Today was an early start for Chantal and Shevonne as they decided to do a sunrise hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara National Reserve. The rest of us got to sleep for a bit longer but we were out on the road at 8:00 am for our full day game drive. The first animals we got to see up close were a couple of buffaloes. We also saw some impalas, ostriches, and many wildebeests and zebras. After picking up Chantal and Shevonne at a designated spot around 11:00 am we were really lucky to see a pride of lions on a hill resting in the shade. They were amazing to watch.
While the migration across the Mara River to the Serengeti is coming to an end we had a couple of attempts at trying to watch the wildebeests make the crossing. It was a bit of a cat and mouse game with the various safari vans trying to catch a glimpse and racing to spots along the river when word would go out across the radio. At one point we saw a stampede happening, but no luck with the wildebeests crossing the river. We did see a group of hippos though, which was cool.
We ended up having boxed lunches at a safe spot under a tree and then got see some giraffes, which was the highlight of the day for me. There was a male and female which basically stood still for a few minutes as if they were doing a red carpet photo call. We then had another giraffe come up close and walk by our van. It was so amazing! Some other great moments in the afternoon were seeing various herds of elephants, a cheetah lying under a tree and a lion sleeping in the shade. We have been very fortunate these past two days to see the animals we have, which is a credit to our excellent drivers. I am even getting used to the off-road driving we are doing around the Reserve and the unpaved and bumpy roads.
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