cat - Living The Q Life Travel Adventures

It took going to Africa twice over a three-year span, but our trips to Eastern Africa have been among the best experiences of our lives. Between the eleven-day safari that took us to many different national parks across Kenya and Tanzania to our most recent adventure to trek to see gorillas and chimpanzees in Rwanda, it has been truly fascinating to get up-close to all of these amazing creatures. People often ask us what our favorite location or trip has been and we typically respond that it depends on the type of trip as to what was our favorite. When it comes to adventure, the trips to Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda certainly make it to the top of the list. These are just a taste of some of what we saw in Africa, but we have had some equally unique experiences in South America and in the Amazon Jungle as well.

The Big Cats of East Africa – One of the things that most people look forward to when going on safari in Eastern Africa is seeing all of the big cats like lions, leopards, and cheetahs. We certainly weren’t disappointed with our encounters as we had several that were all amazing and different in many ways. Whether watching the lion cubs at play, seeing a leopard climbing up a tree, or having a cheetah jump on the hood of our Land Cruiser, seeing these animals up close was something truly special. We saw lions at almost every park that we visited, but the leopards and cheetahs were more rare to see. We know that we were very fortunate to see the amazing variety of cats, including the caracal cat, which not everyone gets to see.

Lioness and Cub Snuggling – One of Our Favorite Photographs

Seeing Baby Animals During Our Safari – Although not all baby animals are cute and adorable, the majority of them are and we saw plenty of them during our time in Kenya and Tanzania. Knowing that the number of people going on safari during these times of COVID restrictions, it must be even more fascinating to these baby animals when they come across humans for the first time. Sometimes they were curious about our presence, but for the most part, they didn’t even seem to notice that we were there. We enjoyed not only seeing the baby animals, but also watching their interactions with the rest of their families.

Trekking to Spend Time with a Gorilla Family in Rwanda – After making the over twenty-one-hour trip from Washington DC to Kigali, Rwanda, we immediately were transported to Volcanoes National Park where the Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda are located. We got a few hours of sleep and then woke up early to climb into the rainforest to locate our gorilla family. We were expecting to make our way through the jungle to observe the gorillas through the trees and perhaps have the opportunity to get a little close to one or two of them. It turned out that we would spend an hour standing and walking amongst the entire gorilla family, who continuously walked in front, behind, and all around us as we spent time with them. It was truly one of the most incredible and unique experiences that we have ever had during our travels.

The Amazing Birds of East Africa – As much as we enjoyed seeing all of the large animals in East Africa, we also saw an amazing assortment of birds. Whether the fascinating ostriches, different waterfowl like the flamingos, or other colorful birds, it was as interesting seeing all of the different birds as it was to see lions, rhinos, and giraffes. It wasn’t until we arrived back home and had time to go through all of our photographs that we realized how many different birds we were able to capture images of. We knew before we went to Tanzania and Kenya that we would see ostriches and flamingos, but the sheer number of colorful and interesting birds that we saw was almost overwhelming.

Traveling around the world offers so many wonderful opportunities to see history, immerse yourself in a different culture, or to see amazing wildlife in their natural habitats. To us, one experience isn’t necessarily better than the other, each has their own unique rewards. We are less than two weeks away from heading back to South America and visiting Columbia, which will be more of a cultural exploration. Do you have a favorite type of travel experience that makes a trip the “best trip ever”?

Out of all of the places that we visited during our safari, Maasai Mara was the only one where we encountered cheetahs and it turned out to be one of the highlights of our entire trip. Our first sighting of a cheetah was actually on the evening that we arrived in Maasai Mara and they are truly beautiful animals. Obviously their coat is very distinctive and stunning, but their facial expressions are probably the closest to a house cat of all of the big cats that we saw. The first cheetah that we saw was a solitary cat, but on the first full day in Maasai Mara we encountered a trio of cheetahs and that is where the real fun began.

Everyone knows that the cheetahs are the fastest animal, but getting the chance to see them actually running was something truly special. We were one of four vehicles in a clearing when a trio of cheetahs made their way across the grasslands. Based on their behavior, it seemed to be a mother and two cubs that were basically equivalent to teenagers. The two younger cheetahs were tackling one another, chasing each other, and being generally playful. Then, at one point, the two came next to one of the Land Cruisers that did not have doors and the one cheetah literally jumped into the back of the vehicle. After a minute, the guide used a pillow to shush him out of the Land Cruiser and we looked at our guide and said “we hope he doesn’t jump into our jeep”.

They continued to run around and play seemingly oblivious to all of us. Then, one of them decided to jump onto the hood of our Land Cruiser. We all stayed relatively calm as he seemed fascinated with something on the dashboard and continued looking through the window. The roof of our Land Cruiser was open and at one point he looked up at the roof and contemplated climbing up there. Thankfully he decided otherwise and eventually jumped off of the hood, but then he jumped back on the hood a couple of minutes later. Eventually he got tired of playing with us and the three cheetahs wandered off and our heartbeats returned to normal.

Video of Our Encounter

Of all the close animal encounters that we had during our safari, this was certainly one of the most interesting. Our guide spoke to the guide of the vehicle that was next to us and the people sent us the video that they took, which gave us a different view of the encounter. We’re not sure if the cheetah found us as interesting as we found him, but it was definitely one of the most memorable moments of our entire eleven day safari.

Isobar Expeditions

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We Have Been Fortunate to See So Many Amazing Animals in the Wild

Close Encounters with Cheetahs in Maasai Mara