Our last morning in the Mara

Our last morning in the Mara, and we were up early again and out for our last game drive. Today is my birthday and the Mara certainly delivered the best present ever - within a short while we saw a pride of lions and cubs on a kill (added as an extra), this was followed by a sighting of the poor cheetah who was under threat from the lions yesterday. She was out on the open grasslands without her cubs - we were not sure if she was wanting to hunt or was busy moving her cubs to a new safe place. We followed her for a while and she made some attempts to stalk some prey but then gave up as she was too exposed. 

Just as we were deciding whether to stick with her to see what developed, our guide got a radio message to say that a favourite leopard female and her cub had been seen - she had not been seen for over a week and it was exciting that she was back in the area again. We drove to where she was and she was very relaxed, and looked like she had just eaten. Here she is having a post meal stretch with her cub looking at her as if to say 'what are you doing, mum?". We stayed with Fig (that's what the guides call her) for about two hours, I got so many wonderful photos of her and she was very relaxed in our presence. As there is no poaching in the conservancy the animals do not seem to get disturbed by the sight of people.

We then went off and had our final bush breakfast - our guide sets up a table covered with a table cloth and unpacks a wonderful breakfast each morning - muesli, yoghurt, scotch eggs, muffins, gluten free pancakes for me, Kenyan coffee which is delicious, fruit and fruit juice. All eaten while looking over the vast plains of the Mara covered with wildebeest, zebra, impala, and gazelle. It is quite incredible to see.

On our way back to the camp we saw the same coalition of 5 male cheetahs that we saw a few days ago - they were lazing under a small bush trying to find some shade. We watched them for a while and then reluctantly went back to camp and packed up. We had a quick lunch and then went to the airport - airport? A flat grassy area with one tree for shade which our guide joked was the departure lounge. We are now sitting at Nairobi airport where we have a 6 hour wait for our plane - not a good end to a fantastic morning, but it can't be helped. 

So ends one of the most fantastic holidays we have ever been on. I have a lifetime of memories (and photos) from this trip and would love to come back again. Kenya truly is a very special place to see wildlife and I almost felt tearful saying goodbye to everyone today. Kwaheri Kenya!