Days begin early at Angama Mara and you arise with a beautiful sunrise over the Mara plains…
You’ll leave the lodge whilst it’s still chilly, wrapped up in a fleece as bleary eyed you climb into your open top vehicle, wrapping a blanket around your legs to protect against the morning breeze…
The hotel is located high up on above Africa’s Great Rift and you descend a hill down into the Maasai Mara. In the early morning, warm sunlight danced off the back of the animals as we spotted antelope…
And buffalo on the way down…
The scenery in the Maasai Mara is breath-taking, green rolling hills, the Mara river and beautifully picturesque Balanite trees. Angama Mara is located in the Mara Triangle which is actually one of the most grassy places in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, making it look more lush than surrounding areas.
From the bottom of the hill you can look back to the lodge and see the tented suites dotted along the hill top…
Game drives take place at Angama Mara first thing in the morning and at about 4pm in the evening but as cars have to be out of the Mara Triangle by sundown the evening drive is often much shorter. Though there is also the option of going out for the whole day.
We were introduced to our guide as soon as we arrived at the hotel and Lemaalo would be with us for the entire duration of our stay. We already noticed a few differences between our Kenya games drives and our safari in South Africa two years ago. Here you only have your guide where in South Africa a tracker came along in the car too. In South Africa the guide carried a gun in the unlikely event of an animal attack…here they drove unarmed…
The Maasai Mara is know for its huge animal population including many lions, cheetahs, leopards, buffalo and a dense population of elephants. In fact we managed to spot every single one of the big five on our first game drive! We went on four drives whilst staying at Angama Mara but I thought I’d condense the highlights into one post.
Though of course it’s totally thrilling to see some of other animals…I love the grace of zebras…
And watching them wallow in them water really made for a very beautiful scene…Do you know that no single zebra is the same? Each has a unique pattern much like a human finger print.
You already know about my love of giraffes from our time at Giraffe Manor, and though they are the world’s tallest animal they never look cumbersome. Their long elegant legs and slender necks are incredibly beautiful! You can see pattern here on the Maasai giraffe in the picture is totally different to the Rothschild giraffes that we saw in Nairobi.
And of course we had to get our giraffe selfies!
As leopards are so rare and their camouflage is so good, that they are one of the toughest animals to spot on safari but we were lucky enough to see one on our first drive. Having just eaten a big dinner she was lying lazily on the ground but we still admired the gorgeous rosette pattern on her golden skin.
One of the highlights of the day was stopping in middle of the wilderness for our bush breakfast…
As you can see our car totally open to any elements, which at times can be a little nerve-wracking but also totally thrilling. We also loved the fact that we had a car to ourselves, which allowed total flexibility during the drive.
Lemaalo unpacked a beautiful picnic spread and made us fresh coffee as we munched on a breakfast beautifully prepared by the hotel.
Cakes, an egg roll, fresh fruits and home made museli…
Honestly there’s something so peaceful about sitting in the wilderness without another soul in sight. Actually as there are fewer lodges in the Mara Triangle there’s a more lower density of visitors than in the Greater Maasai Mara. Seeing less cars driving through the plains made the whole experience more authentic and special.
Seeing a lion up close is of course one of the most thrilling things to see on safari. At one point we stumbled on a pride of lion finishing off a huge meal off buffalo. It was an incredible sight to behold and actually a little scary watching their teeth rip through the corpse. I took pictures but I thought they may be bit graphic for the blog.
Mr S was always so excited to spot a lion on safari and they’re easily his favourite animal…
But I was most thrilled to see these gentle giants…there’s no animal that I love more than elephants…
Especially baby elephants! And this little guy was only two weeks old, clumsy on his feet and just learning to walk.
Isn’t he cute!
One animal that we saw less of was the black rhino which has plummeted in population due to poaching. However the Mara Triangle is managed by the Mara Conservancy, a non-profit organisation that has not only improved the road infrastructure over the last fifteen years but have all put anti-poaching patrols into place.
We were still lucky to catch a glimpse of these fine animals.
One unique thing about safari in Maasai Mara is the Great Migration. This takes place from July to October ever year and sees two million animals migrating from the Serengeti National Park to the greener lands of the Maasai Mara. It is one of nature’s greatest spectacles and one of the ‘Seven New Wonders of the World’.
During the migration the animals must cross the Mara river where they may gather for days building up in numbers. We saw herds of zebra and antelope lining up at the river but it is the wildebeest migration that is most iconic and as they cross they must do their best to avoid the snapping jaws of a crocodile. Lemaalo told us that the migration is totally unpredictable and they could cross at any time. Though we waited several hours all we saw was a few small antelope crossing…
Though one did fall prey to this evil-eyed creature. Another couple who were staying in our hotel came to this same point hours later and witnessed a huge crossing which we were sad to miss.
We did see this guy wallowing in the grasses nearby. Hippos are actually the most dangerous creatures on safari and are responsible for more human fatalities than any other animal, far more than a lion!
Towards the end of the day a golden light hit the Mara and we headed back up the hill to Angama Mara…
Looking back at the flaming sky over one of the world’s great game reserves.
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Our accommodation at Angama Mara was complimentary on an all-inclusive basis. We covered the costs of transfers and park fees.
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