Safari Day 12 - Masai Mara Ballooning!

The family started off our first day in Masai Mara very early as we headed to a morning of hot air ballooning.  I can't remember what time we woke up, but I know it started with the dreaded number 4.  Still, this scene is a pretty neat way to wake up:

Our hot air balloon ride was peaceful and very scenic.  At first, we struggled slightly with the winds, but eventually they picked up and we drifted over vultures, elephants, ostriches, etc.  A highlight came right at the end as we moved over a big group of buffalo.  You don't get views like this everyday!

We really enjoyed the ballooning experience and had a great soft landing.  Success!

In the afternoon, we set out on a game drive and had our second and best sighting of cheetahs.  Cheetahs are actually on the bottom of the predator chain but c'mon, speed is cool.

I also thought I should include a photo from this game drive of Thomson Gazelles.  Mostly because we've put up many lion/elephant/giraffe photos and one of the coolest parts of our trip was the lesser known animals like these guys.  They're small, fast, and pretty cool to see.  By the end of our trip, we had met way more antelope creatures than I expected and could actually identify most of them!  This was a pretty cool thing to learn about!