20260814 Globus Kenya & Tanzania: The Safari Experience Day 10 of 19 - Maasai Mara

Globus Kenya & Tanzania: The Safari Experience - Up, Up, and Away, The Big Five, (Finally), And the Ugly Five!

Today was a good day. That is amazing because it started at 4:09. We had an alarm set for 4:30, but at 4:09 - BANG*BANG*BANG - someone was knocking at our door. Why so early? We had a sunrise balloon flight scheduled.

So, we got up, did our quick morning routine, and met the group in the reception area at 5:00. We departed around 5:30 for the 40-minute drive into the Maasai Mara to the launch site. We expected our balloon. Nope. There were over 40 balloons scheduled to lift off. Our driver found our pilot, and we got ready.

Our balloon, Simba, is partially inflated

A line of balloons from another company

After a short briefing from our pilot, Mehmet, from Turkey, we loaded into the gondola. That was interesting because the goldola was tipped on its side. We had to load in two levels, upper and lower, on our backs with our feet facing in. That's because as the balloon inflates, it slowly lifts the gondola upright.

Here we are, just after flipping upright

The goldola held 16 - four each in four separate compartments - Vicki & Joel were with us

Another balloon lifting up

In another minute, we were airborne.

Our burners firing

Our first sighting - osteriches

Thompson's gazelle

Denham's bustard

Spotted hyenas

Wildebeest making the Great Migration

Topi

We spotted elephants from the balloon, which was very cool

Great Migration - it features wildebeest and zebras

So many animals

The Sun finally made its appearance

All those dots are balloons - there were at least 40 in the air

A small army of support vehicles were all over the place

Captain Mehmet

Vulture

Wildebeests and zebras

The gazelles aren't part of the Great Migration, but were still fun to watch

It is amazing to see this long line of animals, trudging along

There are so many trails in the Maasai Mara, I have no idea how they navigate them

A bush breakfast was waiting for us after we landed - this wasn't ours, but similar

A carcass

Ground spotters pointed out a lioness

Black-winged Kite

Our shadow

As the sun rose higher, the animals threw fun shadows - the zebras looked like elephants

Some rides were already ending

Zebras with a warthog, making long shadows

Topi running

Spotted hyena

A tractor to haul gondolas back for the night

So many animals

We were very close to the ground

Vulture

Wildebeests running

One hour and two minutes after takeoff, we touched down in what could only be described as a controlled crash. If the winds are strong, you can't just land, as the wind will drag you. So, we all assumed the takeoff position, seated and holding onto the straps. Mehmet turned us so we were facing backwards. As we set down, we were dragged, slowly tipping the gondola over into the same position we were in when we loaded. It was all very smooth and a fun time.

Our deflated balloon

That was our landing position

Here are a series of photos we purchased from the pilot, along with a video of our journey.

We are in the back left, second position

We are in the front, just right of center

Back on terra firma

The driver picked us up and took us to our bush breakfast.

Secretarybirds

That was until we got a flat - and the spare was also flat

Another driver brought us a tire, and we were on our way again

Hauling a gondola back

 Flat-top Acacia (left) and Umbrella Thorn Acacia (right)

Our breakfast included champagne, cooked-to-order eggs, and more

Very cool dining with the animals migrating off in the distance

They even set up portable washrooms

A Superb Starling, looking for leftovers

After breakfast, we were picked up by our Globus drivers for a game drive.

Tawny Eagle

Spotted Hyena

What a face, drool and all

Tawny Eagle

Dark Chanting-Goshawk

Termite mound

Wildebeest carcass

Hippos

A huge crocodile

Hippos lined up like a piano keyboard

This was a huge elephant

This was an incredibly tall elephant who had just been wading in the water

Little Bee-eater

A croc swimming

We paused here to watch wildebeest migrating across the road

Long-tailed Fiscal

Marabou Stork, or Undertaker Stork

This bird was about 4.5 feet tall

We were so far into the Maasai Mara that we hit the Kenya-Tanzania border.

The old border marker

Tour Director, Evans, showing us the new border marker

Arlona's right side was in Kenya and her left side in Tanzania

Marabou Stork - they're huge

Cape Buffalo carcass

We found two seated Massai Giraffes

Olive Baboons

Making small zebras

It was over quickly

We enjoyed lunch and about 90 minutes of recovery time before heading out again at 4:00.

There are lots of rules to follow in the Mara

We drove a long way to get into a huge line of trucks

We were perhaps 15-20 vehicles back and waited there for an hour

Why did we sit and wait for an hour?

A sleeping leopard!

Yes, we saw a leopard in the wild, completing our Big Five!

It was down in a gully and sound asleep

What a beautiful animal

After a couple of minutes, we gave our spot to the next truck in line and headed back toward the hotel.

Our last Maasai Mara sunset

A lone Cape Buffalo and the sunset

A final group of elephants to wrap up the day

So today was quite significant. First, we took our first balloon ride, and it was awesome. Second, we completed our Big Five: Elephant, Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Lion, and Leopard. Finally, we completed the Ugly Five. We didn't actually know that it was a thing until today, but it is. The Ugly Five are: Spotted Hyena, Warthog, Wildebeest, Vulture, and Marabou Stork - and we saw all five today! So today was a banner day for us!

Tomorrow, we will start the day with a bush breakfast before heading to the airport to fly to Amboseli, Kenya, at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro, where we will stay for two days before continuing on with this journey.