We woke early as we were being picked up at 9am and Catherine’s Friend Shilpa (from the USA) was due to arrive at 8am fresh from summiting Kilimanjaro in Christmas Day. Harvey had made pancakes for breakfast which he Christened as Panattis (a cross between pancakes and chapatti as he had not quite got the mix right. Still tasted good and filled a corner. We were picked up by George our driver and Charles “tent pitcher and chef”. The 4x4 was a 9 seater Toyota Landcruiser complete with lift up roof for safe animal viewing. We stopped at an ATM and I allowed myself a rare treat of a cappuccino for the start of the journey. As we left Nairobi we dropped off the Nairobi plateau and down the Rift Valley Escarpment my first encounter with this amazing sight. Even through the fog and rain it was obvious this area is spectacular but photos would have to wait until our return journey.
We stopped at Narok en-route for lunch, to pick up final provisions and also to pick up the final 2 of our party – Caroline and Fanja (from Belgium and Germany respectively). Caroline is a VSO volunteer and Fanja is her friend and is also volunteering but on a more self-service basis.
The journey continued and the roads deteriorated further. After seeing impala, zebra etc we finally arrived at the entrance to the Masai Mara National Park. We left Charles at the camp site to pitch the tents and prepare food as we went for our first dusk safari. Dusk is a great time to see the animals and we spotted a lion with a zebra kill, elephants, leopard, wart hog, many impala and zebra, etc.
The leopard was about 2m away (hence the great shot above) next to the road and seemed completely unfazed by us photographers and tourists. The park closes at 6.30 and it was 6.31 as we passed through the gates so we could not have crammed much more in.
Back at camp the tents were pitched, we even had flush toilets and showers! Coffee and dinner awaited us. It was served in a pre-pitched tent and was much better than I had expected. We had a choice of 3 meals and assorted vegetables. As good as most of the hotels we have stayed in over here! Then to bed for an early start for a full day crossing the Mara to the river in search of hippos.
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