Masi Mara National Park, Kenya

July, 2008

Our final stop was the Porini Lion Camp in the Masai Mara. On the way in from the landing strip we came across two cheetahs just lounging around. After a rest in the camp we went for an afternoon game drive and sundowners which again was cut short by a bull elephant!!

The camp was newer than the Amboseli Porini camp but still based on all of the same principles; minimal eco-footprint, located on a Masai concervency, staffed by local Masai, etc. The food was excellent and the chef even catered to Sam's vegitarian/fish diet (which must be bizarre for the Masai who don't eat anything but meat). Our tent backed up to a hippo pool and the hippos came up into the camp at night to eat (they woke us tearing and chewing the grass right outside the tent at night).

The second day we got up at 4:30 to go for the balloon ride. Although there were not very many animals, and the breakfast was a bit too fancy and crowded for our tastes, the views were great and eating breakfast with the wildebeast migration going on just across the savanah made it worth while. On the way back to meet up with our Porini team for the day safari, we saw a secretary bird on the side of the road actually kill a cobra.

Once we met up with the Porini team, we headed back to the Wildebeasts to see if we could catch them crossing the river. Unfortunately they didn't cooperate (with the giant crocodiles laying in wait I don't blame them). We did however see some young hippos sparring and a leopard in a tree.

The following morning we took a short game drive since our flight didn't leave until 11:00. We were looking for lion cubs, but couldn't find them. Instead we ran into a lone male lion who was kind enough to pose for some great pictures.