Kenya Photo Safari 2012
Land rovers all searching for a lion thought to be in the grass. Wonder where she is?
It's a beautiful morning in Kenya.
We stopped to buy corn to fill our bean bags which we use to lay our cameras on when photographing from the Landrovers. These three young Kenyans were curious about us and I loved their smiles.
A young roadside merchant promoting his wares.
He had a great smile and ebullient personality.
Hauling water the old fashion way.
These women merchants met us at the gate to the Masi Mara National Park. They found a willing buyer in Julie.
A proud member of the Masai looking askance at the camera.
The first of the Big Five is the lion. Here's an up close and personal look at an elderly male lion.
This female lion didn't like our presence because she had just killed a wildebeest and wanted to eat without company.
The second of the Big Five is the cape buffalo. These Wattled Starlings, living symbiotically with cape buffalo, eat the ticks on the buffalo for food which provides relief to the buffalo.
Three wattled starlings watch the disgusting behavior of two oxpeckers.
Cape BuffaloKenyaMasai Mara National ParkOxpeckerStarling wattled
Head butting is banned in the NFL, but not with these cape buffalo.
A small egret enjoying the view from its perch on the back of a cape buffalo.
Elephants, the third member of the Big Five, love to play in mud pools. During the heat of the day the mud helps keep them cool.
This youngster is a master at playing in the mud.
The stealth-like leopard is the forth member of the Big Five. I was lucky to catch a glimpse of this big cat.
This female rhino is the 5th member of the Big Five,. She strolled over to her young one, nudged her and then . . . (see next photo)
. . . and then laid down so the young rhino could nurse. And then . . . (see next photo)
. . . and then papa rhino came over and sat down next to them both. It was quite special to see.
Our day comes to a glorious end watching the sun set over the vast savanna with a vulture perched in the tree for the night. So we've had a glimpse of the Big Five but there are many more big animals to see.
Of course we don't want to forget the towering giraffes who roam the plains of Kenya.
Giraffes are voracious eaters consuming about 75 lbs. of foliage a day.
Here's a giraffe eating on a very prickly tree without damaging her mouth.
Their very tough tongue and lips are how they avoid being punctured.
These altitudinous creatures are a joy to watch moving.
The cheetah, which resembles the leopard, but is far less stealth-like, is also a beautiful animal to watch move.
We saw this young cub trying to climb a tree with mother watching nearby.
A cheetah perched on a termite hill looking for a possible meal while her mate watches from below.
Is this not a gorgeous animal!
We don't want to forget the common Zebra who roams the prairies of Kenya.
I was so close to this zebra that I could only capture the front half of him.
So I took another picture to get the back half.
Three zebras in Lake Nakuru National Park.
A zebra rolling in the mud to get rid of flees and parasites.
As we saw in Tanzania, but now on the Kenya side of the Mara River, crocodiles feeding on a wildebeest.
Once the prey is down, it attracts a swarm of crocodiles.
One morning at dawn we saw these magnificent balloons lifting off.
Once we saw the beauty of this flight we decided to sign up for our own trip.
We left the hotel at 4:30 am to travel to our launch pad for a sunrise hot air balloon flight.
Here's our pilot blasting hot air into the balloon prior to take off.
This colorful balloon was sailing below us.
Now that's symmetry!
As dawn came we saw this unbelievable view of thousands of wildebeests scurrying away from the sound of the hot air being blasted into the balloon.
Ballooning over Masi MaraKenyaMasai Mara National ParkWildebeest
These are the trails made by the herds in the Great Migration as they move through the tall savannah grass.
Another colorful balloon with the passengers watching the wildebeests below.
Ballooning over Masi MaraKenyaMasai Mara National ParkWildebeest
