The Great Migration Safari 2012: Day 6

Another magic day!  An early morning leopard started us off, plenty of crossings (with 2 crocodile kills adding to the  chaos), and a fantastic experience in a hot air balloon, which gave us a great new perspective over the Masai Mara.  Some new species of antelope for the Safari didn’t hurt either…

Major sightings of the day:

  • Several crossings, with 2 crocodile kills
  • Herds of elephants
  • 2 lion sightings, including the huge pride of 19 lions
  • Leopard
  • Large herds of buffalo
  • Defassa waterbuck
  • Giraffe

The Great Migration Safari 2012: Day 5

Lions, cheetahs, leopards and even a black rhino – it was a great day on Safari, not forgetting, of course, all the other animals that made an appearance and kept our cameras clicking.  A special sighting of a herd of relaxed eland made for some great portraits and the elephants never disappoint, but the sighting of the day was split between two very playful cheetah cubs, and some

Major sightings of the day:

  • Lions ( 3 different prides, all with cubs)
  • Cheetah and 2 cubs
  • Black rhino and calf
  • Leopard
  • Elephants
  • Buffalos
  • Elands
  • Hyaenas (9 in one clan)
  • Topis with lots of calves
  • Wildebeest herds

The Great Migration Safari 2012: Day 4

What a day!  The magic started two minutes into the drive, when we had a surprise wildebeest crossing at a different river to the usual Mara River.  Upward of 10,000 wildebeest made the early morning crossing, exiting the tight river crossing mere meters away from where we were photographing the action.  We had a good sessions with a cheetah and two cubs, loads of elephants and an excess of the Mara’s antelope – we even spotted our first leopard of the safari.

Major sightings of the day:

  • 2 Wildebeest crossings (the largest crossing with over 10,000 wildebeest)
  • Cheetah and  2 cubs
  • Male cheetah
  • Elephant
  • Leopard cub (around 6 months)
  • Herds of zebra
  • Bat-eared foxes
  • Warthogs and piglets

The Great Migration Safari 2012: Day 3

After all the crossing madness yesterday, we were hoping for some more action, but the wildebeest had other ideas. Three different lion sightings picked the day up, including a double kill (2 lioness’ each caught an adult zebra in one go).  A parade of the usual suspects kept the cameras clicking all through the day, and the massive rain clouds that were building provided a perfect background for some awesome images!

Major sightings of the day:

  • 3 prides of lions, 1 with 2 zebra kills
  • Many pods of hippos with babies
  • Very large crocodiles
  • Kirks Dik-Dik
  • Topi Antelope
  • Zebra
  • Eland
  • Gathering herds of wildebeest
  • Warthogs with very small piglets
  • Secretary birds

The Great Migration Safari 2012: Day 2

Our first full day in the Mara was one to remember!  Our goal for the day was to witness and photograph the famous wildebeest crossings, and we did this in abundance.  A total of 9 different crossings, with the largest numbering upward of 15 000 animals!  Absolute madness!  In between all this action, 2 hyaenas entertained us by chasing vultures off their kill, and appearances by 4 different prides of lions kept the shutters clicking!

Major sightings of the day:

  • 9 river crossings
  • 4 prides of lions
  • 2 hyaenas chasing vultures of their kill
  • Bat-eared foxes
  • Elephants
  • Herds of buffalo
  • Giraffe