Monday morning drive to the Mara river

Monday morning’s drive again started at sunrise (6:30), but this time we packed a picnic breakfast to cover the extended drive to the Mara river. We were hoping to see a wildebeest crossing. They cross en masse – a few days earlier there was a crossing that lasted a little over an hour.

Warthogs aren’t the prettiest animals, and they’re very shy, but they’re just cute enough with three young ones to “make the cut” for blog inclusion.

We crossed paths with an antelope and a giraffe (among others) on the way to the river.

A cape buffalo was snacking on the bluff above the Mara river. And the Mara has plenty of hippos.

Hippos are excellent swimmers – note how they hardly move in the river despite the obvious current. And they’re noisy at times.

When we reached the river, our guide Daniel pointed out that the zebras on our side near the shore were wet. We’d just missed a zebra crossing. There were still a bit more than a dozen zebra on the opposite shore. The zebra on the far shore then made a crossing. Eight made it before the hippos started bellowing and scared off the remaining zebra.

Hey there, it’s us!