Up before 4 am to be picked up at 4:20. We travel along on horrendous roads for over 1 hour to arrive for a balloon ride over the Maasai Mara. Along the way in the dark we saw zebras, a huge herd of cattle that slowed us almost to a stop & a hyena with something in its mouth. That was exciting but they are so fleeting we didn’t get a picture.

We left the ground at 6:45

The balloon climbed to 350 m. It dropped down as low as 21 m.

Mara means “spotted” in Swahili. The bushes (and probably the termite hill) seen from the balloons… the landscape is spotted. Termite hills in winter become wet and so malleable. The pumbas (warthogs) dig into them and make a nest/burrows out of them. Termite nests when dry are like rock and cannot be dug into.

The grasslands have been controlled burnt allowing the grass to grow back quickly and very green. That attracts the animals with fresh grass. Otherwise they may leave for the Serengeti.

Hyenas are most effective hunters. Females are bigger than males. The males will eat the babies. If mother see that, it will sever the male head off and leave the carcass without eating it.

Thomson gazelles have harems with maybe 30 females and one lonely male. The other males congregate together into a smaller group. The natives refer to them as losers.

Zebras are useless for humans. Their backs are too weak to ride and too wild to be domesticated.

Topis antelopes have very dark defined legs

Red Hartebeest

Rainy season is October/November. Every year the roads and bridges have to rebuilt. Funny…, this is little early but roads are wet and mucky now with lots of vehicles getting stuck today.

Carlos our pilot told us that lines on plains not as defined as vehicle ruts, are hippos trails. They travel at night and into the water in the daytime.

After 1 hour and 20 we landed with a bit of bump….. very close to Tanzania. Driven to have champagne breakfast. Short time later reconnected with rest of group.

Cheetah in the grass. It was having breakfast. You could see some kind of kill in the grass but we not able to identify what it was. Blood on the mouth of cheetah.

4 female lions stalking a water buffalo for lunch but changed their mind.

Hippos

Crocodiles

Egyptian geese

Yellow billed stork

Everywhere on the hills are wildebeests everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE.

Southern ground hornbill

Young cheetah snoozing in a dip in grass.