At dinner our first night we decided to sign up for the next morning’s hot air balloon tour. I have to admit that it didn’t seem like such good idea when we got our 4:45 A.M. wake-up call. We managed to drag ourselves up and out to the truck for the drive to Governor’s camp where we would be boarding the balloons. Just before sunrise, we climbed aboard our balloon and lifted gently above the Mara. We drifted above the savanna watching the nocturnal animals retire for the night as the other animals begin their day.

The highlight was watching a lioness stalk a gazelle and her baby. It was fascinating and, luckily, we didn’t see the young gazelle meet its demise. At the end of our tour, we were treated to a delicious breakfast in the middle of the savanna. As we were eating, we could see thousand of wildebeest marching toward the river. Protus picked us up after our meal and off we went on another game drive. After only a day and a half, we got a look at the beginning of the great migration. We came across a few thousand zebra making their way toward the Mara river.

We learned later in the day that during other times of the year, some guests only see one or two zebra. The zebra are the first to arrive because they prefer the top portions of the grass.

Each subsequent animal enjoys lower portions of the plant. Next, we came across those wildebeest we had seen earlier. Protus brought us right in the middle of the herd where we were surrounded by approximately ten thousand of these creatures.

A little while later an urgent call came over the radio that zebra and wildebeest were attempting to cross the river. The crossing is one of the most awe-inspiring events in nature as thousands of animals attempt to cross fast-flowing, often deep, streams before becoming a meal for the Nile crocodiles. Hearing this, Protus raced to the bank of the river just in time to see a number of zebra and a few wildebeest attempt the crossing. It is hard to describe the site of thousands of creatures attempting to make it safely to the other side. We witnessed two especially memorable scenes. The first was a zebra and its foal making the attempt as a croc came in looking for a snack. Luckily, the young zebra narrowly escaped the powerful jaws of the croc.

A short time later, a adult male zebra successfully made it across only to find that his mate and child were still on the other shore. The male was visibly agitated, paced back and forth while calling out to his family. This continued for several minutes before he decided to head back across and escort his loved ones across safely. A surprising siting of the afternoon was a group of ostriches. Neither of us had any idea that they lived in Kenya.

That evening we headed out for a a short game drive before dinner hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive leopard. As was the case with our other attempts, the leopard successfully alluded us. We did however see some new animals including baboons, yellow-throated long claw and helmeted guinea fowl.

It was a sad to say good by to Bateleur Camp this morning. I don’t know that we could have had a better time. We left for the airstrip a little early so we could do a small game drive. Even on that short trip we saw a bunch of animals and even got within ten feet of a spotted hyena. We also got to see that zebra that had been snared. It was making a a strong recovery. It was a bit of a challenge for the the patient. As he regained consciousness, a number of hyena circled him looking for an easy meal. Luckily, the two ranger vehicles where able to keep the predators at bay. The zebra even recognized that the rangers were trying to help him and allowed them to escort him back to his family. After our short drive, we boarded the little 12-seater heading to Grumeti.

For more Masai Mara photos, click here.