Masai Mara Game Reserve part II

My second day in the Mara began at 6.45am. We had a breakfast of sausage, omelette, toast and coffee and then entered the park at 8. Most the same animals were hanging around the entrance gate again. Now is the low season for visitors, the high season being the wildebeest migration in June and then again in December and January, so even though there were 15 vans watching the lion pride yesterday, we often drover for a while not seeing anyone or just seeing vans in the far distance. At times it felt like we had the park all to ourselves.
We had been driving for about an hour when we were slowly climbing a rocky hill when I spotted our first elephant on the opposite side amongst some trees. I told Animal and he stopped and then I showed everyone where it was. I received 'good spotting' comments all around, that makes me feel good when I can enrich everyone's experience by helping to find animals they might not have seen. This is why I always stand up. It was everyone else's first time on safari. Even though I have only done a few safaris like this in the African savanna, I seem to have the eye for spotting.
We saw the odd troupe of vervet monkeys and olive baboons during the day. We drove to a posh lodge in the middle of the park to stop for a bathroom break. On the way I saw giraffes in the distance we drove towards them. It was a herd of a dozen masai giraffes, including young. All the animals we had seen so far had young with them. This time of year has that added bonus. The giraffes were quite close to the road and a few even walked right in front of us. I don't think a lot of people know this but there is more than one type of giraffe. The masai giraffe is a subspecies which occurs in this area but is not the same giraffe I saw in South Africa or that can be seen in other parts of Kenya even. Zebras are the same with a few supspecies with subtle differences but for those that are 'animal mad' (as I've been called here already), it's important to know exactly what they are looking at.
Throughout the day we saw all 3 types of bucks present - Defassa's waterbuck, reedbuck and bushbuck. Animal spotted 3 cape buffaloes lying down around some small trees so we drove up to them. It was the closest I had ever been to these potentially dangerous animals. Oxpecker birds were all over them. These small birds feed on a lot of larger animals, eating ticks and other parasites and most animals let them go about their business. I think they know that they are helping them. One oxpecker was on the buffalo's nose and feeding right inside in his nostrol ! Must be some good eats up there!

Gala spotted our first lions of the day in some srcubbing bushes. We followed them out into the open, 2 lionesses. They stopped for a rest on a small hill and we pulled up almost right beside them. Sometimes they would look at us but mostly they payed no attention to us. It was like we were not even there, they are fully habituated to vehichles and ignore them. I again was treated to another amazing close up experience and this time we were the only van around. Being this close I could see all the details of the lionesses. I felt bad for them because they were constantly plagued by little flies around their face and their eyes. They often closed their eyes or shook their head to get temporary relief. After a while another van pulled up. While trying to get in a good spot for viewing, their front tire got stuck in a hole. Not the best place to get stuck with 2 lions only 3m away! Animal pulled our van inbetween them and the lions and got out to help. He came back to our van to get something and when his door slammed the lions got spooked and got up. Everyone got out of the stuck van and it was easily moved back out of the hole. A bit of excitement though, more for the others than us! All the time we watched the lions, Sara was terrified. She thought they were going to jump into the van and start feasting on us of push the van over. I tried to tell her there was no reason to be afraid but she wasn't having any of it. Lions aren't known for attacking vehicles. I said if anything, she should be afraid of elephants, rhinos and buffaloes which can and do charge the occasional vehicle.
While driving to the Mara river for lunch we spotted some elephants. Animal drove off road and got us up close again to about a dozen animals. We headed back to main road and it rained heavy for about 15 minutes. We had a packed lunch at the Mara river. We could see a few crocodiles and some hippos in the muddy brown river.
After lunch we drove by our first male lion, lying not far from the road. Animal didn't see him so he turned around and we parked right beside him for a while. I can't believe how close we get and how unbothered the lion is. It's really like were not even there if we keep quiet.
We came across a tree full of vultures and a half eaten carcass of an eland, the largest of the antelopes. A lioness was lying nearby in the shade of a small tree. About 100M away was another male lion lying in shade as well, both apparently taking a break from eating.
It was a full day of safari driving so all these events might not be in chronological order but I do know the next sighting happened on our way back around 4pm. I spotted 3 lioness lying a distance apart from each other in the open short grass. We pulled up to each one for photos and then noticed there were also 3 cubs lying almost on top of each. All the lions seemed to be pretty relaxed with their heads down. We got close to the cubs and I got some amazing shots. I also have plenty of pics of yawning lions! In the distance on the opposite side of a huge hill was a lone spotted hyena, the first time I've seen one. Although I've seen many animals I've wanted to see, I still have some on my wish list and hyena was near the top along with wild dog and cheetah. Most of the others are nocturnal animals which I won't see here because there are no night drives. I was so happy to finally see a hyena, even if it was at a distance.
We got back to camp at 5.15, 9 hours after we left. I was feeling a bit tired near the end from getting up early and still getting used to the time difference. I will admit I didn't stand up the whole 9 hours but when I started to feel tired I stood up to wake up and it really helped. I crashed for an hour and showered before another bland dinner. It had been another amazing day. I couldn't believe all the lions we saw and how close we got. The Mara rocks! Tomorrow we have an early morning drive and then 2 of us carry on to Lake Nakuru National Park.