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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kitefarrago" data-source="post: 3165208" data-attributes="member: 91670">A Day in the MaraSo what does a typical day look like? This is the plan in the Brian Freeman camp where I stayed. There's a wake-up call at 5.30, delivered by a Masai who says `jambo' with increasing volume until he gets a response (and the lights go on inside the tent).It's still dark out, so by the camp rules, the walk to the mess tent requires an escort, but one never has to wait long for one. A light breakfast is served in the mess tent, cereals, fresh fruit, toast. Everybody is excited to start a new day, wondering what it will bring. Nobody lingers, because getting out there is what we've all come for, so wishing each other good luck everybody heads back to their tents to pick up their gear.We leave camp around 6.15. The drivers are already waiting with the cars, and after good mornings are exchanged we leave one at a time, mostly going our separate ways. It's still dark, but one can hear the odd lark singing. This time before sunrise can be productive when it comes to night-active hunters heading back to their dens, and we fairly frequently encounter hyenas, jackals, and lions. In my first week, when it was consistently dry, we had unidentifiable nightjars flying off from the track, and oneequally unidentifiable large owl is seen one morning.Once we're out on the savanna one can identify East as the direction where the sun will rise, announcing itself by the sky being just that bit brighter. We had pretty amazing sunrises and sunsets, with clouds, without clouds, with dramatic thunderclouds, even with a bit of mist. This is the time when the hot air balloons are prepared for lift-off, their burners visible in the distance.All the time, around us more signs of life are noticeable. Birds are muttering in a subdued fashion, or making more persistent noises. We can now distinguish the wildebeest from the other antelopes as it is becoming inexorably lighter. Some mornings we go looking for one of the litters of lion cubs, on other mornings we are specifically birding what brushy areas we can find, and on a couple of mornings we are hoping for a glimpse of a leopard at a known kill. It's still quite cool, but nothing more than a light fleece is required. Every morning was different. Sometimes we were moving to a specific location, sometimes pootling around, and sometimes jolted into action by reports from another car. The sun appears on the horizon, and soon after stands higher than one thinks it should. The light is beautiful, and a  photographic subject would be nice, but it doesn't always work that way.The birds are becoming a lot livelier, and we are trying to spot what we can. Birding a brushy area from a car can be frustrating when the birds don't want to pop up into view, but it can also be exciting on busy mornings where there seem to be birds moving everywhere. The earlier part of the morning can also be good for perched raptors, reluctant to take wing before some decent thermals develop. One morning a martial eagle, trying to dry itself off after a wet night, is clearly in no mood to fly just yet, and attracts an admiring crowd of photographers.Some time around 10.00, often later when there's something going on, we stop for breakfast. There are a couple of known picnic spots, mostly on the Mara river, or we might drive to a shady tree. Sometimes we meet up with one of the other cars from our camp. Breakfast is tea or instant coffee prepared from a flask of hot water and a sandwich, plus maybe a muffin or similar. If not before now is definitely the time to shed the fleece and enjoy the sun, still pleasantly warm rather than hot.After a short while we are off again. The late morning isn't ideal - the light is harsh, it's getting warmer, and neither the birds nor the mammals are particularly active. But at this time, when other vehicles return to camp for a cooked breakfast, we had a hunting cheetah, or one of the litters of lion cubs all to ourselves. Eventually we turn back to camp, where we usually arrive around 13.00. Time to sluice off some dust before going over to the mess tent. People are assembling outside on the overlook, with something cold to drink, exchanging stories from the morning. By now it's usually reasonably hot, and sitting where there's a light breeze, in the shade, is lovely. Looking out over the river means that wildlife watching is still an option, and I always bring my binoculars. African Paradise Flycatchers are busy building a nest nearby, occasionally there's an altercation amongst the hippos, I see my onlySquacco Heron of the trip, the only Black-and-White Casked Hornbill. One of the local specialities seen nowhere else is a Schalow's Turaco, and one day I see a Slender Mongoose on the opposite bank.Once we're all back Brian tells us lunch is ready. It's a buffet, the number of dishes depending on the number of guests. There's always a salad with local produce - tomatoes, avocados, and also fresh fruit really lovely. Brian assured me that I wouldn't have to worry about hygiene in his camp, and indeed, my digestive system encounters no problems. There may be some home-made pizza slices, or a ham, or a pasta bake, to go with the salad, and the dessert is always fresh fruit. After lunch people tend to return to their tents, for a nap, to deal with photos, or to enjoy the downtime. With the exception of the hottest days I'm usually looking for birds around camp. There always are notes to write up, and a checklist to monitor. One late morning we were with a cheetah that was actively hunting, and we'd seen her make one abortive attempts already. I didn't want to go in for lunch - clearly she was hungry and she was going to keep trying. We radioed back to camp that we wouldn't be coming and that the others should go ahead with their lunch. This was no problem. Once the other guests at the camp heard what we were up to they left early for the afternoon drive, and they brought us a picnic. The cheetah was resting at that point, so we drove to a good vantage point, bolted down the food, and rejoined her. Later in the afternoon we and the other attending cars lost her as she entered a brush area, but we found her again just before sunset over a kill, so it was good to see that her efforts had not been in vane. I liked the fact that there was no problem with us deciding to stay out rather than to go back for lunch, and my guide/driver was fine with that. One of my fellow guests was on a quest to get the best photos of crossings he could manage, and he planned to stay out all day most days, taking a picnic lunch with him. Quite often he and his guide drove considerable distances, and it would have been disruptive to have to come back for a meal. He did find it very tiring though, and on a couple of days he decided to opt for a lunch break since he was becoming rather exhausted. I appreciated that this flexibility was part of what this camp is all about - certainly not something one can take for granted.At 15.30 it's time to get going again, and once more the cars leave camp one at a time. The afternoon drive is shorter since the sun goes down around 18.40. Cars are meant to be back in camp by then, but that particular law doesn't seem to be that rigorously enforced. We spent a lovely few afternoons driving through what woodland we can find, and we find new birds every single day. Sometimes mammals provide the highlight, such as a cheetah that's hunted successfully (and one that's hunting without luck), or two leopards on a rock in the river. We did have rain setting in late afternoon on a few days. If it starts to rain seriously then our open cars have to be covered, and that means canvas with plastic windows all round. This makes looking out a bit of a problem, and a couple of days when it was raining quite heavily and everything seemed to be hunkering down we returned to camp for 18.00.More typically we enjoy every last moment of it, and by the time we get back to camp it's fully dark. Everybody heads for their tent, and the water's been prepared for a hot shower. In particular during the first week, when there was no rain, it was pretty dusty and showers were very much appreciated. After that people start to congregate near the mess tent again, inside on the few rainy nights, or outside with a camp fire when it's dry. People have a beer, and again we share the events of the day. The local frogs give a daily concert, and that will be one of the sounds of the African night I won't forget.Eventually dinner is ready, buffet style again. It starts with a soup served at table, though, and by now it's cool enough that everybody appreciates that, and the freshly baked rolls. I think the maximum number of guests was ten or eleven during my stay, so it was still fairly intimate. There are a variety of dishes, followed by dessert. I think everybody enjoyed the food -  nothing fancy, but good quality well prepared.It'll be 5.30 again before too long, and so most of us don't linger, even if there's the fire beckoning. During the night one might hear hippos grazing next to the tent, or elephants removing twigs from the trees that provide shade. Hearing a hyena, or a roaring lion, is not unusual either. And in the morning we get to go out again to see what we can find.Pictures:1. Hot air balloons over a misty Mara.2. Early morning landscape.3-5. Sunsets.</blockquote>

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