Ultimate Kenya Photographic Safari

Day 02, 03 & 04    Nairobi – Masai Mara National Reserve

We head to Wilson airport early in the morning to board our private chartered flight to the Masai Mara. We have made the decision to charter all of our flights to maximize the time that we have and also to allow for extra baggage and camera gear for the group.

The flight takes approximately one hour and then we will land at Ol Kiombo airstrip where we will be met by our team of drivers and guides in the customized safari vehicle.

Our first three nights will be spent at Mara Bush Camp. Chosen for its location we will spend plenty of time out in the Masai Mara National Reserve photographing in the areas surrounding the camp. The location is ideal for getting to the wildebeest crossings for which the Mara is so famous. During our time at Mara Bush Camp you will also have the opportunity to photograph from the air in our private chartered helicopter. This was a real highlight on the 2016 trip with some startling aerial images being taken from the one hour allocated to each person on the trip. Each one hour flight will be for two clients and one of our photo guides who will be seated behind you.

This first part of the trip will involve full day game drives which will prove very productive photographically. Lunches will be taken out in the field in between sightings.

Day 05 & 06

On the morning of Day 05 we will check out of Mara Bush Camp and head to our second destination of the iconic Governor’s Private Camp on the banks of the Mara River. The journey to the camp will not take long and we will photograph along the way. As the name would suggest we have taken over the whole camp and this will allow us to set up a media centre in the communal areas where can do some post production sessions in between game drives to analyze, review and process the images taken so far.

Governors is home to the BBC Big Cat diaries film crew who operate in the area close to the camp. The famous large Marsh Pride of lions inhabit the grasslands right outside the camp and we will spend plenty of time with them along with the leopards and cheetah inhabiting the same lush environment.

On the second day at Governors we are in for an early start as we make our way to the Hot Air Balloon station at Little Governors camp for a one hour flight along The Mara River. This form of flight is fantastic and a must-do so we have decided to included it in the itinerary for everyone on this trip. Photographing as we skip along the trees metres away from soaring vultures and other birds of prey is quite simply stunning. The control that pilots have is incredible and the Governors Balloons are the only ones that spend the majority of the flight directly over the Mara River. After we land in the Mara Triangle we are treated to a full champagne breakfast at the foot of the escarpment overlooking The Masai Mara. It is an awesome way to start the day.

Days 07, 08 & 09

During our days in The Mara we will have covered nearly all of the photographic hotspots and crossings and have hundreds if not thousands of brilliant images and so we will move on to a very special reserve in the north of Kenya – Samburu. Again to save time we have chartered a private plane to fly us directly from The Mara to Samburu and the flight will take just under 2 hours.

Samburu is very different to The Mara and more similar in look and feel to the thorny bushveld of Southern Africa. Its is however the unique species of animals that draws us to this place as well as the beautiful Samburu people who call the magical region home.

Upon arrival we will take the short drive to our lodge Saruni Samburu. Built by a visionary Italian, Riccardo Orizio, on top of a rocky outcrop this lodge is one of the most stunning places we have ever been to. The rooms all have spectacular views over the surrounding reserve.

The animals of the Samburu are as exotic as the reserve itself with rare species like Reticulated Giraffe, Gerenuk and Grevy’s Zebra making for very unique subjects. The Samburu people who work in the reserve and lodge are the most charming, beautifully dressed and adorned people we have encountered and are more than happy to have their photos taken.

Time at Saruni will be spent photographing in the reserve, from the Saruni photo hide near the lodge and also doing more editing and post production in between. Saruni is a great way to end the trip in a more relaxed fashion…..it is a holiday after all!

Day 10

Sadly this is the end of the annual Mara and Saruni photo safari. Should you wish to extend your trip we can heartily recommend traveling onto the coast for some more R&R/editing time or perhaps even south towards The Chobe. Kenya Airways have regular flights from Nairobi to Livingstone in Zambia where you can see the mighty Victoria Falls and then transfer over to the houseboat on The Chobe River.