Maasai Mara Safari

enjoying the ride
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After a horribly bumpy four and a half hour matatu drive, we arrived at the Maasai Mara Safari Club. Our next 3 days would consist of 5 game drives out on the Mara to game watch. We drove the coolest car. A 9 passenger four wheel drive,open roofed Land Cruiser. Stephen was our driver and he used every ounce of his skill to keep us on the muddy trails.

Our accommodations consisted of a LARGE tent with a view of the Mara river out the front. Swimming in the current was a pack of about 18 hippos. During the hot part of the day they would rest while submerged under the water. But during the mornings and evenings they would wrestle playfully and make all sorts of noise.

our morning alarm clock
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A half hour into our first drive put us into the middle of a pack of 22 lions. There were 16 cubs and the rest were lionesses. It was unbelievable how close we got to them, maybe within 30 feet. The cubs were wrestling and playing the entire time we watched, and the mothers looked out into the plains with watchful eyes. Only when an irate elephant came barging through the bushes did the cats move off.

We also came across giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, jackals, foxes, topi, birds of various sizes, grants, and hyena. We even had the chance to walk up and see rhino. There were 3 and Matt got within 15 feet of "the boss" which was the biggest of them. He initially came ramming through bushes to  make his entrance. We all got a little startled and to say the least.

On our last drive we stumbled across the lions once more and were able to get even closer to the cubs. The mothers were camped out in the nearby bushes and the cubs were out for their morning exercise. Once other trucks arrived they retreated back into the bushes with their mothers and our photo shoot was over.