We got a 6:30am start to our day, heading out to see the animals as they woke up and grazed. The sun had not come up and much like last night’s sunset; the colors and shadows were wonderful. Our first sighting was a pride of female lions, hunting. They were walking low in the grass, not much in a hurry. They would flop down and rest, and then get up and walk again. We followed them, at a distance for several miles before they caught the scent of something. One lioness immediately took off and came upon a dead wildebeest, which likely died of natural causes, and was already picked over by the jackals. She immediately began enjoying her breakfast, as the other two females caught up to her and laid down while she finished.

We soon came upon a massive herd of wildebeest, the biggest we’ve seen so far. They looked like they were thinking about heading to the river – at least they were pointed in the right direction. We made our way to the closest crossing point and waited. There were hippos enjoying the river, as well as a herd of 9 or 10 elephants, munching on the grasses and trees on the river bank.

Our guide got word that the wildebeest herd was getting even bigger, as herds merged together. We decided to go watch the spectacle and was soon stopped by the massive herd, crossing the road in front of us, in a column. They were running right past us and it was quite the scene. Thousands of wildebeest headed for the river – we thought surely, the crossing is going to happen! But, as the famous Lee Corso likes to say, “not so fast, my friends!” The next thing we knew, they had stopped and reversed direction. Again.

Despite no crossing, we enjoyed our box breakfast and watched the migration mayhem. We returned to camp during the midday heat, had lunch, and packed for tomorrow’s departure.

We took off again, at 4:30pm, to catch the activities of the animals during sunset.

This evening’s drive was a big cat bonanza. We saw a full lion pride, with one male, 6 females and one juvenile, feasting on a recently hunted zebra. We watched with amazement as they took turns at their kill. Next, we saw a beautiful cheetah, resting in the shade of a termite mound, eventually moving on to no doubt capture their own prey.

We saw a few more elephants, Thompson’s Gazelle’s, zebras and the occasional Topi, standing on the mound. It was another gorgeous sun setting on the savannah. Ken did a fantastic job showing us some additional topography – green, lush areas around a Mara River tributary. It was a wonderful day.

Tomorrow: Flights to the Serengeti