FUN-Travel: Masai Mara, Kenya – Safari – Day 2
July 31, 2019 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-Travel: Masai Mara, Kenya – Safari – Day 2
1st Game Drive 6:15 – herd of 18 elephants with 4 babies…
…cheetahs from yesterday are mom with 3 cubs…
…out and about on the prowl…
…along with Leona the Leopard!
2nd Game Drive – same varying array of animals…
Barry the Buffalo
…plus first topi…
…feverishly in search of the…
…ever elusive Reggie the Rhino!
Tina the Topi
FUN-fact – They place hot water bottles in the bed at night!
FUN-Travel: Masai Mara, Kenya – Safari – Day 1
July 30, 2019 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-Travel: Masai Mara, Kenya – Safari – Day 1
1st Game Drive 6:15 – Exquisite Early Morning Movement!
…lions…cheetahs…elephants…buffalo…leopards…hyenas.
Simba Stalking
- Back 9:15 for breakfast & ask for twin beds pushed together. Luckily it’s an option!
2nd Game Drive 4:00 – herd of 14 elephants with 2 babies…4 cheetahs resting…
..warthogs…giant kingfishers…yellow billed storks…gray headed kingfisher…
…+ the usual suspects.
Mara River
FUN-fact – We saw the Big 4 today!
More FF – They call a game drive the “African Massage”…it’s free and guaranteed that every guide will give you one.
FUN-Travel: Masai Mara, Kenya
July 30, 2019 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-Travel: Masai Mara, Kenya
- Depart 9:30 for Kenya flight…arrive 10:30 Tarime, TZ for drive to border…
…experience typical 3rd World Customs Chaos & Immigration Extortion!
- Need yellow fever card (medical record proof doesn’t cut it)…
…so have to pay additional $100 + $100 for Visa fees.
Airstrip Gift Shop
- 2nd flight departs 1:15…arrives 1:35…on way to Entim Mara Camp…
…catch cheetah on high alert…lurking in grass ready to pounce…
…takes 3-day-old baby gazelle down.
- Rest of day relax and get deep tissue massage. AHH!
FUN-fact – Night Noises – Howard the Hippo howls + elephants trample + baboons grunt & hyenas stalk.
Not so FF – This camp only has queen size beds which ain’t cutting it!
FUN-travel: Grand Tetons & Yellowstone Safari – Recap
May 28, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Grand Tetons & Yellowstone Safari – Recap
- A safari is an expedition to observe animals in their natural habitat. And that is what we did. However, if you think you get
to off road in a jeep in Yellowstone, you would be sorely disappointed. Anyone can drive the same roads we did and hope you see some wild life near the road. What you are paying for (and it’s not cheap) is a guide who knows the area where the animals tend to congregate and has a powerful scope. Neil, our guide from Brushbuck Tours, was extremely knowledgeable and his enthusiasm was infectious.
FUN-fact – We saw all the park wildlife listed on the guide…except the Yellow-tailed marmot sitting on the rock next to the road that I missed!
Not so FF – The 2 nights we spent near Yellowstone were barely 3 star hotels by our standards & we would have preferred staying in one of the nicer park hotels.
FUN-travel: Grand Tetons & Yellowstone Safari – Day 4
May 27, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Grand Tetons & Yellowstone Safari – Day 4
Today’s Animal Adventure…Up Close & Personal!
Mammoth Hot Springs
- 1st sighting – Moose & calf…
…feasting on fresh green…
…really tall willows.
- Rest of the Day– RFOD…
…Really Far Off & Distant…
…can’t even begin…
…to get near these critters!
- 2nd sighting –thru the Lamar Valley…
…Wylie Coyote…
…slinking across the lower valley slopes.
- 3rd sighting – herd of bison…
…& “red doggies”…newborn calves.
- 4th sighting – Gray Wolf pack…
…w/den of 6 black pups…
…roaming high on the ridge.
FUN-fact – Dead center of picture is gray wolf, then go up to 11:30 to see the black pup & continue up to top at 12:30 to see 2nd wolf walking down. (sorry it’s so blurry!)
Bison & Red Doggies Relaxing
Old Faithful
- Mammoth Hot Springs – so different from other thermal areas…
…because limestone is relatively soft rock…
…& allows travertine formations to grow much faster…
….than other sinter formations…
…best described as looking like a cave…
…turned inside out.
- Grand Prismatic Hot Spring – Old Faithful may be more famous…
…but the Grand Prismatic Hot Spring…
…is the most photographed…
….thermal feature in Yellowstone…
…& that’s because of its…
…crazy-bright colors & enormous size.
Not so FF – the trail that overlooks the hot spring was closed…& on top of that…
…we got pummeled with hail on the path leading to it!
What We Didn’t Get to See!
- Old Faithful – named for its frequent and somewhat predictable eruptions.
- Late afternoon… ended up back in Jackson… where we started
On Path to Grand Prismatic Hot Spring
FUN-fact – Not only is Yellowstone one of the largest active volcanoes on earth, it is also home to over 10,000 hydrothermal areas (hot springs, mud pots, & fumaroles) & includes more than 300 active geysers.