The Great Migration Safari: Day 9 with Amboseli extension

It was our final day in the Masai Mara, and it didn’t disappoint! After all the crossing action we have had over the first few days, it didn’t even cross our mind to see what the wildebeest were up to, so the wildebeest came to us. After seeing one of the biggest herds of elephants I have ever seen in the Mara, over 100 individuals, and spending some quality time with a female leopard, we made our way to the airstrip for our onward flight to Amboseli. As luck would have it, the plane was delayed a little in Nairobi, and thousands of wildebeest wanted to cross the Mara River only a few minutes from the airstrip. With all our gear in the back, we made a quick dash down to the river, and saw a crossing filled with excitement. As always, we had our cameras handy for just such an occurrence, and enjoyed a full photo shoot. Only after the last wildebeest had made its way out of the river, did the plane fly above us signalling the end.

Heading into Amboseli is always fun, because as you approach, you fly over the few marsh areas they have, and spotting the animals is quite easy. On safari in Amboseli, there are a lot of elephants, and we enjoyed their company for the entire afternoon. It was awesome, and the cameras had a field day. Loads of little ele’s were running around, giving us a great show.

Major sightings of the day:

Hyena den with 3 cubs and 1 adult

Several sightings of hyenas

Female leopard in a tree

Many sightings of buffalo

Large herd of elephants, over 100 animals

River crossing

Many different herds of elephants

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The Great Migration Safari: Day 6

Some more good action coming out of this wonderful safari! The hyena den close to the camp was again active, with 3 small, black cubs running around and playing. A male leopard was the next animal to find itself in front of our cameras, as he was out and about looking for a meal. He stalked quite close to a herd of wildebeest, but as he was getting really interested, a second herd of wildebeest spotted him. To be fair, the second herd of wildebeest was about 30,000 strong so one of them was bound to see him. We left the leopard and made our way back down to the river to see if we could photograph any more crossing action, and again, we were in luck. Three more river crossings with a crocodile kill added in, is what was in store for us! Again, a young wildebeest was the unlucky victim. After all the action of the river crossings, we slowly made our way back to camp.

There was, however, still more to see and photograph. We found a pride of 5 lions having a hard rest in the shade of a tree, and tucked away in a dense thicket, we found a different lioness with 2 very small cubs. They were so small, that she had not yet introduced them to the rest of the pride. Realising just how lucky we were to have stumbled upon their den site, we moved off so as not to draw any unwanted attention to them. Close to the camp, we found our first black rhino of the safari! As is always the case with black rhino, he wasn’t so keen to be seen out in the open, so he made for the nearest bush and disappeared.

Major sightings of the day:

Hyena den with 3 cubs

Many buffalo

Many herds of elephants

Male leopard stalking wildebeest

3 different river crossings

Crocodile kill

Pride of 5 lions

Lioness with 2 small cubs

Male black rhino

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The Great Migration Safari: Day 3 Samburu extension

This was our final day in Samburu before heading off to the Masai Mara, so we set out early looking again for the Samburu ‘special five’. The main goal was the wonderfully striped grevy’s zebra. We found a herd quite early on, and they gave us plenty of good opportunity to photograph them. Moving on from the herd of zebra, we spent some time with a male somali ostrich and a few elephants before finding a female leopard. As we found her, she gave chase after a black-backed jackal, and very nearly caught it. We followed her for a little while, until she eventually moved up into one of the hills. We thought the good times were done, and were heading back to the airstrip, when we saw a cheetah on the move. The cheetah was looking quite intent, and started stalking a gerenuk, which was standing up feeding and had not seen the cheetah. I thought for all money the cheetah was in for a meal, but the crafty gerenuk turned while standing on only its back legs, and saw the cheetah twenty or so meters away from it. It gave a short sharp call, and made an enthusiastic dash for safety. Very exciting stuff indeed.

Major sightings of the day:

2 black-backed jackals with a dik-dik kill

Herd of elephants

Female leopard chasing a black-backed jackal

Female cheetah stalking a gerenuk

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The South African Predators Safari: Day 10

Unfortunately, every great safari has to come to an end, but luckily, no great safari need stop end in disappointment! What a final day to end off with! A pride of 8 lions were out and about early in the morning, moving around and playing with each other. The beautiful morning light didn’t hurt one bit, as the cameras started off on the right note. Shortly after these lions, we found a female leopard and her 2 young cubs, around 12 weeks old. She was moving them from the site of her last kill, to a new, safe den site. We were lucky enough to catch them on the move, and got plenty of opportunities to photograph them out in the open. What a privilege to see these little balls of fluff and spots running around, trying to keep up with mom. We then decided to stop for a civilised cup of tea and coffee, and a couple big male elephants came down tot he river for a drink. It is awesome when it all comes together. It really was an amazing safari, with a great group of guests!

Major sightings of the day:

Pride of 8 lions

Male rhino

Female leopard and 2 cubs

2 male elephants

To join us on safari, click here!

The South African Predators Safari: Day 9

The day was all about leopards. Starting out early on the mornings safari, we set off on the trail of a female leopard, but found a male leopard instead. We stayed with him for a while, but having eaten his full (of what turned out to be the females kill), he was not going to be moving anywhere soon, se kept on the female leopards trail, and found her, having recovered what remained of her kill, lying up in the shade of a tree. She too was well fed, and needed some rest. We headed straight back to the same spot in the afternoon safari, and found the female leopard balancing quite superbly on a tiny branch, feeding on the impala. The wonderful setting was washed in glorious afternoon light and the cameras went crazy! It was a great scene to photograph.

Major sightings of the day:

Male leopard

Female leopard with a kill in a tree

Male elephant

Male rhino

To jon us safari, click here!