We woke 4:45 that morning. Our driver was scheduled to pick us up at 5:30. It took us about two two hour to reach the rim of the crater including a stop at the park headquarters.
The descent takes about 20 minutes and it was incredible to see the green grassy plains and numerous lakes unfolding through a misty morning.
Our first sighting was a Caracal, wow, not something we see every day. We watched it for about 10 minutes before it walked off into the distance. A little further on we found a Kori Bustard in a courting pose. Again a first for us. We saw a few more later in the day. The display is referred to as ballooning ???
The Crater floor was full of Wildebeest, Zebra, Warthogs and Buffalo. A herd of 9 elephant appeared but too far to photograph. We found a pride of lion with a wonderful male lion. Just then we noticed a number of safari vehicles further down the road and set off to investigate. A large herd of Wildebeest and then an incredible experience followed .... We watched the birth of a Wildebeest calf. It took about 15 minutes before the little one could stand on wobbly legs. We ate our picnic lunch at a large dam wondering how the day could improve. We drove back and found another lion pride. For the day it was to be three different prides. The weather had cleared and we were exhausted from the early start. On reflection not doing the drive in the Mog was the right decision. The game is habituated to the local safari vehicles and trying to squeeze into gaps would have been difficult and noisy. Our driver Dennis was great. It also took off the pressure of driving and navigating for a day.
Tomorrow 13 February we head back to Kenya to Amboselli. The safari with Craig and Natalie is slowly drawing to a close.
Thank heavens we have wifi again. Tomorrow we will send pictures. Nighty night.
Sent from my iPad
