Heron VS Frog

With the largest terrestrial mammal migration in the world, it is easy to overlook the smaller goings on in the Serengeti. Whilst crossing a small bridge over one of the many streams here, we noticed that a Striated Heron was poised for the kill.

Strike

Gotcha

Yum Yum

Last attempt to escape the Heron's clutches.

Not good enough.

Gulp.

It's always good to keep an eye on the smaller things, even stopping and waiting for things to unfold infront of you can be a great alternative to zooming round in the game viewers.

The Lamai Wedge

Sunrise over the Mara River, the Lamai Wedge is to the left of the river.

 One of the most beautiful areas in the northern Serengeti is an area called the Lamai Wedge, this area is found inbetween the Masaai Mara over the Kenyan border and the Mara River.

The Lamai Wedge, the hills in the distance are in the Masaai Mara.

 The area has beautiful vast open plains, dotted with Desert date trees, good shade during the day for any predators in the area.

Safety in numbers.

Wildebeest as far as you can see in all directions.

Most of the Wildebeest have crossed the Mara river into the Wedge, it is impossible to count the numbers that are currently there.

One of our game drives passes through one of the herds. 

When much of the grass has been eaten, the Wildebeest will return and cross the Mara once again.

Here they can be seen practicing in a small pool in the Wedge, luckily no crocodiles in there.

Passed the test.

A small herd crossed back over this side yesterday, we are expecting more today, the guests staying at Lamai Serengeti will be waiting for them cameras at the ready.

Exciting times in the northern Serengeti, we will keep you updated.

The Gathering at the Mara River

To continue where we left off..

The days have been amazing with the wildebeest all gathering close to the Mara river. 

The guests have been having incredible opportunities to witness one of Africa's most viewed shows on earth.  These animals gathered in their hundreds and thousands on the 30th June on the banks of the river.  There was a mega crossing with an estimated 7000 animals crossing per 10 minutes.  This started at 0830 in the morning and continued until late afternoon with numbers varying.

I managed to get out of camp one of the mornings with a few of the Lamai staff who had never seen a crossing before.  We watched a fantastic crossing at Number 7.

 

All the wildebeests gathered as they do and then suddently one individual took a leap of faith and the rest follow.  We then witnessed the giant Mara crocodiles, known in Swahili as 'Mamba' and are the biggest crocodiles in Africa, kill 3 Wildebeest in just a few seconds.

The Arrival..

The migration arrived in our Lamai area on the 26th June.
The sound was that of water flowing and it came during the night while all was calm.

The guides and guests who went out the following morning saw fields of gnus, like ants covering the landscape. I managed to go out in the afternoon and couldn't believe the vast number of wildebeests moving across the plains.

That night the noise increased and the following morning they had moved closer to the camp.
Last season they only arrived in this area on the 27th July due to prolonged rains.

An early morning drink...

The Lamai mongoose have been around camp a lot lately and have been a joy to observe as they scuttle about.

 

One morning they all arrived in mass and headed to the guest swimming pool to dig and look for little grubs.  Suddenly, they all decided it was time for a drink so they trotted down to the pools edge and started to have a drink from the pool.

It was incredible to see as last season they didn't drink from the pool.
One little chap fell in but quickly got out and was comforted by the rest of the group.