Headed out as planned in the morning. breakfast of omelets, toast etc. was loaded into our jeep. Hit the road to Masai Mara. Passed a valley, which is a popular lookout point but decided not to stop and continued driving. Drive was largely uneventful and long. We stopped for breakfast at a touristy place aka market with refreshments attached. We got some chai, crepes aside from our packed breakfast, some samosas too.

We got to Masai Mara and it was a dditonal drive into the park to find our camp. We got confused a couple times on where to go to reach the camp, our driver had to course correct a couple times. He wasn’t very familiar with this place too. This place was amazing as well! A lot like Amboseli, very integrated with its surroundings. The main area with dining was really nice. As soon as we got her we saw some hippos in the river across. Relatively close by to the camp. I was exhausted from the drive. We got our lunch and our driver asked if we wanted to go for a game drive at 4 pm. Rithvi and I opted out. I was beat. The 3 seniors with Tanush were “yes! Let’s go!” – impressive.

I couldn’t be happier to relax in our luxury tent. It was so well done! Rithvi as usual settled down with some downloaded movies on my iPad, that’s what she had done at Malu Lodge too. No internet connectivity in the tents, only in the main area. I settled down for a nap again 😂 we had seen some wart hogs across the river from our tent. Later during my nap, I heard some animal sounds which I groggily told myself could be warthogs or a lion! 🤪

It rained a bit here as well but for not as long. The guidance here was that you could walk by yourself between your tent and main area during daytime. Very early in the morning or late evening needs someone from camp to escort us. Rithvi and I freshened up and headed to the main area for Wi-Fi and dinner. I lounged on the couches while I backed up my photos. The camp folks started a campfire that Rithvi and I could sit near and also provided for you with salted peanuts and popcorn ❤️

The rest of the group joined us after their game drive. They had a good one and saw a cheetah. We settled in for dinner when I heard the same animal sounds during my nap. Tanush confidently stated that it was lion. It sounded fairly close by and all of the main area is completely open, no concept of doors. I asked him to confirm and camp folks said yes it was but didn’t want us to step outside to find it until they did. While we continued with our dinner, one of them told us to quickly come over as they could see it now. It was a dark and the lion was right across the river, maybe 100 feet away! It was a large lion! As soon as the torch light was put on, it was figuring out where to run. It thankfully ran away from the river. That was exciting for the night!

I was nervous about the night but it was fairly quiet, no more sounds that I heard at-least. Early start tomorrow for a full day game drive in Masai Maara. Both breakfast and lunch were going to be packed,