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Everything you need to know about a safari in the Masai Mara

Our experience at Masai Mara

There is no combination of words that can describe everything we felt on our first Masai Mara Safari. It is truly a unique experience, and one I recommend to everyone who can afford to do it.

We were unsure of whether or not to do a Safari on the Maasai Mara, Kenya’s most famous game reserve. Since our overland trip already includes a few Safaris, we left the decision for the last minute. We had some extra days in Nairobi, therefore ended up going for it. And it was the best decision we could have made!

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Masai Mara view

Wednesday morning we left Nairobi around 8:30, headed for Narok, already with our driver/guide, Patrick, and 6 other tourists. The group was very cool and we quickly got to chatting. Our van was quite beaten up and we were surprised to discover it would be our Safari vehicle, but it proved more than capable!

Leaving Nairobi we were stopped by the police, who complained that our driver was bad, due to some over-confident overtaking… It left us uneasy but our driver would prove himself more than capable.

Our first stop was in the edge of the Great Rift Valley, and got our first good view of Kenyan landscape. It was a very welcome sight, especially after a couple of days on the busy and polluted capital Nairobi.

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Masai Mara Reserve entrance

The next stop was unexpected, in a small roadside “garage” since apparently our van had a problem with the breaks, confirmed by the unusually careful driving of Patrick.

Soon we were back on our way, with the breaks still malfunctioning, crossing the valley and arriving in Narok for lunch. It was quite good and had enough variety that even our Vegan trip mate was satisfied. Patrick took the time to fix the breaks once and for all.

Explore the Masai Mara:

  • Tour Length 13 days
    Group Size Max 16
    Starts & Ends Starts: Nairobi Ends: Dar es Salaam
    Countries Kenya, Tanzania
    Overview With showpiece attractions by the likes of the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Mount Kilimanjaro, East Africa is story-book Africa. This whirlwind adventure sees you living out your wildest dreams with open-top game drives through vast plains and eye-opening Masaai village tours. After getting your fill of wildlife and local living, dust off your boots and soak up the African sun on the powdery-white beaches of Zanzibar. Now this is a dream come true.
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After lunch we continued on our way and arrived at the camp slightly after 16h. Dinner was at 19:30 but we still had a game-drive (another name for a Safari) planned. Everyone dropped their bags in the large tents (with toilet and shower inside!) and off we went to enter the park at 17h.

Masai Mara Reserve

For everyone in the group it was their first Safari and none of us was prepared for the experience!

Upon entering the park we were immediately greeted by groups of zebra, wildebeest and gazelles, often mixed together. The green pastures filled with these three types of animals soon became a very common sight, but ever amazing.

Wildlife of the Masai Mara

Less than 15 minutes into our drive, there was a group of elephants hiding in the bush to our right. We could not get a clear view, but everyone was excited and amazed at the first spotting of elephants. We continued on our drive, with Patrick navigating the dirt roads of the park, while looking around for animals and answering our questions.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BntUtTSHwnh/

Inside the Maasai Mara, the guides use a radio installed in the vehicle to communicate between them. The constant noise of the radio was very welcome though, since the guides communicate animal spottings through the radio, so nearby vehicles can also come and see.

That was how we came to see our first lion. Already from a distance we knew there was something big there, since there were about 5 vans in the same spot. Patrick drove us there and stopped in the middle of the other vans.

We all jumped from our seats to view the lion from the open roof of the van.

Group Safari in the Masai Mara

It was a lioness, feeding on an antelope, a topi. There was another nearby laying on the grass. We asked our driver and guide Patrick how recent he thought the kill was, and he thought it had been the day before.

We were pretty close, but there was no noise other than the cameras snapping pictures, or the eventual quiet “wow”.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn1Sxb5nhbz/

After admiring the lioness for a short time, we carried on our way, and saw most of the other species common in the Mara. Giraffes, buffalo and a few kinds of antelope, like the previously mentioned Topi, but also Elands.

It was time to leave since the park closes at 6:30, and a beautiful sunset was framing yet another unforgettable image behind us.

Giraffe in the Masai Mara Reserve

We had dinner at the camp, and went to sleep around 10pm, as the day after we would spend the full day in the park, entering at 7am. Went to sleep is not the truth though, since we couldn’t fall asleep thinking of everything we had witnessed. Margarida had an uncomfortable mattress, and I woke up with dogs barking at 3am. It was a mostly sleepless night!

With such an amazing preview in just an hour and a half, we had very high expectations for the full day in the park, and they were surpassed!

Nomadplot on safari

On Wednesday we drove deep into the park, which is huge. At some point I asked how far the park stretched in the direction we were going, and Patrick answered 120km!

The whole morning was spent on the way to the Mara river, known for it’s crocodiles and hippos. We saw large herds of the common animals in the park: gazelles, buffalos, zebras, topis, wildebeest, as well as warthogs, vultures, hyenas in the morning, jackals and a few types of colourful birds. The highlights of the morning was stopping to watch lions walking right next to our van, as well as a cheetah in the distance, and a leopard feeding on a very fresh prey.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BntrmKEn-tC/

We had lunch next to the river, where we saw the resident crocodiles and hippos. It is a strange feeling walking out of the van with no fences to separate you from the animals, but our guide checked around and made us feel safe. In the morning we had already walked out once to go to the “bush toilet” :).

Hippos in the Masai Mara

After lunch we started driving back, and the highlight of the afternoon was meeting a group of elephants on the road, so we were extremely close to them. Staying there watching them eat, with no other sound since Patrick told us to be quiet, was breathtaking. In those cases he would also shut off the engine and the radio.

Safari in the Masai Mara:

  • Tour Length 31 days
    Group Size Max 16
    Starts & Ends Starts: Nairobi Ends: Pretoria
    Countries Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa
    Overview This Nairobi to Kruger Comfort Overland Tour provides insight into some of the finest attractions in East and Southern Africa. Exploring the national parks of Masai Mara, the flat plains of the Serengeti to the stunning beaches of Zanzibar. View the picturesque Lake Malawi and the powerful Victoria Falls. Experience culture and wildlife on this magnificent overland comfort tour.  
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  • Tour Length 18 days
    Group Size Max 16
    Starts & Ends Starts: Nairobi Ends: Nairobi
    Countries Kenya, Uganda
    Overview 18 Day Masai Mara and Gorillas Explorer travelling around Kenya and Uganda allowing you to see the gorillas in the wild. Ending off with two nights game viewing in the Masai Mara Game Reserve , home to the wildebeest migration - this is a memorable African wilderness experience.

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  • Tour Length 12 days
    Group Size Max 17
    Starts & Ends Starts: Nairobi Ends: Nairobi
    Countries Kenya, Tanzania
    Overview Nothing can compare to encountering the legendary wildlife of the Serengeti and Masai Mara in the flesh. That’s why we’ve dedicated 12 full days to exploring this iconic safari circuit. Traverse incredible national parks where golden grasslands stretch onto the ends of the earth, watch wildebeest kick up the rich African dust as they migrate in their millions, and venture off track to isolated regions to meet local tribes world apart. The road is as diverse as it is unpredictable, so be prepared for adventure. Your tour requires participation from all group members. This entails assisting with the food preparation, washing of dishes, keeping the truck clean and the setting up the camp. Please keep in mind that flexibility and an open mind is needed on the trip. All guides are registered with the Field Guide Association of Southern Africa (FGASA).

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By then, watching giraffes was common, and we would only stop when the animals were close, or when we asked Patrick to stop. Finding very young animals was a common reason for stopping, as well as nice picture of the landscape. We also saw a few more lions, and we would always stop for them.

Lion in the Masai Mara

We left the park around 17pm that day, and Margarida visited a Maasai village with a few others, to learn about the ways of the native population of this area. I stayed in the camp with a headache from all the bumpy roads. We went to sleep early after dinner as the next day would be again an early rise with breakfast at 5:45.

Leopard in the Masai Mara

This time we both slept much better as we were so exhausted!

On Thursday we made our way to the park slightly before 7am, just in time for a beautiful sunrise. It would be a short game drive as we had to head back to Nairobi. We didn’t see any cats, but we were lucky to spend some time with the beautiful African elephants, and say goodbye to many of the other species present in the Mara.

Birdlife in the Masai Mara

Driving all the way back to Nairobi gave us plenty of time to remember everything we had just experienced. It was truly unforgettable, and an experience we would recommend to everyone. In the next few days we will also have the chance to do game-drives on the neighbouring parks of Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater, but no matter what we see we won’t forget our first Safari.

Lions in the Masai Mara Reserve

Visit João and Margarida’s blog – Nomad Plot – to read all about their worldwide travels or visit their Facebook Nomad Plot page and Instagram Account to follow their journey.

About João and Margarida

We’re a young, dynamic, adventurous couple, full of dreams! Traveling the world was always in the back of our minds, and we decided to start now. With this trip around the world, we want to raise awareness about the exponential rise of the waste that ends up in the world’s oceans.
on May 24, 2019
Filed under  Africa Blog • Kenya • Only in Africa 
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1 Comment

  1. Johnson

    Super experience! Highly recommend it

    Reply

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