We spot some dust devils on the plains
Maasai Mara Safari and a Maasai Village, Ololaimutia, Kenya - 5th November 2010
After a six-hour drive from Nairobi, we find ourselves at the Ol Moran tented camp near the Ololaimutia gate of the Maasai Mara game reserve. There's time upon arrival for a short evening safari to get the hang of it, followed by a whole day out in the safari van with Will and Tony. The highlight of the day is perhaps a very close encounter with a leopard - a fairly elusive and hard-to-spot cat, and not often seen at such close quarters. The leopard, for its part, was more concerned with the bird it was stalking and didn't seem to notice the scrum of vans around it, all full of gawping tourists. Then, it's time for an ample packed lunch, provided by the camp, and then a drive up to the river to see the crocodiles and hippos. Upon return to the camp, we stop off at a Maasai village where the son of the chief shows us around, and some traditional dances and bushcraft skills are demonstrated. Needless to say, the hapless visitors are pressed in to service as comedy extras in some of the dancing, which includes the haunting and mournful pre-wedding dance of betrothed women.
next album: Narok to Naivasha and Hell's Gate National Park, Kenya, Africa - 5th November 2010
previous album: Nairobi and the Road to Maasai Mara, Kenya, Africa - 1st November 2010
A community church and some cool cacti
A herd of Wildebeest
Our first close encounter: a giraffe
A gazelle nibbles its flank
Elephants with a baby in tow
The baby 'Saggy Pants' can just be seen, hiding
Another young elephant
A baby elephant head-butts its mother
A leaning tree
A lioness lounges about
A cheetah prowls
Ol Moran's restaurant/bar
The path to our tent/hut
Our patio, on hut number 10
Cows are being herded
Next morning, cows mill around
A group of gazelle watch us warily
A dirt road through the Mara
The elephants seem to be sharing a joke
View over the Maasai Mara
Isobel peers out of the safari van's open roof
Close up to the Wildebeest
A mixed herd of wildebeest and zebra
Another tourist van
A van pulls off the side of the road
An ostrich with a juvenile
Zebra and ostrich
Stripey horses
An ostrich: frankly ludicrous
Another baby elephant
The baby elephant runs around
A leopard stalks some prey, about two metres away
Leopard in action
A secretary bird
A leopard lurks in the grass
A classic Mara lonely tree
An eagle observes from the top of a tree
Rain moves across a distant hill
A lion lazes on a rock
We park up for a picnic
Isobel on Lookout Bluff
Nosher and Isobel on the top of Lookout Bluff
A ruminant's lower jaw bone
The skull of a wildebeest, hair still attached
Will, Tony and Isobel eat lunch
Picnic over, Will shakes out the blanket
Isobel checks her head
Will scopes out the river for wildlife
Hippos in the river
A crocodile suns itself
A pair of giraffe
A gazelle fawn
A perching eagle
There's a scrum between vans for a good spot
Will and Tony on the road
A lone elephant on the plains
A hyena
African tree
A female lion
A male lion surveys the scene
A lion cub
The chief's son performs an introduction
A small boy
In the Maasai village
A lion-skin head-dress is part of the ritual
Nosher and the chief's son
Isobel joins in
The bushcraft skill of friction firelighting
The firestarting commences
Much stick spinning occurs
The men all get involved
The embers are blown
Fire is created
Some Maasai women perform a melancholy wedding song
Isobel is invited to join in
Colourful Maasai women
More mournful dancing
Maasai men demonstrate their pre-wedding rituals
Jumping is part of the wedding ritual
Of course, it's required that Nosher gets to join in
A group photo
Inside a Maasai house: dark, smoky and very hot
We are escorted back to the van
Modern Maasai
A group of young boys surveys us
Goat herding
Isobel reads a guide book
Nosher considers the day
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We spot some dust devils on the plains
We spot some dust devils on the plains
A community church and some cool cacti
A herd of Wildebeest
Our first close encounter: a giraffe
A gazelle nibbles its flank
Elephants with a baby in tow
The baby 'Saggy Pants' can just be seen, hiding
Another young elephant
A baby elephant head-butts its mother
A leaning tree
A lioness lounges about
A cheetah prowls
Ol Moran's restaurant/bar
The path to our tent/hut
Our patio, on hut number 10
Cows are being herded
Next morning, cows mill around
A group of gazelle watch us warily
A dirt road through the Mara
The elephants seem to be sharing a joke
View over the Maasai Mara
Isobel peers out of the safari van's open roof
Close up to the Wildebeest
A mixed herd of wildebeest and zebra
Another tourist van
A van pulls off the side of the road
An ostrich with a juvenile
Zebra and ostrich
Stripey horses
An ostrich: frankly ludicrous
Another baby elephant
The baby elephant runs around
A leopard stalks some prey, about two metres away
Leopard in action
A secretary bird
A leopard lurks in the grass
A classic Mara lonely tree
An eagle observes from the top of a tree
Rain moves across a distant hill
A lion lazes on a rock
We park up for a picnic
Isobel on Lookout Bluff
Nosher and Isobel on the top of Lookout Bluff
A ruminant's lower jaw bone
The skull of a wildebeest, hair still attached
Will, Tony and Isobel eat lunch
Picnic over, Will shakes out the blanket
Isobel checks her head
Will scopes out the river for wildlife
Hippos in the river
A crocodile suns itself
A pair of giraffe
A gazelle fawn
A perching eagle
There's a scrum between vans for a good spot
Will and Tony on the road
A lone elephant on the plains
A hyena
African tree
A female lion
A male lion surveys the scene
A lion cub
The chief's son performs an introduction
A small boy
In the Maasai village
A lion-skin head-dress is part of the ritual
Nosher and the chief's son
Isobel joins in
The bushcraft skill of friction firelighting
The firestarting commences
Much stick spinning occurs
The men all get involved
The embers are blown
Fire is created
Some Maasai women perform a melancholy wedding song
Isobel is invited to join in
Colourful Maasai women
More mournful dancing
Maasai men demonstrate their pre-wedding rituals
Jumping is part of the wedding ritual
Of course, it's required that Nosher gets to join in
A group photo
Inside a Maasai house: dark, smoky and very hot
We are escorted back to the van
Modern Maasai
A group of young boys surveys us
Goat herding
Isobel reads a guide book
Nosher considers the day