Today a picnic lunch somewhere in the reserve, hopefully no lions join us.

Breakfast is survived without Warwick the Whinging Wormeating Cowboy having his meal snavled before he finished. So, he’s in a good mood, or so it seems, as he sleeps a good portion of the day away in the back seat, snoring and sleep talking about finding a leopard before he leave Africa. 

We load up into the Troopy at 7.30am, its coolish, the rain last night has cooled things down, there’s no dust, yet, maybe later.

Its no time and we’re at a spot where a lioness has just killed a wildebeast, she’s protecting the kill from hyenas, jackals and vultures we think waiting for the rest of her pride to turn up. We call past at the end of the day and she’s still there, nobody else has turned up for the party.

Next its birds, all sorts, pretty yellow birds, Kingfishers, Secretary Birds, Lilac Crested Something or Others.

Next we find a cheetah that has just taken down a Thompson’s Gazelle  he/she is magnificent. Once again gruesome munching of a recently live animal is under way.

At another spot a huge male lion has just killed another wilderbeast. Warwick suggests its like the pub specials, only in the big cat world it’s ” Wilderbeast Monday”. When he’s finished eating the rear end and juicy bits, he’s exhausted and finds shade right beside Navigators window, she could reach out and touch him (but she doesn’t), Warwick whispers “shut the window! But she doesn’t, she doesn’t move, Ken starts the vehicle, he slowly and gracefully ambles past other safari vehicles ( as a proper King does. There are rules, these are wild animals running on half a million acres, no fences, no interference, Kenyan National Park rangers patrolling all the time with automatic weapons checking for poachers and safari operators doing things they shouldn’t.

Hippos next, at a spot on the Mara River, heaps of them, babies as well. Sunning, swimming, snorting, blowing spouts of water, waiting for an idiot to stumble near them so they can chomp them or it.

We have a beautiful picnic lunch under a tree looking over the well grassed (dry though) Masai Mara rolling hills and plains with the umbrella type trees dotted around. Its very peaceful and so scenic.

By 4pm, we’re done, so its back to Zebra Plains Camp and our 5 star tent in the bush where while it’s dark you need an Masai warrior escort back to your tent, for a 100 shilling tip. Simon, our smiling, efficient Masai waiter gets us sorted for dinner. He’s 35, married with 4 children, his wife is the boss he says “akoona mitada” (no worries in Swahili)

Tomorrow morning we fly in a light aircraft to the Serengeti in Tanzania.

I’ve loved Kenya, much more than I expected. The wildlife has been amazing, the landscapes are epic African and the people bright and pleasant. Our guide Ken has been brilliant, a gentle natured man, probably in his 40s, 3 daughters (16, 12 & 6), seems pretty respected by the other guides. Shadows of Africa have a good one with him. We’ll say goodbye to him tomorrow morning and hello to our Tanzanian guide.

Ciao from Zebra Plains Camp on the Masai Mara, Kenya for the last time

Pauolo