title Maasai Mara Safari and a Maasai Village, Ololaimutia, Kenya - 5th November 2010 intro After a six-hour drive from Nairobi, we find ourselves at the Ol Moran tented camp near the Ololaimutia gate of the Maasai Mara game reserve. There's time upon arrival for a short evening safari to get the hang of it, followed by a whole day out in the safari van with Will and Tony. The highlight of the day is perhaps a very close encounter with a leopard - a fairly elusive and hard-to-spot cat, and not often seen at such close quarters. The leopard, for its part, was more concerned with the bird it was stalking and didn't seem to notice the scrum of vans around it, all full of gawping tourists. Then, it's time for an ample packed lunch, provided by the camp, and then a drive up to the river to see the crocodiles and hippos. Upon return to the camp, we stop off at a Maasai village where the son of the chief shows us around, and some traditional dances and bushcraft skills are demonstrated. Needless to say, the hapless visitors are pressed in to service as comedy extras in some of the dancing, which includes the haunting and mournful pre-wedding dance of betrothed women. imgp6877 We spot some dust devils on the plains imgp6878 A community church and some cool cacti imgp6882 A herd of Wildebeest imgp6891 Our first close encounter: a giraffe imgp6899 A gazelle nibbles its flank imgp6907 Elephants with a baby in tow imgp6911 The baby "Saggy Pants" can just be seen, hiding imgp6922 Another young elephant imgp6926 A baby elephant head-butts its mother imgp6937 A leaning tree imgp6948 A lioness lounges about imgp6959 A cheetah prowls imgp6973 Ol Moran's restaurant/bar imgp6975 The path to our tent/hut imgp6980 Our patio, on hut number 10 imgp6986 Cows are being herded imgp6988 Next morning, cows mill around imgp7014 A group of gazelle watch us warily imgp7023 A dirt road through the Mara imgp7038 The elephants seem to be sharing a joke imgp7045 View over the Maasai Mara imgp7052 Isobel peers out of the safari van's open roof imgp7069 Close up to the Wildebeest imgp7087 A mixed herd of wildebeest and zebra imgp7109 Another tourist van imgp7123 A van pulls off the side of the road imgp7139 An ostrich with a juvenile imgp7144 Zebra and ostrich imgp7154 Stripey horses imgp7156 An ostrich: frankly ludicrous imgp7171 Another baby elephant imgp7186 The baby elephant runs around imgp7207 A leopard stalks some prey, about two metres away imgp7214 Leopard in action imgp7223 A secretary bird imgp7225 A leopard lurks in the grass imgp7237 A classic Mara lonely tree imgp7241 An eagle observes from the top of a tree imgp7256 Rain moves across a distant hill imgp7266 A lion lazes on a rock imgp7271 We park up for a picnic imgp7272 Isobel on Lookout Bluff imgp7273 Nosher and Isobel on the top of Lookout Bluff imgp7276 A ruminant's lower jaw bone imgp7278 The skull of a wildebeest, hair still attached imgp7281 Will, Tony and Isobel eat lunch imgp7288 Picnic over, Will shakes out the blanket imgp7289 Isobel checks her head imgp7292 Will scopes out the river for wildlife imgp7295 Hippos in the river imgp7302 A crocodile suns itself imgp7308 A pair of giraffe imgp7317 A gazelle fawn imgp7320 A perching eagle imgp7326 There's a scrum between vans for a good spot imgp7327 Will and Tony on the road imgp7347 A lone elephant on the plains imgp7354 A hyena imgp7356 African tree imgp7370 A female lion imgp7373 A male lion surveys the scene imgp7380 A lion cub imgp7384 The chief's son performs an introduction imgp7385 A small boy imgp7388 In the Maasai village imgp7390 A lion-skin head-dress is part of the ritual imgp7391 Nosher and the chief's son imgp7393 Isobel joins in imgp7396 The bushcraft skill of friction firelighting imgp7405 The firestarting commences imgp7406 Much stick spinning occurs imgp7408 The men all get involved imgp7409 The embers are blown imgp7415 Fire is created imgp7419 Some Maasai women perform a melancholy wedding song imgp7423 Isobel is invited to join in imgp7427 Colourful Maasai women imgp7428 More mournful dancing imgp7432 Maasai men demonstrate their pre-wedding rituals imgp7437 Jumping is part of the wedding ritual imgp7445 Of course, it's required that Nosher gets to join in imgp7450 A group photo imgp7461 Inside a Maasai house: dark, smoky and very hot imgp7464 We are escorted back to the van imgp7465 Modern Maasai imgp7468 A group of young boys surveys us imgp7470 Goat herding imgp7472 Isobel reads a guide book imgp7478 Nosher considers the day