The Peninsula crossing point is about two kilometres up the Mara river from the Wild Eye camp. The camp is sited close enough to Peninsula to get there early, just after 6h00. That said, the crossing can happen at any time. We saw four large crossings in the section of the river below Look Out Hill. Two of them were just after sunrise.

” The wilderness holds answers to questions man has not yet learned to ask.” ~ Nancy NewHall

The main crossing points below Look Out Hill are Peninsula, Figtree and Miti Moja. There may be others but there were no crossings happening higher up towards Hippo Pools at the time we were there. Our group of photographers were fortunate enough to see a male lion crossing the Mara river close to Figtree.

“There are more peaceful animals on earth than peaceful people.” Anthony Douglas Williams

Peninsula crossing is so called because of the peninsula on the east bank that forces the Mara river into a 300 degree bend around it. This is the southern most regular crossing point in the Mara Triangle. The wildebeest do try to cross further down at Figtree but the banks are especially steep with many rocks on the western bank. The Wild Eye camp is located further down the Mara river at particular bend in the river to prevent wildebeest crossing at that point. Before the introduction of the camp, there were numerous wildebeest deaths at this point with their carcasses piling up on the rocks down river near Purungat bridge resulting in a dreadful stench in that area. The camp has stopped the crossing, the wildebeest deaths and there is now no stench near the bridge.

I mentioned in my last post that the build up to the crossing can take hours. Part of the reason is the wildebeest are very skittish and any sound or smell will deter them. Ill discipline from the safari guides driving their vehicles on the eastern side of the Mara river is also a major reason for crossings being abandoned. The guides driving the game vehicles are more disciplined and more strictly monitored by the rangers on the western bank in the Mara Triangle. The game vehicles on the western side are obliged to remain on the main road while the build up is taking place. Even with this rule in place, as soon as the first animal enters the water there is a mad race among all the game vehicles to get the best position on the west bank to witness the spectacle of the wildebeest crossing towards the west bank.

At Peninsula the wildebeest pour down the eastern bank which is not steep and the entry point into the water is shallow. The huge number of hooves coming down the bank stir up thick dust adding to the confusion and mood. A wildebeest’s nostrils are equipped with flaps that help filter the dust stirred up by thousands of surging animals.

“We watch with wonder spellbound by the enormity, intensity and primal sense of one of nature’s greatest compulsions.” ~ Mike Haworth

Once the crossing starts there seems to be a compulsion to follow those in front. Entering the water with so much dust limits the wildebeests’ visibility of the water in front of them so often they do not see the crocs waiting for them.

“Fossil evidence suggest that wildebeest have been roaming the plains of east Africa for more than a million years”

There are occasions when the crossing seemed to be in full swing then suddenly animals half way up the bank turned around and headed back up the bank. It could have been a strange sound or a few animals that got spooked by something and the animals around them turned in unison.

Depending on how the game vehicles on the eastern bank have positioned themselves the wildebeest will pause on top of the bank, gather themselves and descend again. If a predator or too many game vehicles are in the way the wildebeest at the top of the bank will abandon their crossing and move a couple of hundred metres away from the river.

“Long-distance migrations are among the most spectacular and heroic of natural events, and the majority are in Africa” ~ Penny van Oosterzee contributor to the New Scientist

In the crossing, the wildebeest crowd each other. Crocs tend to stay on the periphery of the crossing as they are likely to get trampled venturing to the middle of the surging herd.

A massive croc lurking on the edge of the crossing caught a wildebeest calf by the hind leg. Once caught a calf is unlikely to be able to get free of a large croc’s hold. Even if it did it would probably have a broken leg which would soon be discovered by hyaenas and finished off.

The crocs are large enough to firmly hold the hind quarters of an adult wildebeest. Others crocs quickly move it to join in the attack. There are many rocks on the western bank which make it very slippery for a wildebeest to get purchase and be able to pull itself out of the water.

A large crossing can take longer than 30 minutes. In this situation the crocs will catch and drown one wildebeest, let it float down the river and go for another. The drowned animal will float a few hundred metres down the river before getting caught up on rocks or branches jutting out of the river bank, which serve as a larder of sorts

Not all wildebeest stay in the main column crossing the river. Some try to get upstream of the column. This tactic makes the crossing more dangerous as there is not the safety in numbers and it also means that there may be added difficulty getting out of the river the other side.

With a panicked scramble the wildebeest manage to climb out on slippery rocks. This is a very vulnerable time for those animals waiting at the back of the queue in the water.

Thankfully all the crossings we saw went well and there were no mass drownings and very few wildebeest were taken by crocs. The river claims on average 6 200 wildebeest each year. A study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, revealed how wildebeest drownings had a positive impact the ecology of the Mara river. Co-author Emma Rosi, an aquatic ecologist at the Cary Institute, noted that “the mass drownings create a huge biomass subsidy which delivers terrestrial nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon to the river’s food web. Fish and scavengers feast on soft tissues, then wildebeest bones slowly release nutrients into the system – feeding algae and influencing the food web on decadal scales”. Research showed that crocs consumed about 2% of total carcasses while fish consumed between 34% and 50% of the total. This is another example of nothing going to waste in the natural world.

“The Great Migration is the largest overland migration in the world.”~ Africa Geographic

The crossings are breathtaking because of the enormity of the surge of animals swimming for their lives across the Mara river. You can see the terror in their eyes as they open them so wide that you can see the whites of their eyes. You can’t help but be impressed by the wildebeest diving into the fast flowing muddy river with such spindly legs which don’t look proportioned for swimming.

“Wildlife migration requires large, connected landscapes and access to seasonally available resources, but human development—such as roads, livestock fences, farms, suburban settlements and energy infrastructure—has fragmented migration corridors in many terrestrial ecosystems around the world.” ~ John Cramer, Dartmouth College

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

One of the most iconic features of the Masai Mara are the wildebeest crossings which occur each year from August to October. Hundreds of thousands of animals cross the Mara river following the rains in search of better grazing areas. While these crossings are enthralling in their build up and intensity, the Masai Mara is so much more than the crossings.

“Humankind’s greatest priority is to reintegrate with the natural world.” ~   Jonathon Porritt

The wildebeest have to cross the Mara river, and sometimes the Talak and Sand rivers, in the Masai Mara and Grumeti and Mbalageti rivers in the Serengeti on their migration route.

Around two million animals move during the migration which include more than one million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebras and Thomson’s gazelle. These animals migrate in search of rich grasslands so follow the rain in an epic, and hazardous, circular journey of some 800 to 1 000 kilometres. This journey takes them through Tanzania’s vast Serengeti plains down to Ndutu where they calve around February and then migrate back up the west side of the Serengeti, through the western corridor and up into the Masai Mara in Kenya.

Looking across the Mara river from the west side you can see Look Out Hill. The thousands and thousands of black dots scattered below Look Out Hill signalled that a major crossing was building. The wildebeest start moving forward from behind Look Out Hill and pour over the hill and down to the banks of the Mara river. It is not clear what the signal is but perhaps, like a murmuration of starlings, they are just watching each other for the signal to move.

Crossings happen when the time is right and that is not human time. Patience is required to be able to witness a crossing. Our host, photographic safari company, Wild Eye, has a bush camp sited on the banks of the Mara river about a kilometre up river from the Purungat bridge. This camp offers the advantage of being in the Mara Triangle reserve and being able to drive down to the main crossing areas at just after 6H00 in the morning. If a crossing started at around 6h00, as it did on two occasions, we were the first there.

“Our relationship with nature is more one of being than having.  We are nature: we do not have nature.” ~ Steven Harper

There are times when we had to wait while the build-up took place. We often backed off from the river and drove up to a vantage point under a Balanite where we could get out of the vehicle and have a cup of coffee and watch the build up in comfort.

Crossings can occur at any time, even at night sometimes, but mostly during daylight hours. You can imagine it is terrifying enough to have to plunge into a fast flowing muddy river knowing there are predators on either bank and in the water just waiting for you without doing that in the dark.

The animals mass on the bank and eventually cross on mass in one thunderous drive relying on the relative safety in numbers. Almost every animal crosses the Mara river at some point. Elephant and giraffe cross in small herds but these animals are usually too big for the Nile crocodiles to take on. I had an earlier post on a male lion crossing the Mara which was memorable. I have not heard of buffalo crossing the Mara river but I presume they do as they are good swimmers and are not afraid of the water. I have seen large herds of buffalo crossing the crocodile infected Chobe river in northern Botswana.

“The indigenous understanding has its basis of spirituality in a recognition of the interconnectedness and interdependence of all living things, a holistic and balanced view of the world. All things are bound together. All things connect. What happens to the Earth happens to the children of the earth. Humankind has not woven the web of life; we are but one thread. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.”~ Rebecca Adamson

Wildebeest, zebra and Thompson’s gazelle cross together to improve their odds of not getting caught by a land predator or a crocodile. Wildebeest are known for their migrant nomad tendencies. This strategy allows them to range over larger areas for the best quality grasses.

Large herds make a noise and the vibration of all the hooves on the ground near the river bank alerts the crocodiles to an imminent crossing. The wildebeest is also called a gnu. The gnu gets its name from its call which sounds like “ge-nu.”

Crocodiles have an exceptional sense of hearing. The flaps of skin around the crocodile’s ear protect the eardrums underwater. When underwater, the crocodile depends on water vibrations. These must come from the many hooves and verbalisations.

The next image shows a few Nile crocodiles which had congregated at the Peninsula crossing point. They were basking in the morning sun waiting for the crossing. They probably felt the vibrations of the thousands of hooves massing on the bank above them.

The Nile crocodiles in the Mara river are enormous. An adult Nile crocodile varies in length between 3.5 and 5 metres and weighs between 225 kg and 750 kg. Giant Nile crocs exceeding 6.1 m in length and weighing up to 1 089 kg have been recorded.

The wildebeest’s diet dictates that it is always traveling. It needs to drink twice a day so is constantly searching for water. A wildebeest has a wide mouth which enables it to eat a lot of grass very quickly. There is a natural symbiosis between wildebeest, zebra and Thompson’s gazelle. This is because zebras will eat away the top layer of grass so that the wildebeest can get to cropped shorter grasses. A Thompson’s gazelle, with its small mouth, eats the remaining portion of the short grass left by the wildebeest. They also benefit from wildebeest and zebra trampling down the tall grass, making it easier for them to feed on short grass.

“‎Interdependence is a fundamental law of nature. Even tiny insects survive by mutual cooperation based on innate recognition of their interconnectedness. It is because our own human existence is so dependent on the help of others that our need for love lies at the very foundation of our existence. Therefore we need a genuine sense of responsibility and a sincere concern for the welfare of others.” ~ Dalai Lama

In April each year the wildebeest follow the rain and move to the west and northwards through the centre of the Serengeti reaching the Masai Mara in southern Kenya around July. Then as the rains shift southward the herds follow them from August to October.

A wildebeest uses its superior sense of sound and smell to stay wary of predators, while the zebra uses its excellent eyesight to scan for threats. Combined they create an effective “alarm” system, which together with the massive size of their accumulated herds reduces the chance of any single individual being targeted by a predator.

Their relationship offers more than safety. Zebras are known to have good memories and can often retrace their route from the previous year’s migrations. In turn, wildebeest are adept at finding water sources which helps both species during the drier seasons.

Either side of a river crossing is a dangerous place for wildebeest, zebra and Thompson’s gazelle to gather. Lions, leopards and hyaenas wait for an opportunity to ambush them. We were fortunate to see a female leopard walking along the lower section of the river bank before a crossing. She must have been looking for an effective ambush position.

This female leopard moved up on top of the bank and wandered through the Croton bushes looking for an ideal ambush position. All preparation before the drama and mayhem of the rush.

I was amazed to see one of the crocs lying in plain sight at the water’s edge at Peninsula Crossing. It must have been a youngster. The experienced crocs know there is no hurry.

The herd build up can take hours. So many times there had been a build up with the animals at the front of the herd close to the river bank being pushed toward the river. It takes one or two inconsiderate game vehicles on the east bank to drive in amongst the Croton bushes to scare the herd away from the river bank. This happened with regularity.

“The infinite vibratory levels, the dimensions of interconnectedness are without end. There is nothing independent. All beings and things are residents in your awareness.” ~ Alex Grey

The herd build up often took us well into the afternoon when the clouds also started to build. In the afternoon the cumulous clouds would develop into darkened rain filled cumulonimbus cloud formations which added to the atmosphere and tension. The clouds added drama and the light changed the mood with the darker skies making everything more foreboding. The wildebeest seem to be finely tuned to the mood and atmosphere.

As the animals started to walk towards the riverbank there was a change in the mood. All the animals grazing up on the side of the hill were watching what all their contemporaries were doing. As one group started moving towards the river so all the animals grazing on the hill started to move in sync. The animals at the back push the ones in front. The animals at the front of the herd are very skittish.

The wildebeest have every reason to be skittish. Leopards and lions lurk the the bushes trying to ambush them. This female leopard was waiting probably for a wildebeest or zebra calf.

It takes very little for the wildebeest to abandon the crossing. It can be the raucous cackle from an Egyptian goose raising the alarm, or safari vehicles on the eastern bank which intrude into their passage. Strangely there is a lack of discipline and consideration from the safari vehicle operators on the eastern side of the Mara river for the animals which are providing the spectacle.

“I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving he can outwit nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.” ~  Elwyn Brooks White

With out any alarm triggers, the first intrepid wildebeest charge toward the water. There is no hierarchy. Sometimes a calf will lead the crossing. Every animal is on its own and must fend for itself. Once the crossing starts it quickly becomes a frenzy.

The dark rain clouds and thunder in the distant south in the Serengeti beckon the wildebeest herds. Having lived in Africa all my life and loving the bush this is an exceptional place to visit and experience.

“What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night.  It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time.  It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the Sunset.” ~  Crowfoot

Anyone who has read my posts will know that I am intrigued by the interconnectedness of all of life. This place provides a vivid sense of this interconnectedness. The ecosystem of animals, reptiles, insects, birds, trees and grasses are all connected to each other as well as the weather. There is a natural intelligence in life on the plains which we are progressively discovering and increasingly appreciating.

“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” ~ Chief Seattle

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

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We saw so many different scenes and wildlife experiences on our second day in the Mara Triangle that I had split this post into two parts.

“If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavour.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

This was a solitary male lion lying close to the road early in the morning. He was looking into the valley below and would periodically roar. Only after watching where he was looking did we see another male lion, probably his coalition partner, on the other side of the valley. The distance must have been two or three kilometres, suggesting his eyesight and hearing was exceptional.

Across the valley you can see a ridge in the middle distance. His coalition partner was lying on some rocks on that ridge. The roaring back and forth must have confirmed that it was his partner so he got up and started walking down the valley toward his brother-in-arms.

Male ostriches undergo a colour change at breeding season, when their skin turns bright red. This skin colour change signals to the hens that he is ready to mate. The male attracts as many hens as possible by dancing, fluffing his feathers, flapping his wings and swinging his head around while getting down on his knees.  I did not see any ostrich hens nearby so he had to do a lot of running to do before he could start dancing.

A young hyaena had tucked itself into the drainage line along the road where it was moist, cool and out of sight for all but the passing vehicles. This character was part of the hyaena clan’s network of scouts on the lookout for opportunities to hunt or steal.

“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” ~ Soren Kierkegaard

A buffalo bull watching us closely. He had an impressive boss which he must have been digging into the black cotton clay. The horns are thick, solid bone and are fully formed by the time the buffalo reaches five or six years old. The bosses will only become hard at around eight or nine years of age

There are many buffalo in the Mara Triangle with some herds being hundred or more strong. The next image shows three old “dagga boys” which were following the herd at their own pace. They need to stay together because of the numerous predators in the area.

While we were on the Mara Triangle side of the Mara river, our driver Jimmy, got a message saying that two Black rhino had been spotted on the ridge on the east side of the Mara Triangle in the central plains close to the New Ashnil road. After a thirty minute drive, we crossed the Purungat bridge under which the Mara river flows on its way into the Serengeti. The next image is of the view looking up river from the bridge.

“Water is the driving force of all nature.” ~Leonardo da Vinci

This was the view of the Mara river looking down river into Tanzania.

After a further short drive the other side of the Purungat bridge we found the two Black rhinos on the ridge, a female and her sub-adult calf.

A female Black rhino and her sub-adult calf. Black rhinos are browsers but these two managed to find small shrubs to feed on. A Black rhino calf, when young, usually follows it mother, but this young rhino looked to be around three years old so would soon be on its own.

“If you do not expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be expected by search or trail.” ~ Heraclitus

This adult female was on alert. She presented an imposing presence. The warmth of the late morning created a haze so we could not achieve pin sharp images but it was wonderful to see the two them nevertheless.

The ever present Tawny eagle searching for left overs.

Later that afternoon the clouds started to build, the atmosphere darkened and became very moody. These two giraffe created an ideal silhouette on the ridge with the cloud build up in the background.

“I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain when with never a stain
The pavilion of Heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams
Build up the blue dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
I arise and unbuild it again.”
~ P. B. Shelley

Back on the west side of the Mara river we found a large male leopard lying in a Fig tree next to a small drainage line which was filled with water. There was a female leopard in the area and the guides thought this was the male that had killed her leopard cubs the week before and continued to hang around. This male was quite content to just lie in the Fig tree being partly obscured by branches so he never gave us a chance to see him fully.

The variety of wildlife, the vast scenery and the mood created by the changing weather created endless fascination.

“Sing like no one’s listening, love like you’ve never been hurt, dance like nobody’s watching, and live like it’s heaven on earth.” ~ Unknown

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let is be.

Have fun, Mike.

The Masai Mara is one of the most incredible wildlife reserves that I have ever had the good fortune to visit. The abundance and diversity of wildlife together with the vastness of the plains take you into another sensory world which is spellbinding.

“As one who has often felt this need, and who has found refreshment in wild places, I attest to the recreational value of wilderness.” ~ George Aiken

We were based at Wild Eye’s Enkishui camp which is located about a kilometre up river from the Purungat bridge and ranger’s office in the Mara Triangle section of the Greater Masai Mara. This camp is at the southern end of the Mara Triangle. With the camp being located in the reserve we were able to be out of camp and into the reserve by 6h00. Enkishui is the Masai term for “life”.

“Wilderness is not defined by the absence of certain activities, but rather by the presence of certain unique and invaluable characteristics.” ~ Nick Rahall

There are many elephants in the Mara Triangle which tend to remain in family and breeding herds because of the high density of predators. With so much food available for the predators there is a low likelihood of the elephants being attacked. Nevertheless, the elephant mothers remain very protective of their young.

A large, life-ravaged female Spotted hyaena, possibly the matriarch. She had two companions both of which appeared to defer to her. Hyaenas span out during the day and lie in thick tuffs of red oat grass and wait for an opportunity to hunt or steal food.

We had been wandering down Claire road and turned off to follow a well used track when we found a single lioness lying in the grass wet with dew. As you can see there are few trees out on the open plains so the lions have to sleep in the grass out in the elements. 

“To plunder, to slaughter, to steal, these things they misname empire; and where they make a wilderness they call it peace.” ~ Tacitus

The flies are a constant source of irritation for the lions. They seem to gravitate around the lion’s face and neck possibly because of the moisture and minute traces of blood from kills they have recently fed on.

“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The lioness we saw was keeping a low profile while two nomads were passing some distance off.

The two young males must have been recently kicked out of their pride by their father. The lion lying down seemed to be slightly older than the other male judging by the relative development of their manes.

The two nomads headed straight for the thick vegetation and rocks on an inselberg. There they had a vantage point to see potential threats and potential food.

“We look up for inspiration, down for desperation, right and left for information.” ~ Anonymous

The vastness of the plains in the south west of the Mara Triangle give your soul room to breathe. This was a view looking north west onto the Oloololo or Siria escarpment in the far distance. This part of the triangle did not have a lot of game when we were passing through, but at times there are vast herds of wildebeest and zebra that pass through.

Further down towards the Tanzanian border and the Serengeti, the plains are dotted with Balanites also called desert dates. These trees dotted across the vast plains give the Mara its name which means “spotted” in the Masai language.

We spent some time down along a drainage line close to the border where a female leopard had been spotted but we never got to see her well enough to take any photographs. Others in the Wild Eye group, in different vehicles, managed to get some wonderful images of the leopardess climbing up one of the trees along the drainage line.

On our way back to the Mara river we passed four sub-adults and an adult Masai giraffe walking along but just below a ridge on their way down to the river.

Eventually we decided to head back to the Mara river where there is always action. Being the “short rains” season, the sky was pregnant with moisture. It created some wonderful colour for our backgrounds. This female Masai giraffe had come down to the river. She had her gaze fixed on something on the other side of the river. Giraffe are known to cross the Mara river but not alone and not on this occasion.

The Mara river snakes through the Masai Mara National Reserve on its way into the Serengeti and eventually to Lake Victoria. It was flowing strongly from recent rains up on the the escarpment. The banks of the Mara river were steep and created a real challenge for the wildlife before they even tried to cross the fast flowing river. This was the scene looking north up river.

This was the view of the river looking south down the river. We had stopped close to “Figtree crossing”. The fig tree had fallen over some time ago but this is a section of the river where the wildlife frequently cross, so it has retained the name.

The vastness of this place is quite intoxicating. The river draws everything toward it. Grazers need to cross it and predators are drawn to the grazers wishing to cross it and we humans are drawn to the unfolding drama and spectacle of the scene and wildlife interaction.

“Fate whispers to the warrior “You cannot withstand the storm” and the warrior whispers back I am the storm.” ~ Unknown

In the quiet times, you have a chance to be still and witness the enormity of this place and become aware of its natural rhythm. It is driven by the seasons and weather. It drives a multitude of animals to follow an annual migration from the Masai Mara to Ndutu below the Ngorogoro crater in Tanzania, braving crocodile infected rivers and prides and clans of predators waiting for them either side of these dramatic crossing points. The overwhelming majority of them complete the journey to produce the next cycle of migrants.

“Nothing but breathing the air of Africa, and actually walking through it, can communicate the indescribable sensations.” ~William Burchell

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike