Maasai Mara - Lions & the Wildebeest Migration across the Mara River

Maasai Mara - Cheetahs & Lions

We watched a pride of lions and a cheetah stalking and hunting today at Maasai Mara. As you can see, the lion was successful, the cheetah not so much. Predators are of course feeding like crazy on the hundreds of thousands of wildebeest coming through on their annual migration.

Maasai Mara - Wildebeest Migration

We are in Maasai Mara watching the annual wildebeest migration. This is a shot of the wildebeest chilling at the end of a day of running with the zebra who guide them to their destinations. There were literally thousands, and to capture them, we would need to show a 360 degree view. We saw a pride of female lions stalking them, with one chasing a couple before giving up.
It's an amazing sight.

Samburu

We visited the Samburu village near our lodge and met the chief and many other members of the village. The layers and layers of beads worn by these two young girls indicates that they have not married yet. The one on the right is 15 and about to get married. They are standing in front of their house made of found materials. Normally they would use cow dung but most of their cows were lost in the drought.

The leopard above is yawning because we woke him up.

Amboselli Porini Camp

We finally got internet again! Our first stop in Kenya was Amboselli National Reserve, which was full of different types of animals, and probably the best place we have been in Kenya so far. We camped out for two nights in luxury tents with solar electricity, bucket showers, and really good food. We had sundowners, night game drives, and lots of opportunities for photos. However, the most memorable part of Amboselli was probably our semi-scary run-in with a rogue elephant (see him below). We were on a walking safari with two Maasai warriors who were fully equipped with spears and swords. We stopped at a watering hole when all of the sudden the elephant came out from behind a bush, about 20 feet away from us. The elephant made a warning noise, put his ears up, and lurched towards us. Our warrior guide said, "Run quickly!" and we ran straight into the forest. Thankfully the elephant did not follow us, but it was definitely memorable. Amboseli was beautiful, and one of the best places we have been so far.

We also got to meet and interact with a real Maasai village, and it was a beautiful experience.

Musanze Market

Amahoro Orphanage

Posted by Diana:

After trekking, we asked our driver to take us to an orphanage in Musenza that has kids ages 2-17. Each of us brought a suitcase of clothes, school and athletic supplies to donate. We did not anticipate how amazing the kids would be. We spent the afternoon with 30 kids singing, dancing, playing soccer and just hanging with them. The teen girls LOVED talking to Saxby about her life and her boyfriend Cooper. They grabbed the cameras and took these photos. This orphanage is privately run and looks after kids that lost their parents in the genocide and subsequent rebel wars or through diseases like AIDS. You can send donations to this place directly without worry that the funds will be confiscated at: AIDP Africa, PO Box 124, Musanza, Rwanda. Or go to www.amahoroproject1919.org