Masai Mara

I am finishing off my time in Kenya with a bang. I was fortunate enough to spend the end of last week in the Masai Mara. I joined a group of five random people (who quickly became friends) in a safari vehicle for three days straight. Altogether, we were a group of three Spaniards and three Americans. We slept at a small budget camp just outside the national park. At the camp, I shared a tent with a young British woman, another tour patron. I feel quite fortunate to have met such nice people along the way and to have found a way to see the Mara without breaking the bank!

We had nearly two full days of game drives in the Masai Mara reserves. We caught the front end of the rainy season, so had several adventures trying to get our two-wheel drive van through some muddy passes. These close escapes took quite the toll on our vehicle, which started making horrendous metal-grinding groans our final morning. A local mechanic identified the problem, but lacked the spare part to truly remedy the situation. He patched up some dangling parts with plastic bags for our long drive back to Nairobi... and we made it! I never cease to be amazed by people's ingenuity and creative problem solving.

On our drives, cheetahs and rhinos sadly remained elusive. But at least we had some incredible lion viewings!! All my favorite photos from the trip involve these giant cats.

All in all, a lovely way to finish of the holidays indeed.