Enjoying Wildlife Encounters in the Maasai Mara National Reserve

We had some amazing animal encounters during our time in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. It started on the first night when we arrived in the reserve when we saw our first cheetahs. We had already seen the big five in Africa, the elephants, water buffaloes, lions, leopards, and rhinos, but seeing the cheetahs was amazing and was the last of the big cats that we were hoping to see. Obviously our animal encounters didn’t end there as we drove throughout the reserve observing many different animals. We also went to the Mara River, but since we were a couple of days ahead of the great migration, we did not see the wildebeests charging across the river. We did, however, see the crocodiles that were patiently waiting for the migration to arrive.

Male Lion Up Close
Aptly Named Yellow-Billed Oxpeckers on the Back of a Water Buffalo
Chasing Cheetahs
Hundreds of Hippos on the Mara River
View from Our Camp
Vultures on Top of a Tree

Once again, we saw many different lions as we drove through the park. At one point we came across a pride of lions who were eating their prey. This was third time where we saw animals that were eating as we had previously seen a leopard in a tree with a gazelle as well as a hyena and vultures fighting over the remains of an antelope. In addition to the pride of lions we also came across a large male lion that was sitting on a small hill, which we nicknamed the “King of the Hill”. He was definitely quite majestic as he sat gazing at the grasslands around him. Our close encounter with the cheetah that leapt on the hood of our Land Cruiser was certainly a highlight of our entire safari.

Impala Staring Back at Us
Female Lion Walking on the Road
Lilac-Breasted Roller
Eland Standing on Charred Earth
Family of Giraffes
Our Tent

It was also our first time seeing topis, a type of antelope, as well as an eland, which is the world’s largest antelope. Another interesting thing that we saw as we drove through the park was large areas of ground that had been purposely burnt in order to refresh the growth of the area and to kill the bugs. The dark ground was quite a contrast to the rest of the grasslands that we saw throughout the reserve. In addition to the crocodiles at the Mara River, we also saw many hippos lounging there as well, but we understand that they would end up moving when the great migration arrived. The hippos and crocodiles basically ignored one another as they are both very dangerous animals.

King of the Hill
Topi
Patiently Waiting Crocodiles
We Saw Many Jackals
Pride of Lions Eating and Cleaning
Graceful Cheetah

In addition to the typical safari experiences that we had during our time in the Maasai Mara National Reserve we also had an amazing balloon ride and on the morning that we left to head to Lake Naivasha we visited a traditional Maasai village. By the time we reached the Maasai Mara, we had already been on safari for seven days, so we were quite settled into our safari routine of early mornings and full days driving around to see the animals. Since our camp was located in the reserve, animal encounters could occur within the grounds of the lodge, so you had to use caution when walking after dark.

Looking Close – Giraffe and Zebras from Our Tent
Topis are Distinct Looking Antelopes
Lion Cub
The Animals Were as Curious About Us as We Were with Them
Lionesses Relaxing
Warrior Dance at the Camp

The Maasai warriors, armed with bows and arrows, were there to protect the few visitors that were at the camp, although a large water buffalo camped himself outside of our tent and they had difficulty getting him to move. Also, just after we went to our tent, a leopard wandered right through the restaurant, much to the surprise of the only couple still in the restaurant at the time. To make our evening complete, the Maasai warriors also entertained us by singing traditional tribal songs and dancing amongst our dinner tables. All in all, our time in Maasai Mara was truly fascinating and enjoyable.

More Hippos on the River
Women Doing the Welcome Dance
More of the Lions Eating
Our Front Porch in Maasai Mara
Crocodiles on the Bank of the Mara River
Baby Giraffe in the Grasslands
Sunset from the Camp

Getting Close to the Wildlife in Maasai Mara National Reserve

We had some amazing animal encounters during our time in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. It started on the first night when we arrived in the reserve when we saw our first cheetahs. We had already seen the big five in Africa, the elephants, water buffaloes, lions, leopards, and rhinos, but seeing the cheetahs was amazing and was the last of the big cats that we were hoping to see. Obviously our animal encounters didn’t end there as we drove throughout the reserve observing many different animals. We also went to the Mara River, but since we were a couple of days ahead of the great migration, we did not see the wildebeests charging across the river. We did, however, see the crocodiles that were patiently waiting for the migration to arrive.

Male Lion Up Close
Aptly Named Yellow-Billed Oxpeckers on the Back of a Water Buffalo
Chasing Cheetahs
Hundreds of Hippos on the Mara River
View from Our Camp
Vultures on Top of a Tree

Once again, we saw many different lions as we drove through the park. At one point we came across a pride of lions who were eating their prey. This was third time where we saw animals that were eating as we had previously seen a leopard in a tree with a gazelle as well as a hyena and vultures fighting over the remains of an antelope. In addition to the pride of lions we also came across a large male lion that was sitting on a small hill, which we nicknamed the “King of the Hill”. He was definitely quite majestic as he sat gazing at the grasslands around him. Our close encounter with the cheetah that leapt on the hood of our Land Cruiser was certainly a highlight of our entire safari.

Impala Staring Back at Us
Female Lion Walking on the Road
Lilac-Breasted Roller
Eland Standing on Charred Earth
Family of Giraffes
Our Tent

It was also our first time seeing topis, a type of antelope, as well as an eland, which is the world’s largest antelope. Another interesting thing that we saw as we drove through the park was large areas of ground that had been purposely burnt in order to refresh the growth of the area and to kill the bugs. The dark ground was quite a contrast to the rest of the grasslands that we saw throughout the reserve. In addition to the crocodiles at the Mara River, we also saw many hippos lounging there as well, but we understand that they would end up moving when the great migration arrived. The hippos and crocodiles basically ignored one another as they are both very dangerous animals.

King of the Hill
Topi
Patiently Waiting Crocodiles
We Saw Many Jackals
Pride of Lions Eating and Cleaning
Graceful Cheetah

In addition to the typical safari experiences that we had during our time in the Maasai Mara National Reserve we also had an amazing balloon ride and on the morning that we left to head to Lake Naivasha we visited a traditional Maasai village. By the time we reached the Maasai Mara, we had already been on safari for seven days, so we were quite settled into our safari routine of early mornings and full days driving around to see the animals. Since our camp was located in the reserve, animal encounters could occur within the grounds of the lodge, so you had to use caution when walking after dark.

Looking Close – Giraffe and Zebras from Our Tent
Topis are Distinct Looking Antelopes
Lion Cub
The Animals Were as Curious About Us as We Were with Them
Lionesses Relaxing
Warrior Dance at the Camp

The Maasai warriors, armed with bows and arrows, were there to protect the few visitors that were at the camp, although a large water buffalo camped himself outside of our tent and they had difficulty getting him to move. Also, just after we went to our tent, a leopard wandered right through the restaurant, much to the surprise of the only couple still in the restaurant at the time. To make our evening complete, the Maasai warriors also entertained us by singing traditional tribal songs and dancing amongst our dinner tables. All in all, our time in Maasai Mara was truly fascinating and enjoyable.

More Hippos on the River
Women Doing the Welcome Dance
More of the Lions Eating
Our Front Porch in Maasai Mara
Crocodiles on the Bank of the Mara River
Baby Giraffe in the Grasslands
Sunset from the Camp

Close Encounters with Cheetahs in Maasai Mara

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.

The First Cheetah that We Saw
Posing for Our Photograph
Very Distinctive Color Pattern
Trio of Cheetahs Coming Our Way

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”.

Mother Cheetah Walking By
Cheetahs at Play
Chasing One Another
They Are Incredibly Fast

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.

Getting Curious
Looking Through Our Windshield
From Another Angle
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.

Power and Grace
Peeking in at Us
It was an Incredible Experience
Eventually He Jumped Down
Finally They Walked Away and We Could Breath Once Again