Merry Christmas to all our friends and families!!

What a fantastic year this has been at Lamai in the Northern Serengeti.. from new lion and cheetah cubs and brand new hyrax babies and dwarf mongoose all being born on our doorsteps, five sub-adult lions playing tricks and building a playground right under our windows, exhilarating sightings of 2,000 and more wildebeest crossing the hurdles and challenges of the Mara River and then trudging across the Serengeti plains and through the rocky outcrops to continue their journeys south... this year has almost definitely been the most exciting yet!  

Herewith just a few photos to recap the adventures we have had this year.

The wildebeest have left now but this doesn't mean the area is quiet.. on the contrary in fact.. it seems that with the wildebeest out of the way, the other animals are able to be the stars of the show and there are so many animals to see.  The buffalo, zebra and even topi herds seem to have doubled in size during the last few weeks.  The baby boom has definitely hit this part of Africa and all the animals, big and small seem to have little replicas of themselves following closely behind!!

The landscape is a beautiful emerald green with dainty white ink flowers scattered gently across the plains.

It is definitely my favorite time in this area, so fresh and vibrant that one seems to forget about the vicious and traumatic sightings which were experienced in the same area a couple of months ago.

We are full house over Christmas and New Year and very much looking forward to celebrating with all those who are with us.

To those of you who have visited us in 2012, it has been very special sharing these exciting moments with you.  We hope you visit us again soon and to those of you who are visiting us in 2013, we look forward to showing off our Eden to you.

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and prosperous New Year!  

From all of us at Lamai, both great and small, both two and four-legged.. have a great festive season!

Bushmail brings news of Rains!!

The full rains have arrived in the northern Serengeti and the the landscape is sporting a beautiful brightly lit emerald appearance.


The message has somehow been passed through bush mail as all the Wildebeest, bar a few, have left for their long journey to the Southern Serengeti.

There were a few incredible sightings of a few thousand Wildebeest at a time crossing the Mara River which is a sight only your imagination can consider.  There long journey to the southern Serengeti started as they reached the other side and we have heard that they have arrived after only 2 weeks of travelling.

The last we saw from camp was of a giant herd of Wildebeest sweeping across the fields like a giant oil spill.

Even with the Wildebeest gone, there are still so many fantastic wildlife sightings such as 3 Lionesses with their cubs, Cheetahs with their cubs, male and female Leopards mating up in a tree and many more great things!
Unfortunately, however most of the animals do not like sitting in the pouring rain but it is not long until they can lie in the warm sun to dry off!

   

Proud Mother!

There have been many exciting adventures over the last few weeks including great river crossings of the Wildebeest as they tremble and plunge across the Mara River, Rhino sightings close to the Rivers edge and a Lioness carrying her brand new cubs in her mouth from one side of the open plains to the other.



However, probably the most interesting one for me is of the proud Mama Cheetah and her three cubs which have been seen several times resting, running or playing on the Bolagunja plains north of Lamai.

They are truly one of the most beautiful animals in the African bush!

Crossings, new hyraxes and baby ostrich...it's all happening

The Northern Serengeti is one of the only places we know which gets rain throughout the year.  It is a beautiful time to be at Lamai with emerald green grass and the endless herds of wildebeest, as well as giraffe, zebras and impalas, all foraging happily in front of camp.

Every morning commences with the sun shining brightly before the clouds slowly build up throughout the day and the evenings bring the dark storm clouds.  The distant thunder becomes louder and louder, until finally the pitter patter of rain drops can be heard falling on the roof, followed by the wonderful aroma of rain hitting the hot earth.  Soon the small drops turn into larger ones and in no time, the pathways and streams are filled with fresh rain water.

There have been so many adventures and sightings over the last few weeks but a couple of very special ones cannot go ignored. 

Firstly, for those of you who have visited Lamai recently, you would have seen our lovely pair ofostrichs who have been sitting on a nest for nearly two months now.  When we first saw the nest there were 18 eggs, but unfortunately the jackals have kept a very close eye on them and by the time they hatched, only 5 of them made it. We have not managed to get photos of the new chicks yet as the mother and father ostrich keep them well protected away from vehicles and predators.

We are also very excited to announce the arrival of our baby hyraxs (or dassies).  Firstly, twins wereborn close to Room 10 and now, a few weeks later, there are eight more babies, living under the guides’ tent.  They are adorable, each resembling a rather tubby bundle of cotton wool!

Grunts, snorts and croaks from wildebeest and zebra can be heard all day long at Lamai.  We sometimes have to smile at these strange sounds - they talk to each other non-stop and we wonder what they could possibly have to say to each other! 

The lions, hyena and vultures have been having a field day with all the food around and if you think the days are loud with vocal choruses, then just wait until night-time!  When the lions roar and the hyena giggle and whoop, it seems to open up the stage for a whole new enchanting theatrical production.

The wildebeest are everywhere, even spread across the airstrip and pilots often have to do a fly-by first to chase them off before landing! Isn’t that a great story to take home with you! 

Yesterday the crossings began again but this time they seem to be travelling north again, back to the Lamai wedge and the Masaai Mara in Kenya .

There have been some incredible crossings and these photos show only a couple of them.  Unfortunately, many wildebeest this year have not been lucky and have either fallen victim to the crocodiles in the Mara River or the lions on the nearby plains.  However, the sheer capacity of the herds which remain behind is an astounding sight which one cannot imagine possible and photos, videos and words could never explain or capture the sheer number of them.

Lions of Lamai

Well, the last few days have been full of excitement around Lamai!

We have had 5 sub-adult lions living in and around camp.  They have been hunting every day and so far, to our knowledge, have killed 3 wildebeest and 2 zebra so are very well fed, with very large round bellies!!

A couple of nights ago we were woken up by a rustle in the grass next to our house and, expecting to seean inquisitive hyena, we shone our torches out of the window and saw 2 young lionesses lurking outside in the grass.  They were soon joined by another three. 

We listened and watched for about an hour.  One of the females lay down on top of a rock close by while the others set out to trample and flatten the grass around them.  At first we thought they were making a comfortable bed on which to rest, but it was soon apparent that they had something else in mind!

They had found a plastic container and a cardboard box lying around camp and, although we heard all the noise, we didn't know what it was until the following morning when we went to investigate and found the box in tatters and the plastic container nicely chewed up with rather slimy lion slobber all over it!

Early this morning the lions were in camp again - this time however, they kept the noise down and only startled a few unsuspecting staff members during early morning wake-up call!

These five youngsters are nearly the same size as full grown lions, but still with adolescent spots and pink noses. They have obviously just been kicked out of their pride and are now trying to find their footing and place in the Lamai area.

One thing is for sure though... they are doing very well finding food on their own!

One in a Million... literally!!

It has been said that the Wildebeest Migration of East Africa is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, but has anyone mentioned the other animals which take part in this incredible display of courage and honour?

If one takes a closer look, one will see not only the 1.5 million wildebeest but also more than a few beautiful zebras, Thompson gazelles, impalas, topi and the occasional elephant herd or giraffe wandering peacefully  through the chaos.  I cannot help wondering what goes through these animals’ minds when, within minutes, they are surrounded by one million grunting and croaking wildebeest!

There was a rather strange sighting a few weeks ago when the wildebeest herd arrived in the Bolagunja area close to Lamai.  We had stopped the car in amongst them and noticed there was a lot of movement and noise coming from the right hand side and the wildebeest seemed to be moving away from something very quickly.  We waited anxiously to see what it was, all the while thinking silently to ourselves that it may be a hungry lion or a bewildered black rhino.  However, as the wildebeest parted, we were very surprised to see an animal neither wild nor feline!  It was a donkey!

This donkey had obviously escaped from his home in one of the Maasai villages around the park, wandered into the Serengeti plains, met up with the Wildebeest Migration and thought they would make good company! Unfortunately it was apparent that the Wildebeest did not feel the same way.  They all continued to snort at him as though he was an apparition from another world!

Every few minutes a male wildebeest would try and prove himself to the ladies as being the brave and courageous one.  He would prance out of the circle surrounding the donkey and do a dressage-type strut as he moved.  The male never got very close but would stop at a distance, tilt his head sideways, give a loud warning snort, and then dash back to the safety of the Wildebeest wall.  Every now and again, the donkey would look up to see what the commotion was 
about, but most of the time he carried on eating, completely ignoring the goings on around him.

  

Maybe he preferred to live in peaceful naivety and remain unaware that he was in fact the ugly duckling of the herd!

Since that day we have heard many more stories of our 'Punda' (Kiswahili for Donkey), and are happy to say that he is still very fit and healthy!  Most of his herd have now crossed the Mara River into Kenya but he is the wise one and stays on the southern side, waiting patiently for the return of his family!

There are many more wildebeest to come through over the next few weeks so he is by no means alone!

Watch this space for more news on Punda's journey through the Serengeti!!

  

From Chaos to Tranquility!

The last month has gone by so fast with all the exciting happenings in the area keeping us very busy!



Unfortunately the incredible wildebeest migration did not pass directly through camp this year but was only a few kilometers away in the Bolagunja area.  




One can hear about the migration your whole life, but when the day arrives when you are actually sitting in the middle of these animals, it is very hard to believe that it is real.  To say that it takes ones breath away is an understatement.

It truly is a spectacular sight which defines nature.

All five senses are opened wide..  The sound of a million wildebeest is like listening to a million bull-fogs, each with their own distinctive voice. Each individual with only one thought in its mind - food!  The males run around the herds giving off their low grunts and prancing their stuff like proud dressage horses.

We have spent many evenings all huddled around in the lounge area, looking at laptops or Ipads, watching slideshows of amazing photos and videos taken by our guests of wildebeest bravely jumping off high cliffs and swimming across the Mara
 River. What a spectacle!

It sometimes takes two hours of patient waiting before witnessing the spectacle of the wildebeest crossing the Mara River.  They are, understandably, very nervous to cross a river full of hungry crocodiles.  However, this is not their only fear - another major hurdle is the massive wildebeest stampede which occurs, when many animals break legs or are drowned during this short journey across the river. We can not help but ask the question -"Why?" 

It is incredible that these animals can move such a distance and through so much danger in search of food.  There is still a lot of luscious grass around the Lamai area but still, they follow their ancestral paths across the dangerous Mara river in search of  greener pastures.

August has been the perfect time to be at Lamai with the best of both worlds.  We have been able to enjoy the excitement of the migration on the plains with the incredible views of one million wildebeest spread out like ants and the overwhelming chaos occurring on the banks of the Mara River, before returning at the end of the day to the peace, tranquility and comfortable luxury of Lamai. 

They seem like two different worlds and we are grateful that we are able to witness both!