African Juju




 I feel like this trip, so far, has been blessed by African juju! Our time in the Masai Mara was mind-blowingly beautiful, the scenery, the Masai people, the wildlife sightings, and our safari camp overlooking the Sand River. 

The Masai Mara is Kenya’s portion of the massive Serengeti ecosystem which extends down through much of Tanzania. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the incomparable plains of the Serengeti comprise 1.5 million hectares of savannah, riverine forests, and woodlands supporting over 2 million herbivores (so many ungulates!) and those herbivores in turn supporting a high concentration of predators, such as lions, cheetahs, leopards, jackals, and crocodiles. Imagine 2 million herbivores constantly grazing the savannah grasses - and the predators stalking them. 


Our guide took us on a mini safari on the way to our bush flight back to Nairobi this morning. He spotted (with his “Masai eyes”, as he says) 3 lion cubs waiting together on the hilltop way above two lionesses (their mothers) stalking in the savannah below us, and a Hartebeest off in the distance. We watched from the ridge above as the lionesses carefully aligned themselves downwind and crept up, from different angles on the unsuspecting Hartebeest, taking it down in less than a minute. Then the lionesses proceeded to drag the large carcass towards the cubs. This savannah drama took place too far away to video, even with extended lenses, but the visual life and death drama of this fascinating ecosystem will stay with us forever. 


I will post a few photos here, but blogger can’t support videos, so I’ll put those and more photos on my Facebook page, an easier platform for videos/photos. 


We’re back in Nairobi now, and our new Kenyan friend Samuel wants us to visit his family on the edge of the city, so my next entry will be that adventure! 


Cheetah with Impala kill



African Water Buffalo remains. My jeep mates thought it was curious that I wanted to photograph bones, but I feel they tell an interesting story here



A few of the gorgeous “Black Rock” pride lions, who we ran into each day in various locations


Our excellent spotter Dominic, displaying the warm smile and lean and powerful physique of the Masai people.  






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