Experiencing Kenya for the First Time
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Planning an epic photographic safari trip to Kenya.
One of my more exciting retirement fantasies (see this post for others) was to plan a photographic safari to Kenya. I have wanted the opportunity to spend some focused time exploring wildlife photography and experiencing Kenya for the first time. I started researching companies to work with and after a lot of investigation I landed on Wild Eye who specialize in photographic safaris and have a seasonal camp in the Mara Triangle on the Mara river (where the famous wildebeest river crossings occur).
I travelled with Wild Eye on my first trip to Iceland as a way to test drive the company and ensure that it was a good fit for us - which it definitely was. I should also disclose that while I’m obsessed with photography - my husband is not. I mean he is incredibly creative and will sometimes direct me in the composition of an image (I sort of hate that this comes more naturally to him!), but he’s more of a point and shoot on auto settings type of photographer.
I was concerned about spending 3 weeks on safari with the main focus being photography and my non photographer husband becoming bored stiff, however I needn’t have worried as the trip became more about the experience and the people we met than the taking of images (though we did get some epic and special images). It ended up helping us to form an even deeper connection and we have both said that this was by far the most special trip we’ve made together.
Trip outline
Male lion walking along the track in the morning light.
We spent 2 years planning this trip (well let’s be honest - I did the bulk of the research - there’s that type A personality trait showing up again) and we had great chats with Michael Laubscher (our Wild Eye private photographic guide) on zoom as he’s based in South Africa. We outlined the type of travel we like to do which includes being immersed in an area and meeting local people to better appreciate and experience their culture. We are definitely not large scale all inclusive hotel types when we travel.
Based upon the brief we gave Michael he came up with an itinerary that looked amazing - we would focus on 3 areas in Kenya that were fairly close in proximity, but also very different landscapes and wildlife focus. While I researched a lot about the company we were going to travel with to ensure that they had a robust logistics team and safety/emergency travel protocols etc. (they aced this and then some), I didn’t focus a great deal on the specifics of the time of year we were going to travel.
We decided to travel outside of the migration season as that time tends to be busier and focused on river crossings. While I think this is very exciting to experience, I didn’t want this to be the focus of our safaris. Michael warned us that November when we were travelling is the start of the short rainy season. I took that to mean short duration rainfall, but our first several days in Nairobi (getting over jet lag) was a bit of a rude awakening with 15-20mm of rain daily. Luckily once we left Nairobi the rains were generally at night and most days were bright and sunny.
Our three safari destinations included Tsavo West, Amboseli and the Mara Triangle.
Tsavo West
Dramatic skies in Tsavo West with Shetani Lava field in the foreground.
Our first stop was Tsavo West and the dramatic skies and terrain stood out most for me. Part of the reserve is the Shetani Lava field (which is not what I expected to see in Kenya) and a very dense brush with hilly terrain.
The iron red soil was also very distinctive and while Tsavo is known for elephants we only saw them on the first day. As I mentioned animals have a way of making you humble when you’re looking to photograph them.
A big surprise for me was the pack of wild dogs we saw on the first afternoon. The clouds were getting heavy and dark and the rain started to fall heavily just as we saw the dogs. We had to close the flaps on our safari vehicle as the downpour was so heavy, but I wouldn’t have missed seeing those dogs for anything. Wild dogs are endangered and pretty rare to see ( a phrase we kept hearing during our whole trip - this is a pretty special sighting - for which we learned to be very grateful) in Tsavo and just as we were getting ready to leave we realized that the adults we’d been watching were not the only wild dogs - there were in fact a large pack of pups who suddenly got up and started trotting across the field in front of our vehicle.
Wild dogs in a spring downpour.
As a photographer this was challenging conditions - trying to focus on an animal in driving rain and very low light got me into the photographic groove very quickly.
We soon easily fell into our daily routine of getting up early for a 6 am breakfast and out for our morning drive by 6:30 am. Back at noon or 1 pm for lunch and then a break until 3:30 pm when we headed out for the afternoon drive until 6:30 pm. Jimmy, our local guide and driver was adept at finding animals and even better at racing the clock to get us back through the gates by 6:30 pm (there is a fine levied if safari vehicles stay on the reserve past 6:30pm - and one night we made it by 6:29:59 I’m sure).
Female leopard stalking towards our vehicle.
Our experience was so full with many memorable sightings - apart from the wild dogs (who we spent another afternoon with) probably the most special for Kory and I was the female leopard we came across one morning. She was so chilled laying in a clearing and after a few minutes she got up and walked closer to our vehicle - we were so excited when she suddenly got up again and started sauntering over to walk right beside and behind our vehicle on her way up an embankment before wandering off into the bush. This was one of many experiences on this trip when we just stopped taking photos and sat taking in the amazing experience of being so close to these majestic animals.
One of the downsides of the fresh rain which was very welcomed by the locals (it has been quite a long dry season this year) was the sudden emergence of bugs, very large bugs. Dinners in the open aired dining room were very dark affairs with lit candles moved off to the sides because the light attracted any and all bugs. I recall eating dinner to the sound of bugs dropping onto the tablecloth which wasn't anywhere near as unnerving as them dropping into my hair and one even went down the back of my shirt. They didn’t bite, but they sure did startle me.
Amboseli
Elephants walking against dramatic skies.
Our next destination was Amboseli which is renowned for the views of Mount Kilimanjaro which is located in Tanzania, but best viewed from Kenya (when it is not covered by dramatic cloudy skies). Our lodge (Elewana - Tortilis Lodge) consisted of 12 guest tents and was part of a fenced in lodge right in the heart of the reserve. To say that we were pampered is an understatement - with amazing food, an amazing tent with a full bathroom and beautiful views.
Hyena cub being very curious and coming close to our vehicle
Our safari experience was also top notch as our local guide and driver John made sure we had wonderful sightings and a very calm atmosphere. Our vehicle even had a seat and the vehicle door removed so that I could lay on a pad on the floor and get a low angle view of the animals. This made such a difference on perspective and when we were taken to a hyena den this made for a very special experience as one cub came to within feet of our vehicle.
We spent a lot of time with elephants and lions on this segment of our trip as well as flamingos. In fact this was probably when we spent the most time photographing birds including Fish Eagles (similar to bald eagles), Verreaux Owls (something I hadn’t expected to see) and flamingos (Africa bird gallery).
Baby elephant following mama.
One of the things that we enjoyed about this trip was getting to know Michael and learning so much about the wildlife we saw. He is a fountain of information and very passionate about wildlife. He is also passionate about photography and had Kory shooting in aperture priority mode using exposure compensation within 2 days.
We had such laughs as Kory recited the exposure triangle and invariably said “I so sensitive” to remember the impact of ISO.
I think it would be fair to say that Kory and Michael formed a connection early on with their love of bad jokes, puns and loud shirts. My fears of Kory being bored on this trip evaporated very quickly and the days passed swiftly.
The Mara Triangle Conservancy
Mara triangle open plains.
Michael definitely saved the best for last in terms of safari experience. We spent our last week at the Wild Eye Mara camp which is a seasonal camp set up on the banks of the Mara river (think 15 feet up from the river which is full of hippos and crocs) and as such is not a fenced camp (i.e., animals can and do free roam through the camp - there are rangers on duty at night, but we weren’t allowed to leave our tent once we went to bed).
Kory should have been nicknamed the hippo whisperer as he seemed to attract them to our tent. The first night he got up in the middle of the night to go to the washroom (which was incorporated into our tent) and just imagine his surprise when he heard the sound of munching and then saw the side of the tent move as something rubbed against it - yes it was a hippo come up to feast on the fresh grass beside our tent. We had hippos visit on several nights and they always seemed to come to Kory’s side of the tent. They didn’t bother us, but it was definitely a much more up close and personal experience than we had anticipated.
The camp has room for 12 guests, but as we were at the end of the season there were only 5 of us in camp. The camp Enkishui (the Maasai term for life) is run by an amazing group of Maasai who are passionate about their culture and conservancy of the wildlife in their area.
Dickson is the camp manager and made us feel welcome from the moment we met him. He joined us on several game drives and his calm leadership and wise demeanour clearly guides this local team.
Water buffalo with a kingfisher in the foreground.
Our local guide and driver for this segment was Ken who can spot cats like you can’t imagine. By this point in our safari travels we had seen so much and such a variety of wildlife that Kory jokingly requested a rhino sighting and within half an hour Ken had located and spotted one.
The leopards, cheetahs and lions were the stars of this segment of our trip and we enjoyed spending long stretches of time just observing their behaviour. It became a time to chat and reflect on the amazingness of this trip and Michael repeatedly said how lucky we’d been and that many people do not see the amount and diversity of wildlife that we did during this trip. We were so grateful for the amazing experiences we had and I believe that part of what made this trip special is that we placed as much if not more emphasis on the experience and getting to know people as we did on the game viewing and photography.
The trip has ended, but the memories continue
It is difficult to express how important this trip has been to me not only in my photographic journey, but also in the deepening of my connection with Kory. We now not only share an amazing experience, but we also have a shared joy of making photographic images. I have no delusions that Kory will now be getting into photography more than he currently does, however he has a better appreciation for my joy in this hobby and we can connect on this shared experience.
We have made new friends and experienced things that have definitely changed the way we view the world and I believe that a good part of the joy in this experience was our lack of expectations. We faced each game drive with no defined plan or bucket list of sightings or images we needed to obtain. We were open to what appeared and grateful for what we witnessed - man did Kenya deliver and then some.
I would definitely recommend Wild Eye for anyone travelling to Africa or any of the other destinations that they provide tours. Their logistics team was in contact with us throughout the entire trip and we felt very well cared for and trust that in the event of an unforeseen issue, they would have it covered.
Have you ever been on safari to Africa or some other location with exotic wildlife? For me personal recommendations are so much more meaningful when planning a trip. How was your experience and would you recommend your trip to anyone?
Leopard cub looking for mama.
I hope you’ll come back soon, share a cuppa, relax and enjoy more of my musings.
