Day 8: Full Day in Maasai Mara

Today, we woke up at 6 am to start our safari early, since apparently, many more animals would be out at this time. They start early, so we would do so as well. The sunrise left an immediate impression.

Our goal for today was to encounter the big five: The most elusive animals that are possible to see in the park: lions, elephants, leopards, buffalo, and rhinos. I forgot to mention that we did see the buffalo yesterday, but it was off in the distance, so we did not see it up close:

But today, we would seek out the big 5, and much more!

because animals start early. We saw a lot today, the cheetah, then lions! Many giraffes, thousands of wildebeests, at one point we got stuck in mud and had to get help. Later drove close to the border with Tanzania (and crossed for a second), to get to the mara river to see hippos. We had lunch near them, but then it started to rain and we had to head back. We stopped by a cheetah and later a lion to watch them hunt for food, but they never struck. But we did find a cheetah that seemed to have eaten too much, it was on the ground panting. After the safari, we went to the local village of the Maasai (native people) to explore and have a drink, they were very friendly (but constantly try to sell you souvenirs..). It was an incredibly day. I have hundreds more photos but these are the best I have on my phone.