks is that there are no restrictions on where the drivers go, so it is usually possible to get up very close to the animals in their natural environment.

On our first safari we came upon a mother cheeter and her two cubs who were very familiar with tourists and the mother proceeded to jump up on to the bonnet of the landrover, a not uncommon occurrence but one that gave the girls a bit of a shock; Sue threatened to 'sack' our driver and guide Simon who found the whole thing very funny. Later on the same safari we saw a female lion eating a small warthog and although it seemed cruel, it was of course nature, with one animal feeding off another. On the way back both Sue and Mike had to vacate the landrover to have a wee, looked on with some amusement by Jane and Bob (and Simon) and a few curious African Buffaloes.

We noticed that large areas of the scrubland were blackened where there had been a major fire recently (shown in some of the photos); however, Simon informed us that this was not an unusual occurrence and was in fact good for the ecology of the Mara as it freshened up the vegetation which grew back very quickly and most animals were able to retreat to a safe place until it was over.

Balloon Ride

On our second day at the Mara we had booked a balloon flight which meant we had to get up very early (about 4am) to make the journey to the balloon sight; the best time to see animals hunting is early morning around dawn and we hoped to see a chase from above althougn as it turned out we were not lucky in this respect.  This was our first experience of a balloon flight and it was interesting to watch how they raised the ballons, using cold air blowers to fill the balloons with air before then applying the hot air using gas burners to lift the balloon into the air and off the ground.  There were about 12 in each basket including the captain and one crew and 4 ballons in our flight.

Once in the air it became very quiet and peaceful as we gazed down on the animals roaming the grasslands.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to see a chase or a kill but nevertheless, what an experience.  Landing was not so comfortable though as the basket was dragged along the ground as it touched down with us on our backs hanging on for dear life ; however, we survived the buffeting and were soon joining our fellow balloonists in a champagne aperatif as the crews set up for breakfast.  Breakfast was basic but more enjoyable because of the circumstances rather than the food.  On the long drive back we again saw many animals and signs where there had been kills earlier in the day; the animals were usually killed by the lions but the carrion eaters, ie. the vultures and hyenas were always nearby to claim the lions' left overs.