Masai Mara National Park

From Lewa, we flew by bush plane to Masai Mara National Park, where we stayed at the beautifully renovated Kichwa Tembo tented camp. We stayed there for three nights and had an aesthetically different experience, as the more southern climate was lush with greenery near the Mara river. It was the only place during our two-week stay in Kenya where we experienced rain. Nonetheless, we observed a plethora of wildlife and had a fantastic time.

Most mornings, our driver, David, drove us out for a picnic breakfast in the area where parts of the movie “Out of Africa” were filmed. Rarely in my life have I had my breakfast in a more beautiful setting!

One of the most fun and memorable things we did during our stay in the Masai Mara was to take a hot-air balloon flight over the park at sunrise.

On our first game drive, we were treated to an unexpected sighting of Zebras crossing the Mara river. Since the wildebeests and zebras don’t typically cross until July, this was a lucky encounter. We watched as they approached nervously over the course of a few hours, retreating a few times before a brave soul started the action.

The predators were waiting of course; one zebra was lost to the crocs an another to a leopard waiting on the incoming side. Nature can be brutal.