Friday, Feb 23 Balloon Ride and Maasai Mara Day 2

 Friday, February 23

Early morning wake up call is a knock on our tent door at 4:30AM, although we are both awake earlier.  We are escorted to the lobby where we meet the balloon company vehicles that take us to the launch site.

We come across several hippos that are heading back to the river.  This was the last in line.

It is very windy this morning and we wait a bit to see if things will calm down.  All of the other balloons decline launching, but ours is a go.  Not sure whether we should be happy about this - or worried!

The basket holds 15 people and the pilot, who is a gentleman from Egypt.  The basket is on its side to launch, so it is a little awkward getting into position.  Once we lift up, the basket is upright and we are sitting and can stand.

It's our first balloon flight and is quite smooth.  We move quickly at first, but then the wind slackens and we drift over the vast plains.  When not firing, it is absolutely silent and amazing!  We see few animals for the first half hour, but beautiful views. 

 Then we begin to see herds of impalas, topi, a hyena.  When we descend too low, the animals take off running when they hear the blast of the burner.

Our landing is totally soft and smooth - and the basket is in upright position.  We clamber out and are soon met by the chase vehicles and driven to an outdoor champagne breakfast, complete with mimosas, juice, omelets, pastries and fruit.  It is still a bit windy, and the table cloth whips up and knocks over Greg's drink.  But we manage.  This guy was terrific at flipping the omelets!

Then we head out for another game drive.  Those who didn't do the optional balloon ride saw two lions kill a cape buffalo on their way to breakfast,  so we head back to that area.  The lions, two males, are resting.

We drive for quite a while, seeing a few animals.  We are in an area of taller grass, so not so many animals grazing.  Apparently there is a pride of lions that we've been searching for - and finally find!  Lionesses and a few young males that haven't been ousted from the pride yet.  

 A couple of the lions are visible on a small hillock and as we sit watching them, more heads pop up in the grass - there are at least 10!  They are eyeing something in the distance - we thought it was an elephant.

Slowly they move out in a single file line, snaking down to and across a stream and up the other side of the valley.  They pass the elephant and a few minutes later attack a lone cape buffalo!  We have to use binoculars to see the action, but it is like National Geographic!  It takes them 10-15 minutes to bring the animal to ground, jumping on its back and hind quarters and avoiding the horns.

Amazing how the lions blend into the grass and vanish.  Makes us wonder how many we have been driving past without knowing!  We see a few more later.

Back to our camp for lunch, which is pretty much a remake of yesterday's meal and not particularly appealing.  No apple/cashew salad.  But the fruit is always good. It is very dry here and apparently they don't wrap their breads and cakes.

After lunch we go to visit a Maasai Boma (home).  This tribe (for a fee) allows us to enter with smiles, singing and some dancing. 

 One man tells us about the Maasai nomadic way of life, shows us the rungu - a wooden club that all the men carry.  It is used in games and as a weapon. 

They demonstrate starting fire with 2 pieces of wood, and then we are shown into a home.  Beth's sunglasses don't change quickly enough and I stumble a bit before finding a seat.  One tiny window, so it is pretty dark in there!

The women make the houses of mud and sticks (and elephant dung).  Very basic with sleeping areas and a fire pit.  Women pretty much do all of the work, Adam comments, while the men take care of the cattle/sheep/goats.  Pregnant women are worked especially hard because they want babies to be small for easier childbirth.  

 Because we have paid, we are allowed to take photos.  There is a group of cute children, but we are kind of steered away from them, understandably.  

Then we are taken to an area to see (and buy) crafts that they've made.  Most include beads, jewelry or carvings.  We buy a small gourd with beads to use as a Christmas ornament and a rungu which we are told the young men of the tribe carve.

Driving back towards camp, we see more animals including a few more lions, elephant and gazelles.  Just amazing!

Glad we have 4-wheel drive in some situations!

This is a helmeted guinea fowl, very colorful and pretty common.

We revisited the lion kill site from this morning.  One of the lions has eaten his fill and is sacked out in the sun, oblivious to the vehicles in the area. The other, with a blood tinted face, is still eating and adjusting the carcass.  A hyena is nearby waiting his turn for leftovers.

Last stop is an overlook at the Talek River.  We can get out of the vehicles here because we are on a high bluff overlooking the river. This photo shows a pretty, more shallow area to our left.

To the right are deeper pools with many hippos.  Twitching ears, tiny eyes and an occasional snout are in evidence. They can stay submerged for 3-5 minutes at a time. Their skin is sensitive, so they stay in the water to avoid sunburn and dehydration, getting out in the evening and nighttime to graze.

 A little further along, we spot this big guy coming out of the water.  Adam says he is showing his dominance by opening wide, then wider and wider still!  I think I could stand inside his mouth! 

Quiet night. I skip dinner and work on photos instead.  We had left a few items for laundry service and they are returned neatly folded.  A few birds and monkeys are the only animals we see around the camp. I speak to some of the staff who are Maasai who live nearby.  They walk to and from work.  Seems dangerous to us.  There may be guns at some of these locations, but we never see any evidence of them.

Long, wonderful day.