Masai Mara....last full day, morning ride before we left

We were just exhausted from our long game ride the day before, so we were all very lazy today. We all skipped breakfast and slept late. It was funny to see the peoples reactions to us being lazy...I don't think they ever do that so they thought we were real bums...but sure did feel good. Lunch was a nice buffet  and we were all glad to eat lunch.

We finally head out at 430p after the hottest sun was going down...it's about 55 degrees in the morning and can get up to 90....wow what a swing....layer on...layer off....layer on.

Simon drove us to the river to see hippos....there were plenty...

Chad and Larry had warned us about Hippo's pooping....well, we never saw it on land..but here it is in the water....the swing their tails back and forth and make a huge mess..when they do it on land it is to mark their path so they can smell/find their way back...they come on land at night to eat grass..

Sorry about the wind noise....

 Yep...all those are hippos...

One nice croc a little further down.....we watched him ease into the water...

Then a nice size male lion, but he wouldn't move ....we even tried to encourage him...but no-go...so, we headed back for dinner..

My....what big feet you have...

Sunsets are beautiful...

Nelson surprised us for dinner...we were seated in a private gazebo. There was one couple in there and us...we had our own pre-selected meal of grilled beef, chicken, sausage...rice, spinach, potatoes and an amazing tomato sauce...and a lovely fruit plate with strawberry ice cream for dessert...we felt so honored he'd made that happen for us.

The walkway up to the gazebo....

Hot veggies...and rice  and potatoes

 All the grilled meats and the pot of sauce..

 Dessert....

What an awesome way to end our stay at Mara Intrepids....thanks Nelson.

Time for a shower and bed...Shea and I agreed to the 630a game drive...then breakfast and off to the airstrip.

The morning ride was worth it....the lions were moving around...

Biggest one with more black mane we've seen so far...

These cubs were having a ball...

We drove around the corner and there were more lions....

The hot air balloons were very active....they got really close to the ground to see the lions..we could hear them talking....the lions don't mind all the trucks, but don't seem to care for the balloons...esp when they use the fire to control them....

Saw this Defasa Water Buck......he was good size....

Then we headed back to camp for breakfast and to get packed and headed out....

Good-bye to Simon...he was heading home today for his 10 days at home...

We had a great time and saw many things...

Bye Nelson...you made our stay very special...

A few last minute camp pictures...

Mom and Shea had a deck that looked down at the river....

 We had a stone front porch...with a slight view...

As we are leaving....

We called this a cactus tree....have no idea what it is...

This tree's trunk was yellow-green in color, very odd but pretty

The back of our Land Rover....cool place.

The airlines here are not worried about a timetable too much...our flt was suppose to be at 1115a...I think we left at 1145....made 1 stop and headed for Nairobi....then we were brought back to the Boma...

This plane even had 1 Flight Attnd...it was over 50 seats...wow!!

As cool as the tents are, we all admit it's great to be back here for a nite....a/c, awesome bathroom, no bugs to worry about and good internet.
We have a flt to Zimbabwe in the morning and have a hotel pick up at 4am....gonna hurt. It's a 3hr flight, I bet we sleep...then we take a small plane to camp at Mana Pools National Park, 5 nights with no electricity.
Today we all enjoyed staying in our rooms and having room service for dinner.

Good Night from Kenya..next post will be from Zimbabwe.....