BIG CATS of the Maasai Mara Kenya photo safari TRIP REPORT Sept / Oct 2018
Posted by Wild4 Photo Safaris on 18th Oct 2018
The September “Big Cats of the Maasai Mara” photo safari was a great success with lovely clear weather and many great photo opportunities with the Big Cats.
We split our 10 nights in the Mara into two different locations to make the most of different areas. Lions proved again to be the most regularly seen of the big cats and we saw a number of different prides, a group of sub adult males, males fighting with females, cubs, hunts, feeding and a young lioness killing a baboon.
We had a great sighting of the 5 male Cheetahs taking down a young wildebeest, these five are such a dominant force at the moment within the Mara and it is always a treat to see and photograph them. We also spent time with a female and her three small cubs.
We saw three different Leopards and spent some good time photographing all of them.
Of course the Mara in Kenya is known for its big cats, but there are so many other animals there too. We also managed to photograph a number of Spotted Hyaena, Hippos, Crocodiles, Giraffe, Zebra, Impala, Buffalo, Elephant and a beautiful Black Rhino. Birds too were good as usual, there were a lot of Vultures and Marabou Storks, Little Bee Eaters, and a great opportunity with a Yellow Throated Longclaw !!
The migration herds were still around and it is always great to see the mass of animals out on the open grasslands.
A big thanks goes to the staff at Mara Entim Camp and Mara Serena for looking after us so well and a very special thanks goes to our amazing guides, Mamai and Tim, always patient, courteous, helpful and incredibly hard working, it is a great pleasure to work with you both as always !
Thanks so much to Rita, Linda, Raj, Michael, Toni and Mischa for joining us again on a WILD4 Photo Safari in Kenya's Maasai Mara !!
Please enjoy a selection of images from this photo safari.
Best wishes
Stu
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Hi Stu, Thank you for a wonderful trip. I have been on a lot of safaris around the world and you are the best in Africa. Your hard work pays off.
Dave Irey, USA
We couldn’t have enjoyed our trip with Wild 4 more. We were made to feel extremely welcome right from our very first e-mail contact, something which continued throughout our trip and beyond. We’d like to thank Stu, Justyna, Ann, & John for being such wonderful and enthusiastic hosts. Being looked after by such a friendly and caring family was a delight and we were very reluctant to leave after two weeks.
Stu is a very knowledgeable, hard-working and helpful guide, always on hand with useful pointers and offering us plenty of encouragement to experiment with our photography. Having a whole row each of a specially adapted safari vehicle was a real find, ensuring we didn’t miss out on any of the action. Being able to stay out in the bush all day was also a real bonus. While many other vehicles drove off after only a few minutes, we were able to spend hours observing groups of lions and other wildlife.
As this was our first African safari, Stu suggested we spend the first few nights at the Big Cats reserve and this proved to be a magical experience, with some great close-up action that resulted in some beautiful shots. It is a great place to hone your existing skills & learn some new ones.
Given the opportunity we would go again tomorrow without any hesitation. Simply perfect!
Arnoud & Lynsey Van Foreest, NETHERLANDS
The three in our truck (Mischa, Toni, Micheal) had a blast. We have wonderful photo opportunities. The leopard in the fig tree and the cheetah coalition taking down the wildebeest was fantastic! Can’t want for our 5th safari with the Wild 4 Team!
Michael Anderson - January 29th, 2019 at 7:41pm