This Week At Angama #123

Before leaving the Mara, the rain had left its mark across the Reserve, making game drives near impossible – at least not without risk of getting stuck in a muddy hole. Happily, the rains seem to be moving on and it has been fantastic to enjoy sunnier days out in the park. [f 11, 1/500, ISO 250, -0.67]

Dawn in the Mara continues to amaze, even more so now that they are unencumbered by heavy clouds and, as always, the early morning sunrays paint everything in a soft golden hue. [f 8.0, 1/125, ISO 250, -0.33]

Photograph by Adam Bannister

My first drive since returning felt like a lap of honour – and it gave me the chance to catch up with some familiar favourites. [f 14.0, 1/250, ISO 320, 0.0]

Photograph by Adam Bannister

[f 10.0, 1/640, ISO 320, -0.33]

Photograph by Adam Bannister

Hyenas and jackals continue to patrol the Triangle’s main roads, often darting off as we drive by, only to re-emerge shortly thereafter. Ground hornbills, thankfully, are far less skittish and impossibly photogenic. [f 5.6, 1/500, ISO 250, +0.33]

It was a delight to reconnect with the new additions to elephant herds and to see how these tiny babies have grown into giants (relatively speaking) in what feels like no time at all. [f 5.0, 1/640, ISO 160, 0.0]

Speaking of new additions – it’s been wonderful to discover lion prides that I haven’t seen before. Lions always make me laugh at how quickly they can go from fearsome beasts to sleepy house cats in the blink of an eye. [f 7.1, 1/500, ISO 200, 0.0]

And of course, a week in the Mara Triangle wouldn’t be complete without a few bird sightings. This too has been a mix of the familiar, such as the Egyptian goose, with the new. I finally spotted both the black-bellied and the white-bellied bustard on the same drive. [f 5.0, 1/6400, ISO 500, -0.67]

[f 8.0, 1/250, ISO 320, 0.0]

These two white bellied bustards stood firmly in the middle of the road, calling out and making their presence known. [f 6.0, 1/320, ISO 800, 0.0]

[f 6.3, 1/640, ISO 320, 0.0]

[f 6.3, 1/1000, ISO 200, 0.0]

[f 8.0, 1/500, ISO 160, 0.0]

[f 8.0, 1/250, ISO 320, 0.0]

[f 8.0, 1/320, ISO 320, 0.0]

[f 6.3, 1/640, ISO 160, 0.0]

Quite possibly the most exciting find for me was the presence of a few wildebeest. Soon we will be drowning in them.

Photograph by Adam Bannister

The migration is still some distance away in Tanzania but these individuals herald the coming spectacle, the setting of which is the Mara River, and I can hardly wait. [f 22.0, 1/30, ISO 100, 0.0]

This Week A Year Ago

Photograph by Adam Bannister

A year ago, the Mara River looked very different from the way it does now. The water levels had decreased dramatically due to drought experienced in the early parts of the year – a far cry from what the river looks like today. [f 7.1, 1/400, ISO 500, +0.67]