About Masai Mara
Masai Mara National Reserve is a stunning location of savannah wilderness running along the border of Tanzania, located in Southwestern Kenya. There are vast and grassy plains as far as the eye can see, Masai villages in the surrounding landscape, and some magnificent animals such as elephants, lions, cheetahs and more in their natural territory. For those looking for a truly African wildlife experience, Masai Mara is a hugely popular safari destination.
The experience
In late November 2018, a group of 9 individuals chose to come together on a wildlife photography expedition with the Paws Trails team, headed by Hermis Haridas and Nisha Purushothaman. One of those individuals, is myself – an avid travel photographer and wildlife lover. I had an incredible experience on this journey, wherein for the two years before this trip, I’d been dreaming of attending a wildlife photography workshop out in the wild. To be taught about photographing nature within nature itself, is undoubtedly a surreal experience.
There was a total of 6 days out in the Mara, with early morning game drives that lasted till about noon, lunches back at the hospitable Malaika Bush Camp, and back out for an evening drive until sundown.
We were fortunate enough to see an abundance of animals out in the wild. From a memorable cheetah kill, to a breathtaking sighting of a leopard, and so much more, this trip was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Added to this, there’s the exclusivity factor of having only two people in a vehicle, with either Nisha or Hermis mentoring us on the nuances of wildlife photography. I should point out that I couldn’t have asked for better teachers – their patience in their teachings was admirable and their skill set excelled throughout the trip.
Three considerations to take into account before you plan your trip
1. Sleep.
The only way that you can truly obtain the best out of the entire trip is to lose out on your sleep. As funny as this may sound, this is something I struggled with – the guests are required to be up by about 4:45am (leaving the camp at 5:30am for the morning safari), and by the time we would get done with dinner it was close to 11pm. That’s the whole experience though, and even if it’s exhausting by the end, believe me when I say it’s well worth it.
2. Fortune and patience.
As Nisha has often enough mentioned to me throughout my trip, you can never know what to expect in the wild. We have to take into consideration that the encounters or sightings we are fortunate enough to see, is by pure luck, and be grateful for the same. Having said that, you can only predict so much of animal behaviour. Hence on a sighting, we learnt to be alert throughout the time, waiting in patience for anything that could occur.
3. Respect for the environment.
Masai Mara is known for having several vehicles surrounding the animals as they move through their environment. This can be disheartening for some, and for others it may be common enough. Although this is something that the animals seem to have adapted to, there is some discussion on this conservation issue. Are we disturbing the wild in its natural state with the vehicles following around the animals constantly? This is an ethical issue that we as wildlife photographers definitely need to consider.
Sometimes, it’s not about getting the best photograph – it’s especially not worth it if we are going against the laws of nature. Ideally, we should be the ones using our photography as a conservation tool in order to bring awareness to the wider community about the beautiful earth that we live in, and the animals that deserve to live in their ecosystem.
There’s more to these three key points naturally, however these are the top items I would let someone know before they plan their first safari. For those of you who are more accustomed to these types of adventures, adjustment should come easy.
Three highlights from the trip
1. Playful cubs
Having never had the opportunity to see lion cubs out in the wild, this was a visual treat. On the first day, it was by pure luck that on the drive we stumbled upon two adorable lion cubs and their mother. Interestingly enough, this was one of the few moments in which there were few vehicles around these lions, and the mother was unconcerned about our presence, content to lie in the shade as her children frolicked about.
2. Leopard sighting
Given how I’d learnt that leopards are the most elusive of the big cats, it was a delight for us to be able to witness Laurean, a mother leopard, take a leap onto a tree and relish in her kill. This sighting took about two hours before she actually leapt on to the tree. Our jeep had steamrolled off in the morning to the location where it was said that Laurean was last seen; and then we began the wait. Given that her kill was hanging on a tree, the guides knew that she would show up; it was just a matter of when.
Following on from witnessing her graceful movements, we got the opportunity to meet Laurean’s daughter, Luluka, and it was a delight to witness these two leopards on the last day of our trip. Two leopards in one day, in broad daylight – that is pure luck!
3. Two big cat kills
Admittedly these are two separate incidents. In one scenario, there were five cheetahs looking for a kill. Four of them distracted a Mother Eland from her baby, and the remaining cheetah went in for the kill. It was brutal, and hardly anyone noticed the fifth cheetah sneaking to make his kill until the last few moments!
In the second situation, a Mother Lion was looking to feed her cubs, and she spotted a family of warthogs. Much to our dismay, a baby warthog was caught and killed within seconds, and the battle continued between the cubs for food – the excitement didn’t end at just the kill!.
Best time to visit
This would depend on what you’d like to experience in the wild, added to the kind of photography goals yours would be. It’s suggested that the best time to visit is during the dry season between early June to late December, in which the wildebeest migration also occurs (between July and October). The rains often occur between March to May, in which it may be harder for animal sightings, but photographers can encounter some beautiful shots of animals out in the rain.
