Rain, Rain, Come Again

It was my first trip to Kenya and my excitement was high, though I deliberately tempered my expectations — surely the Mara could not actually be paradise on earth and surely my extensive research had prepared me for the beauty of Angama itself?

This trip was a very special reunion for four friends who have known each other for over 50 years — one of whom was no less than Nicky Fitzgerald herself. Of course, she managed to pull it all together and gathered us in from South Africa, the South of France, Majorca and the south coast of England. While all seasoned travellers, I must admit that as our vehicle wound up the escarpment and drew into Angama Mara itself, the smiling team were lined up to greet us and we all immediately burst into tears.

The days that followed were filled with jaw-dropping spectacles. Even extreme hyperbole is laughably inadequate. Our guide, Lemaalo (who took most of these lovely photographs) showed us everything we wanted to see. The Great Migration was over, but the crocodiles were well-fed, lions, cheetahs and leopards were in peak condition (and certainly still hungry). Hippo pools were full and we were surrounded by elephants with babies, zebra, giraffe, buffaloes, topis keeping watch on grass mounds, impala, eland, Thomson's gazelles, warthog families with babies and schools of mongoose — all in one sweep of our eyes.

As if that was not enough, there were species of birds too numerous to count. The grassland was emerald green and peppered with flowers, lilies and mushrooms bursting out of the ground after the rains. Marshy grassland and mud ponds made handy 'wallows' for wandering hippos and gave elephant mothers ample opportunities to let their calves make some rather haphazard first attempts at flinging mud across their backs. Magnificent white cloud formations were spread in broad brush strokes across the vast blue skies above the endless plains.

Our days remained sunny and dry; we had picnic lunches under trees and an unforgettable hot-air balloon flight at the break of day. Our path took us along the Mara River brushing the treetops and then skimming across the open grassland. We startled a cheetah kill as we came into land and drove back later to see it from the ground.

We had several thrilling encounters with big cats — all very close up and personal. Young male lions lounging, females introducing their cubs to 'solids' until their magnificent father strode in and claimed the rest. Later, after a patient wait on a river bank, a leopard who’d been draped over a branch in a tree, leapt down and circled our vehicle before melting once more into the landscape.

At night, after a BBQ under the stars or a delicious meal in the central dining area, we were escorted safely back to our tents to fall into bed gazing out at the star-filled African night sky. Occasional stampedes of dassies (hyrax) across the canvas tent, the distinctive call of a hyena or the low grunts of lions completed a perfect day. A few times, patches of water found on the wooden decks indicated that showers had, indeed, fallen overnight. But we woke up to bird calls and red light across the eastern horizon as the sun suddenly appeared to light up the freshly washed landscape as the Mara prepared itself to enchant us once more.

Thank you to all the people who work so hard to make every day perfect and thank you to the beautiful Mara plains for letting us share your November magic.