25 Jan 2025 - Saturday
The last day dawned as all the days before it did, except I was up way ahead of the alarm so got up and finished packing. My room wouldn’t be taken today so there was no rush to get the stuff out, but I just wanted it done. I smiled to myself every time the hippos acted up. I’ll miss that. And once in the not so far distance, I heard lions calling out. At least they were out there and nearby. “We’ll find them,” I thought.
I’d hoped for another fire engine red sky this morning but with a bunch of rain overnight it was still kind of overcast so the day had a soft start to it. I planned for late check-out at Mara Plains, so I could get a full game drive in and a late flight back to Nairobi for my midnight flight out. I would rather spend my time waiting to leave with the wildlife than in a hotel room.
I noticed immediately that while my pre-breakfast snacks* were in place, the breakfast cooler was not. Doh! I wondered if at first Francis thought I only had a partial game drive and I’d be going back for breakfast, or if I didn’t get breakfast at all on my last day? What was up? Those who have traveled with me, particularly car road trips, know that I stock enough food for the eventuality that we are stranded in snow with no access to the real world for weeks. And now we’re out on a 6 1/2 game drive with only my pre-breakfast snacks? Something’s afoot….
(*I may have forgotten to mention that every morning and every evening drive the Mara Plains chef packs a stackable tin set of container, usually a set of two or three, with snacks to hold you over until bush breakfast mid-morning or to have as a sundowner. They’re tastefully made up, tied with a black ribbon and a little scroll from the chef telling me what goodies are inside. I kept all the scrolls and some of the ribbons. I’m a nostalgic dork. Today they were date protein balls and homemade Snickers bars!)
Francis stopped the vehicle just outside camp and laid out the plan as he did every drive. We were going to another side of the conservancy to see if we could scour up some different lions. The other guides split up in different directions and any “news” would come to Francis asap. So off we went.
30 minutes led to an hour led to 90 minutes led to almost 2 hours…I was seeing landscape I’d not seen before but there was nothing, and I mean NOTHING, out on the plains. Even zebra, wildebeest and topi were scarce. We thought we were on to something when we came across some loudly yapping hyenas acting all aflutter, but it turns out they’d taken down a baby zebra that they were just finishing off. False alarm.
Francis never reported to me that he heard about the sighting that finally popped up. I saw a couple of vehicle roofs first, then I saw it, the tawny yellow of lions, and many of them, in the perfect golden morning light. It appeared that they’d been lying in some bushes behind a ledge and right now they were moving toward that ledge (called a kopje here) to sprawl out on the warm stone that had been heated by the early morning sun. And by the grace of photography gods, safari wizards and all that I hold holy, I was in the PERFECT spot for it. I had maybe 3 shots to get them all looking at me, and I did. Holy crap. I was beside myself. This is an iconic, lions on the kopje shot, and I have it.
We changed positions a few times as more lions joined (11 in total, 2 shy of the entire Dik Dik pride! Only missing the males) and I took photos of different pairs, some interactions and the cute adolescent who rose from her nap to chase a male agama lizard that dared to scurry in front of her. Over the next hour or so one by one the lions got up from the now-too-warm rock and moved into a bush. I had had my share and was ecstatic. What a wonderful goodbye for me. It was like the grand finale was saved for my last (for now) game drive. Sigh.
Poor Francis. He just sat there and let me indulge in these lions while all the while he was probably tapping his foot. He said we’d go find a place for breakfast. And he drove and drove. We passed plenty of places where we could ordinarily stop but he kept going. Finally I saw another Mara Plains vehicle and an outside kitchen set up, with Rolex my drinks manager and the chef! A cute little table was all set up for my bush breakfast! How sweet, and now I knew why there was no cooler and I no longer had to worry about perishing in the bush! LOL
I had champagne, mango juice and coffee (separately over the course of the meal) and a made to order omelette with cheese and onion, fried tomato and blueberry danish. It was a brilliant way to cap off the morning. I felt so well taken care of.
We still had two more hours of game driving but to be honest there was no topping the lions for me. I think Francis knew that but he was trying. We had a nice chat and I just enjoyed the scenery.
Close to camp, we came across a mother and father Egyptian goose and 10 little goslings. It was absolutely adorable to see the goslings scurry under mom for cover, and then mom led them to the safety of a watering hole, where we watched them swim like a little goose parade. While it didn’t top my sighting earlier in the morning it was a sweet way to remember my last day in Kenya.
For one final time, when we pulled up to the deck at the front of camp, some of the staff were there to wave me in. It’s really kind of cute, they wave me in as soon as the seen the vehicle coming down the drive, and once I am almost to the deck, they start a synchronized wave back and forth, and then greet me with a “karibu” or “welcome home”. I know it doesn’t like me, but I loved it. And I’ll miss it.
Dee the manager asked me if it’s ok if Francis eats with me, and of course I said yes. Lunch was amazing once again. It was seared tuna with mango marinated potatoes, haricot verts with pickled onion and a green salad. Dessert was my favorite of this trip, an orange crush panna cotta which I swear tasted exactly like a creamsicle, with an almond cookie on the side. Francis and I had a great talk and I thanked him for everything he did. He worked hard to keep me flush with cats and for that I can’t thank him enough. He certainly delivered.
Mara Plains is beautiful. It’s surrounded by river (hence the hippos) and you cross a suspension bridge from the car park to the main area of camp. This was hilarious after I’d come back from sundowners with a heavily-poured G&T in my system. I’m bad enough with vertigo ordinarily, but on a suspension bridge a bit tipsy with a bunch of other people walking me back in, I felt like a pinball. My tent was #7 which was farthest from the common area, but it felt nice to be isolated. The tents are far enough apart anyway that even if I was closer I’d likely not hear anyone else anyway, except the hippos.
The tent was larger than the first floor of my apartment. There was a seating area with oversized leather chairs, a king sized bed and a large bathroom that appeared at first glance to be open to the room but when I returned at the end of the night after they’d done turndown, there was a curtain pulled across to separate bath from living/sleeping area. There was a small toilet room beyond that. A deck wrapped around three sides of it and was frequented by vervet monkeys who like to bounce off the canvas tent roof into the dense trees around it and eat the fruits on the trees. I’d often find half-eaten fruit on my walk along the raised deck from the rooms to the common area.
2:00 came all too soon and I had to leave for the airstrip. Maningi would be driving me so I had to say goodbye to Francis and Dee there. They were all wonderful and took such good care of me. I cried when we left, and I cried when we took off from the Olare Motorogi airstrip. Maningi stood at the side of the tarmac and waved to the plane, which just makes me cry more. We had two stops at other airstrips before we headed for Nairobi. At the second one, three topi stood there watching the plane, and I waved to them through my tears too. Parting is such sweet sorrow. But I will be back. Once again, Kenya works her magic for me.
I had a brilliant safari with some amazing sightings. Not a single one did I ever imagine in the days and months leading up to it. I had some hopes and wishes and mostly they came to fruition. When they didn’t, they were surpassed by something better.
The cat-count:
Cheetah: 15
Leopard: 7
Lions: 84 <— HOLY COW!
I certainly got my money’s worth!!!
Back in Nairobi now having a quick dinner before I head to my midnight flight to Paris, then home to Boston. Now that I’m here, I just want to get home. I miss my own kitties!!
Now to think about next year….
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