The Great Migration Safari 2012: Day 8

A hunting leopard and her cub started off our last full day in the beautiful Masai Mara, and even though we spent a good hour watching the attempted hunt, the river crossings again came to the fore. Madness for close to two hours! We had some more good luck with another monster crocodile adding some flavour to the mix, and clicked away as one of the more unorthodox crossings unfolded in front of us. Add all the general game and the couple of lion sightings we photographed, and it made for what is often referred to as a great day!

Major sightings of the day:

Leopard and cub, hunting wildebeest
Lions, 2 sightings, both with cubs
River crossings, up to 20 000 wildebeest and many zebra with 2 crocodile kills
Elephants
Giraffe
Large herd of buffalo
Warthog, many with piglets
Topi, many with new day old calves

The Great Migration Safari 2012: Day 7

Day 7 was a day that involved a little bit of everything. The birds started us off, with great sightings of an African Harrier Hawk and a Long Crested Eagle. The large pride of lions we saw the previous day showed themselves, and introduced us to their newest members of the pride, four two month old cubs. Elephants and giraffes were in abundance, as well as a great sighting of a clan of six hyaenas.

Major sightings of the day:

Lions, two prides – one pride with four two month old cubs
Cheetah
Herds of elephants
Herds of buffalo
Many great bird sightings
Hyaena clan
Giraffe

The Great Migration Safari 2012: Day 6

Another magic day! An early morning leopard started us off, plenty of crossings (with 2 crocodile kills adding to the chaos), and a fantastic experience in a hot air balloon, which gave us a great new perspective over the Masai Mara. Some new species of antelope for the Safari didn’t hurt either…

Major sightings of the day:

Several crossings, with 2 crocodile kills
Herds of elephants
2 lion sightings, including the huge pride of 19 lions
Leopard
Large herds of buffalo
Defassa waterbuck
Giraffe

The Great Migration Safari 2012: Day 5

Lions, cheetahs, leopards and even a black rhino – it was a great day on Safari, not forgetting, of course, all the other animals that made an appearance and kept our cameras clicking. A special sighting of a herd of relaxed eland made for some great portraits and the elephants never disappoint, but the sighting of the day was split between two very playful cheetah cubs, and some

Major sightings of the day:

Lions ( 3 different prides, all with cubs)
Cheetah and 2 cubs
Black rhino and calf
Leopard
Elephants
Buffalos
Elands
Hyaenas (9 in one clan)
Topis with lots of calves
Wildebeest herds

The Great Migration Safari 2012: Day 4

What a day! The magic started two minutes into the drive, when we had a surprise wildebeest crossing at a different river to the usual Mara River. Upward of 10,000 wildebeest made the early morning crossing, exiting the tight river crossing mere meters away from where we were photographing the action. We had a good sessions with a cheetah and two cubs, loads of elephants and an excess of the Mara’s antelope – we even spotted our first leopard of the safari.

Major sightings of the day: