Wildebeest!!!

Yesterday was one of the most spectacular days I've ever experienced. I'm sure it was God's gift to all of us for cheerfully living in this 'challenging' house.

The morning started early, at 5 a.m., with us waking to find we had no water at all. But, apparently, the tank in the attic was full because when dad turned on the pump the tank overflowed into Kristin and Brenna's bed. Not a great way for two teenagers (or anyone, for that matter) to wake up. In their usual up-beat fashion, they dealt with it in a stellar manner.

Our driver, Jackson, picked us up about 6:15 a.m. and the nine of us were soon on our way to Maasai Mara Game Preserve. It was a long two hour drive out there--we left the good road just outside of Narok, then had major potholes for an hour then dirt road/boulders/washboard for another hour. Really interesting drive, though. Lots and lots of traditional Maasai bomas--collections of mud huts surrounded by cut thorn branches to protect their livestock from the lions at night--Maasai women hauling water, men and boys driving goats and cattle.

First off, it was an absolutely gorgeous day. Clear skies, 80 degree temp., nice breeze. Secondly, the Mara is SO GREEN this time around. Last time we were there, Kenya was in the throws of a prolonged drought. Not so this time--the hills were green, the grass golden green and hip-high, water and mud puddles everywhere. Likewise, the animals were more plentiful and much healthier looking. Families of elephants, mother giraffes with babies; hartbeests, Thompson gazelles, wildebeest, zebras by the hundreds. We even had the great good fortune to spot a family of three black rhino. Our driver was so excited about the black rhino--they are rarely seen anymore--he was immediately on his CB radio telling all the other nearby drivers who rushed to the scene with their vehicles of wazungu (white people.) On the way out of the park late yesterday afternoon, we came upon three lions (one male, two females)--all very fat and very happy--lounging around their recent kill. The wildebeest carcass was hidden in a copse of brush; the grass around the copse was tramped down in a perfect circle where the lions had been pacing, protecting their kill from the jackals that lurked nearby. Amazing sight.

But the most amazing of all--one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen--was the wildebeest migration across the Mara River. I mean, we couldn't have planned it better if we had tried. What is the chance that we would choose the one day of the 'winter' when 500,000 (at least) wildebeest were crossing the Mara River into the Serengeti??? We had come upon segments of the migration all day--wildebeest and zebra in big herds moving west. Around 1 p.m., we ended up on the bank of the Mara with about 6 other safari vehicles. The first wildebeest arrivals were already there, milling about on the bank, waiting--apparently--for a time when the crocodiles were otherwise indisposed (which never happened.) We sat there, waiting, for an hour and a half while hundreds of thousands of wildebeests streamed over the savannah from as far off as you could see.

Eventually, the bank became so crowded that one of the wildebeest had to bite the bullet and jump into the crocodile infested water. Once one wildebeest took the plunge, there was no stopping the others. For a full hour, wildebeest splashed and swam and thrashed across the river--soon there were streams of wildebeest approaching from the eastern horizon and wet wildebeests streaming toward the western horizon. It was truly one of the most spectacular experiences of my life. We saw three attempted crocodile attacks, complete with snapping jaws and desperate thrashing of wildebeests but this time the crocs went away hungry. Unfortunately, the photos just don't do justice to the event. You'll just have to trust me.

Photos: lion, Maasai Mara; wildebeests approaching, Maasai Mara; wildebeest congregating, Mara River; wildebeests crossing, Mara River; wildebeests headed into Serengeti.