12 Hour Game Day

Due to the size of the National Park at Maasai, we ended up completing a full day game drive included as part of our tour. We mostly set out to find the Leopard because we knew it would be the most difficult to find. The day was massive, the sun was hot, and the roads were rough. Nevertheless, the day was incredible, and some of the things we saw were proper wildlife experiences. It started with some standard animal finds before eventually we hit a road block. We had organised to pick up other members of the group across a river track, but as we arrived, there were 3 very hot, full, and sleepy Lions that decided to park up across the track. They had just consumed a zebra moments beforehand, and the carcass and its smell was there to confirm it. We were shocked that they could be in such a location. As a result, the rangers were OK with us getting really close because they were in the river bed, and so we didn't have to maintain a 25m distance. Generally, these are the rules, but if no one is around, then the rangers won't catch you getting closer. We then headed towards a reporting of a big male lion that was guarding a buffalo carcass just further upstream from where these Lions were. When we got there, the smell was overwhelming, but the sight of a lion standing over a rotting and half consumed buffalo was amazing. Jackels and vulture swarmed ariund the big male, but his presence alone stopped everything from getting to close. This guy was massive. We couldn't get as close as there were many people around, but he was big enough to ensure I didn't really want to. It was amazing to see this type of nature face to face. We then wandered off to find a few herds of elephants and giraffes, but we were not yet done with the big cats. Somehow, our guide spotted a lion near a tree down the valley, and when we approached, I got to experience the most unbelievable feeling. As one HUGE male lion lay in the long grass, another lioness lie within the shadow of the tree, but our guide managed to park our truck right in between. This meant that there were two massive Lions within 2m of both sides of us. An enourmas and easy meal for both if they decided they were hungry. An incredible feeling being so close to two enourmas beasts that were happy just looking at us and going back to sleep. Looking into their golden eyes also was something i did not expect to be so overwhelming and daunting, as you try and consider what goes on in their brain when they look directly at you. A view that would mean certain death for most animals was something we could sit and admire somehow. An unbelievable morning of big cats, mostly chilling but also slightly active with their eating.

We then had a lunch of our own and began to make our way to the Maasai River. This was another highlight of the trip as we got to see Hippos and the most incomprehensibly large crocodiles I had ever seen or hoped to see. We had missed the crossing by about a month, but it meant that these crocs were incredibly well fed, and you could tell by looking at them. I literally got goosebumps as they came into view because of the shock and fear that came I to my body despite being way up the riverbed. It was stunning and scary. The Hippos were quite chilled, they spend most of their day in the water to avoid the heat, so we only got to see a couple in full sight. But even in the water, you could see the size of the beasts. After this, we explored throughout more of the day stumbling across the regular culprits, giraffe, elephants, impala, zebra, etc. However, toward the end of the day, we heard our guide talking over radio before legging it toward the exit. We began to theorise what it could be. Hope remained that it would be a Leopard, but we couldn't be sure. We approached what looked a lot like a leopard tree and excitement peaked, it lead to slight disappointment, however, as the tree was empty and instead, two cheetahs lay in its shadow, trying to cool off. It's difficult to call a disappointment, but everything was seeming as though it could be the illusive Leopard. We enjoyed his company some more before heading toward the exit. This is when we managed to spot the White Rhino. The Rhino was only spotted at the very end of the safari, as we were on our way out. The guide had to slam on his breaks incredibly hard to ensure we got a good view. On the way out, the guides book it along the dirt roads, but it is a lot of fun to get thrown around the truck. This meant that in a day and a half of game drives, we managed to spot 4 of the big 5 as well as Jackels, impala, giraffe, crocodiles, hippos, cheetahs, and much more cool stuff.Read more