As a kid, I loved watching the Lion King. Either on the Disney Channel, VHS or live on Broadway, I was hooked. For me, safari in the Masai Mara is story of The Lion King coming to life: The whole gang was there- Simba, Nala, Pumba, Timon and even Rafiki!

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From the moment our rickety van entered the gates of Masai Mara National Park, I was entranced. The Masai Mara is unlike any place I’ve ever been to; the landscape extends to the sky and is speckled with wildlife. The thrill of not knowing what we’d encounter was the best part!  Within a few meters of entering, we came across a scene of Thompson Gazelles prancing, Zebras grazing, and Water Buffalos sun bathing.  Of course, since it was our first sighting, we began clicking away with our cameras. Our guide chuckled and said, “No need to take too many pictures of them now, we’ll see them everywhere”.

The savannah seemed like paradise. As opposed to the dramatic scenes I’ve seen on the Discovery Channel, most of the wildlife I observed spent a majority of their time basking in the sun (or resting in the shade). There’s nothing more beautiful than an animal in its natural habitat. On our first game drive, I had my initial taste of lion country. We stumbled upon a pack on lions lazily lounging around; the scene reminded me of my family after a hefty Thanksgiving meal. We drove around a bit more and spotted a few vans gathered atop a hill, which means they’ve spotted something interesting. Our driver, Paul, raced up the winding dirt path; atop a tilted large rock (I did mention the Lion King…) I saw a majestic lion nonchalantly chilling out. We were close enough to see the wind sift through his fuzzy mane.

The next day I was even more intrigued by lion activity. Under a large shady tree in the middle of the tall wheat-colored grasslands rested four male lions. As I fervidly snapped close up shots of this one male, I suddenly noticed his eyes dilate with fury. The next thing I knew, we were witnessing a pair of male lions attempting to hunt a warthog; unfortunately, with an obvious lack of energy and initiative, their meager plan folded. Surprisingly, a lion’s stamina isn’t that great, so the lions should have been closer to their prey in order to have attacked. Lionesses are typically the hunters in this species; so these lions were probably bachelors, who don’t belong to a pride and therefore needed to hunt for themselves.

We were also lucky enough to spot a leopard lounging in an Acacia tree! This shy animal rarely makes an appearance. Fortunately, not only did we observe the leopard quietly perched in the tree, like a Cheshire cat, but we also saw him leap down, walk curiously around our van, and disappear into the grassy abyss. I’ve never seen such a sly animal.

Although the cats are truly inspirational sights, I really enjoyed seeing the smaller creatures as well. The beady-eyed jackals always seemed so mischievous and inquisitive.  They trotted together like a gang about to cause trouble. We also spotted a few birds that were too quick for my camera, namely the black headed weaver bird. Uganda’s national bird, the Golden Crowned Crane, also emerged once in awhile.

Unfortunately, I can’t detail every wildlife encounter I had; I hope the pictures give you a better idea of the beauty I saw. Although, I’ve written mostly about wildlife, it wasn’t just seeing the animals that made my safari experience so sensational, the sheer openness of the land and the dynamic environment makes all the difference. The sunset as we left the park was truly an appropriate finale to our game drive.