Photographer and tour host Adrian Duncan shares his experiences of travelling in the Masai Mara in our latest blog post.
It’s fair to say I love wildlife photography, so you can imagine how excited I was to get the opportunity to host a tour to Kenya and Uganda with RAW Africa Ecotours and Two’s a Crowd.
I was even more excited when I received the itinerary for the tour. It was a fantastic blend of wildlife, community and culture. It not only included the “must see” Masai Mara, but several unique cultural, community based encounters in the Mt Kenya region. I knew this was going to be uniquely different from other tours I had taken in East Africa.
After an initial overnight stop in Nairobi, our group of five, our awesome RAW Africa Ecotour guide Jaros and I hit the road. Several hours later, we were still hitting the road.
It’s tough going in the traffic in Kenya. Difficult roads and busy thoroughfares mean getting around can take longer than expected. But our group was pumped. We were off to the Masai Mara – the “Mara” is the Kenyan section of an eco system that is continuous with the Serengeti (in Tanzania). It is the site of the annual wildebeest migration and of all the places I have been it is the best place to view wildlife.
After another hour or two, we were exhausted, spirits started to wane when, like a mirage, Narok appeared in the distance. Time for lunch. Well rested we hit the road again. Narok is about the half way mark. But if we thought the road was slow going before, now it really got rough – ahh the Masai massage. It’s a tough drive to the Mara, but well worth it. If you’re cashed up you can take a charter flight and avoid the drive. But where’s the fun in that? Part of the beauty of travel, and particularly travel in Africa, is about experiencing life on the road and seeing the unique sites along the way.
It was late afternoon and we were getting close to our home for the night, when Jaros yelled “look to the left”. And there, before us, a female lion with two cubs was relaxing in the grass. We weren’t even in the Mara yet. By the time we got to our lodge, which was really a selection of luxury tents, we were ready for a shower and a cold beer.
We weren’t disappointed. The view from the dining area of our hotel was spectacular. It took in the Mara river, with herds of hippo wallowing in the murky waters and giraffe wandering along the banks. It was breathtaking.
The next morning, we were up early and ready for a full day in the Mara.
As we drove through the conservancy toward our destination, it was there’s a “Masai Giraffe to the left” a “Hyena to the right” and, in the distance, wading in the marsh a large elephant. Throughout the morning we got to see a large herd of elephants, mongoose, lions, buffalo, crocodile, hippos and baboons. So that’s three of the “Big 5”, and a whole lot more in just one morning’s safari.
However, when you’re travelling, anything can happen and our wildlife viewing took an interesting turn when we found our exit path had been blocked by another vehicle while waiting for a possible wildebeest crossing of the Mara river.
Our plan B had us ‘leaf spring deep’ in a warthog hole. Remember this is the Masai Mara, and we’re here to observe African wildlife – none of us were getting out of that jeep to help move the vehicle! After trying two high-lift jacks, to no avail, we had to be snatch-strapped out. Only to land the whole axle in the warthog hole. More snatch strapping and we were out again – just. It was certainly an interesting adventure to add to the travel diaries.
After a quick stop for lunch there was more waiting for a potential wildebeest crossing, which still never happened. I must be cursed with wildebeest crossings, they never seem to appear for me, no matter how patiently I watch and wait, but there was something just as amazing around the corner for us. While driving back to our ‘spot’ on the Mara River, we had spied a fresh carcass up a tree. A sure sign that there was a leopard somewhere nearby. Leopards can be incredibly difficult to spot, they are elusive and blend well into their surroundings so this looked like it might be a great opportunity to see one.
We opted to head back to the tree and wait. By this time the tree had about 15 cars around it all waiting for the leopard to make an entrance, so we took a spot, crossed our fingers and waited.
On safari, you never quite know how long you are going to have to wait to see, well, anything. These are wild animals afterall, they don’t have a curtain call or operate to our whims. Fortunately for us, it wasn’t too long until the leopard appeared, walked to the base of the tree, posed for a couple of photos and then climbed up to the carcass.
I was blown away. Leopards, while not rare, are really good at not being seen. So this was just amazing. But wait, there was more. Another leopard. It turned out, the first one was a cub (almost fully grown), the second was its mother. It was simply amazing to see them greet each other. The cub disappeared back up the tree, while mum did a quick last-minute scout of the area, then followed. You couldn’t wipe the smile of my face.
Yep, gotta love the Masai Mara.
Want your own adventure in the Masai Mara? Check out our tour here.
Adrian Duncan was a photographic host with Two’s a Crowd on this tour organised by RAW Africa Ecotours
