Cheetah Background
An experience with some Cheetah. It was in those early days following the terror of 9-11 when we first travelled to Africa. The horror and events of 9-11 cast in my mind never to be forgotten. I remember clearly when the news broke and where I was. Working at the time on a student campus I had cause to visit the Student union to service equipment. Entering a room I was confronted by a large screen, normally used to field display’s during events, only now displaying horrendous scenes of carnage resulting from two planes flying into the twin towers.
Most years we manage to take a break late autumn or early winter. For a number of years we had spoken of visiting Africa and coincidentally finally arranged our first such trip to take place in autumn 2001.
The Trip
We were heading for Kenya staying at Diani outside Mombasa. The trip itself and arrival at the hotel were uneventful. It was soon however apparent that the impact of 9-11 was far reaching as the Hotel was largely deserted. Speaking with locals at the hotel and during travel it became clear that visitor numbers to the area had plummeted. The impact on regional and international tourism being dramatic.
Elephants
As this was our first trip to Africa given our interest in wild life we had to spend some time on Safari. Being accompanied by our Daughter Susan, then 16 we started with a simple overnight trip to mwaluganje Elephant sanctuary. Created in 1993 the sanctuary is in the Kwale distict of Kenya’s costal region close to Diani. The sanctuary usualy held upto 150 resident Elephants and is a good introduction to African wildlife.
Cheetahs and the Maasai Mara
Reaching the Maasai Mara from Diani is a fairly straightforward flight from Ukunda airstrip a short drive from Diani.
During our evening meal on our first night at the Mara River Camp we discovered we were the only guests. Further testimony to how few visitors where present. Early the following morning we drove out on a game drive with our guide Joseph. He was an experienced guide who know the area well and soon we had sightings of a good variety of mammals and birds. The highlight of our game drive was not however the Lions but the Cheetah. When we came across a mother feeding on a kill with her two young cubs.
We decided it was also a good time for our breakfast and enjoyed our packed breakfast as we watched Mother Cheetah and cubs for half an hour or so.
See more big cats here