What can I say about the Maasai Mara in Kenya other than WOW. This has been a life long dream to visit the Mara and to witness the migration and river crossings of millions of wildebeest onto the plains of the Maasai Mara. It’s known as one of the greatest spectacles on earth and it truly is. Spiritual and Moving are words that come close but hardly do the experience any justice. Having been back in South Africa for 4 days already I still feel like I am floating on cloud 9, half of me stayed in the Mara and the other half just wants to go right back and join it.
A life dream like this could harbour some disappointment should one not get to see what they expected and some people can literally spend 2 weeks in the Mara and not see one single crossing. Well our group of photographers who were on the trip arranged by Shem Compion from C4 Images and Safari’s were treated to 4 crossings and many other incredible and memorable sightings.
Dinner at the Serena Hotel in Nairobi
Our group arrived in Nairobi on the 27th of August and we met up at the Serena Hotel with others who were joining the group from international destinations. Our first night was spent at the Serena hotel in Nairobi where many wonderful stories were shared over dinner and a couple of ice cold Tusker Beer’s. We awoke the next morning to a hearty breakfast down in the Mandhari restaurant and then we were off to Wilson airport to catch our next flight to the Maasai Mara on a Dash 7 with Air Kenya. Kenyan’s are wonderfully friendly, colourful and obliging people and everywhere you go you’ll get a nice big “Jambo” greeting which is Swahili for hello.
The Dash 7 Aircraft shortly after landing and exiting the craft in the Maasai Mara.
After about an hour’s wait our plane arrived and we were finally off, the moment had arrived. The weather was overcast and foggy so we did not get to see much of the Mara on our flight but later in the day the weather did start clearing and we had some beautiful light on our first game drive. Overall we had a few days of iffy weather and light rain during our trip but this actually proved to be a blessing in disguise as it was like a magnet for the many millions of Wildebeest wanting to cross the rivers onto the grassy plains of the Maasai Mara and also produced some incredibly dramatic skies for photography.
The first glimpse of the Maasai Mara from the air.
After landing we were greeted by big smiles, friendly faces and a hearty “Jambo” from the magical Masai who would be our guides for the next 6 days. A short twenty minute drive later and were in our camp at Entim Mara Tented Camp where we could enjoy an ice-cold drink, have our afternoon lunch and get prepared for our first game drive. The food was absolutely incredible and considering it’s all cooked in a tented kitchen in the middle of nowhere makes it even more impressive. All the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful too.
After lunch we all grabbed our equipment and the fun was about to start.
Chapter 1 coming soon.
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