Today is the end of Phase One. Rada and Kent have already left for the airstrip and their flight to Nairobi.

At 6:15 AM, the rest of us pile into the Land Cruisers for one last Mara Plains game drive . We find a lone male cheetah napping on the savannah. He looks as if he is starving. We sit with him for several hours expecting him to hunt. He does not. Finally, he does rise to his feet and slowly walk off. Our hearts go with him.

The chefs at Mara Plains send breakfast out to us. After eating, we motor slowly back to the camp. Once there, everyone heads to their tent for a last luxurious shower with unlimited hot and cold water. Our next camp is to be Jackson Looseyia's mobile camp in Lemek Conservancy. Jackson is waiting for us when we gather at 1 PM for the drive to Lemek.

Everyone bids goodbye to our hosts Amy and Shaun and, especially, to our Guides Ping and Daniel with whom we have spent so much time.

                                                                







 Post Script

This safari was intended to focus upon Big Cat predators . For Beth and I, this is the best safari we have ever had. Even so, statistics provide the final thumbs up verdict. We have seen:

Lion              - 86
Leopard       -   3
Cheetah       - 13
Serval Cat    -    1
Hyena           - Too many to count

This count reflects sightings of individual animals. In cases where we see lion prides more than once, the individual lions are only counted once. The same is true for the cheetah. Our Guides are familiar with each and every cheetah we see. They, too, are only counted once.