We reached the Mara after a short one-night stop at Lake Naivasha. We found the Mara as well very dry and dusty. These conditions turned into one of the best periods of photography that I can remember from the Mara. The first morning we had a memorable encounter right at sunrise with the famous Cheetah Malaika and her two subadult cubs, very playful and full of energy. Backlight and dust gave way to some amazing images.
At the Musiara Marsh, the Lion pride was in great form, with many newborn cubs and two new dominant males. Also the Paradise pride, closer to the Mara river crossing sites, had small cubs and was doing great, mostly due to an abundance of prey animals in the reserve, such as Zebras and Wildebeests, quite unusual for this season.
In the afternoon we often had big clouds building up. This and the strong heat during the day implied that big rains were on the way. And indeed they were, at the end of the week the first thunderstorms hit the Mara.
The Lion prides along the Olare Orok River and Double Crossing area were particularly active. There was movement of resident Wildebeests and Zebras coming to drink just as during the migration time. We witnessed an unbelieavable hunt one late morning. As the two Lionesses were eating, a lost newborn Wildebeest appeared from far away and obviously the Lionesses didn’t miss the chance for a second easy meal.
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