No bad weather for lions in the Mara

I have arrived on the Mara after a quick flight from Nairobi Wilson Airport to Olkiombo airstrip. Heading to the camp we just had time to have lunch and officially meet the crew that would be part of this promising trip before we did our first game drive.

One of the first sightings we have had opportunity to photograph in this trip as soon as we have gone out for the first safari drive in the afternoon was about some of the Paradise Pride females diving their claws and teeth on a big wildebeest carcass.



The wildebeest was still fresh, so I think we missed the whole action for quite little time. The weather was not so good for photography because the rain started to fall in the afternoon and sky was still cloudy, and light was already fading fast with the night coming up, but the scene was perfect for warming up our gears and I was extreme anxious imagining what the Mara reserved for us for that first drive, so I clicked…



On the technical side, there are those who prefer to keep the coolness of the scene and keep white balance neutral to cold, while others prefer to force warm tones. I think both options produce excellent results. The dramatic appeal of this scene in particular accepts both settings, although I personally think that the best picture in this set is this one with colder aspect, I can nearly feel the fresh air and smell the earth moisture drenched by the afternoon showers – what do you think?



The lionesses had no competitors around such as hyenas or other lionesses of the pride, but this could be just a matter of time given the hour of the day. As long as we stayed there, we could calmly observe these lionesses enjoy their dinner peacefully.



What a start! How I missed that place…! These lionesses on a kill were exactly what I needed to revive the feeling of being back on that enchanting place called Maasai Mara.

More updates to come…


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MASAI MARA - DAY 01 - Getting to the Mara

After a dizzy flight through a typical equatorial thunderstorm, we landed on the core of Masai Mara, Olkiombo Airstrip just by the Talek River, where it became our home for the next days. The crew took us to the Mara Intrepids Camp where we will meet our tent-room and join the remaining fellows of our group for a quick game drive before the sun goes down. In the Masai Mara the rules are strict and you cannot drive after sunset. We have been very lucky, the light could not be better and the clouds of the storm we had just flown through gave a heavy dark background to the scenery, and from the other side, the golden glow of the lightbeams of the lowering sun provided the final touch to the beautiful view of the Mara plains – a fantastic warm welcome of Masai Mara.

LANDING ON THE MARA


The first scene we have came across was the Olkiombo pride finishing their afternoon feast. Just before we have got there this pride had chased and killed a blue wildebeest and then they were still working on the carcass.

FEAST IN THE PLAINS


LIONESS AFTER KILL


Lionesses and cubs calmly feeding from the wildbeest body, there was no sign of other predators or hyenas nearby, so they had all the time to eat without being disturbed. We could get very close to the site and 400mm for the close-ups was more than enough. The beautiful light filled in the scene also in more wide ranges of view, so we just could frame all the scene with a superb background – and this was just the first encounter!

HUNGRY LION CUB


We left the happy lion family and continued our quest for more action, now with the comfort sensation of having already our daily dose of excitement. Not far from there, we had a beautiful open view of the plains and luck striked again: three cats moving across the plain. With the full yellish light of sunset just hitting on them , 3 cheetahs have materialized just in front of our path.

CHEETAHS TRIO WALKING


We had just to observe their movement and position the vehicle for just waiting them to come to us. And they did.

THE 3 BROTHERS


MARKING TERRITORY


The 3 cheetahs were actually 3 adult males, brothers. They were Honey’s sons, or the 3 Honey Boys as BBC Bigcat staff called them in the latest series (BBC Bigcat Live 2008). They are orphans because their mother, Honey, was accidentally killed by a tranquilizer dart that stung the wrong spot, but now after being rescued in 2007 and reintroduced back into the wild, they became “killing machines”. We were told that they successfully kill prey every day and they are indeed look very strong and in good shape.

ONE OF HONEY’S SONS


They stop and take their time marking the territory by urinating around a tree. Next, they continue the stroll just straight until they reach a small elevation of ground (actually a earth mount produced by the park staff after digging to get stones for paving the main tracks). Cheetahs are very alert cats and, as a technique of surveillance, they like staying higher from the ground to get a better view of the neighbourhood and it is then usual to see them on top of termite mounts, low dead tree branches or small ground elevations like this.

UNDER THE TREE


They sit and relax, and they seem to be, like us, just comemorating the end of one more fantastic day. The just stay there for a while waiting for the sun goes down. Time for very special sillouette pictures. It was very tricky to take this picture because the vehicle was also in another small elevation and then we had to keep as low as possible to get the backlight just behind the cheetah and the light vanishes very fast, but we have got it! Thanks to Mark tips.

WATCHING SUNSET


SUNDOWNER


We have been so luck today. It is amazing how much things we could see in just 1 and a half hours of game drive. The Masai Mara is really wonderful. Time to go back to the camp for a good shower and dinner. What a day we are starving!!!

THE CHEETAH DUSK