We had amazing weather, again quite unusual for November as we did expect some rain as it is the start of the short rains. However we were treated to full days of great light !!
Samburu Reserve surprised us with a beautiful green flush after some heavy rain, quite uncommon for this very dry part of Kenya, but the green provided some unusual back grounds, quite different to the trips in August. We had a great sighting of a female Leopard on the first afternoon and we did see the Lions too. Perhaps the Elephants were most interesting covered in their red mud which really made them stand out against the greenery :)
On to Lake Nakuru which has risen even more and new roads are under construction away from the edge of the Lake. We got some great time with a group of White Rhinos and the Pelicans are still there in good numbers. The group decided to try a day visit to Lake Bogoria, about 2 hrs away to see if we could have some joy with the flamingos and the decision to go was a good one. The Lake is very beautiful and we got really close to the edge and to groups of feeding flamingos.
Final destination - the Maasai Mara which provided a lot of action starting with a cheetah chasing down a baby Impala only to be chased off by a herd of Hartebeest !! the poor injured Impala was then snatched by some opportunistic Hyaenas who had watched all the commotion from a distance.
We had Lions drinking, with cubs, on kills and on termite mounds :)
A big female Leopard in a tree with a Reedbuck kill produced some great shots and the Elephants were in good numbers and in good areas for scenic shots and sunsets.
Many thanks to all the staff at the lodges we stayed at and to our guides, James, Julius and Silas !! we are looking forward to next years trip !!
Enjoy some photos and the tour video !!
Kindest regards to all
Stu
Movie clips from Photo Tour
Giraffe in Samburu
Giraffe in Maasai Mara
Leopard in Samburu
Yellow Necked Spurfowl - Samburu
Elephants - Samburu
Female Gerenuk - Samburu
Lions - Samburu
Pygmy Falcons - Samburu
Grevy's Zebra - Samburu
Cheetah - Maasai Mara
Zebras - Maasai Mara
Hippo - Maasai Mara
Lion on kill - Maasai Mara
Serval - Maasai Mara
Sleepy Cheetah - Maasai Mara
Little Beeaters - Maasai Mara
Cheetah chasing Zebras - Maasai Mara
Male Cheetah - Maasai Mara
Zebras fighting - Maasai Mara
Topi fighting - Maasai Mara
Male Lion shaking flies off - Maasai Mara
Photographing Lions - Maasai Mara
Cheetah - Maasai Mara
Cheetah and Elephant - Maasai Mara
Elephant - Maasai Mara
Leopard and Giraffe - Maasai Mara
Giraffe - Maasai Mara
Waterbuck jumping - Maasai Mara
Topi - Maasai Mara
Elephants - Maasai Mara
Lioness - Maasai Mara
Hartebeest - Maasai Mara
Lions - Maasai Mara
Elephants at sunset - Maasai Mara
