Kenya in Style - Big Cats of the Mara 2020

Day 1: Arrival in Nairobi and overnight.

Upon arrival in Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyata International Airport and lugguage collection, you will be met by you Rockjumper Wildlife Tour Leader, who will accompany you to your overnight accommodation at the nearby Ole Sereni Hotel.

Dinner tonight will be the perfect opportunity for a more formal introduction whereby you guide will also discuss the details of the next six days of your Kenya wildlife tour with you.

Day 2: Flight from Nairobi into the Maasai Mara National Reserve.

After an early breakfast this morning on our Kenya wildlife tour, we will transfer to Wilson Airport for a very scenic flight into the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Little introduction is necessary for this world-renowned wildlife destination in East Africa. Made famous by the annual Great Wildebeest Migration, the BBC Big Cat Diary series and the spectacular wildlife images which grace the covers of countless magazines. Mention the name in any public area and you will have the attention of anyone with a passion for Africa and its wild inhabitants.

The Maasai Mara National Reserve is one of Kenya’s biggest draw cards to international tourism and offers a mind-blowing number and diversity of both mammal and avian life. An area of breathtaking vastness, soul soothing sunsets and a deafening silence only interrupted by the sounds of the animals.

The majority of the camps in the Maasai Mara have been there for many years and the animals have become very accustomed to their presence, and often the best game viewing can occur from the comfort of your camp itself. At night, Hippopotamus brush against your tent as they graze on the taller grass at the base of your canvas accommodation. With cushioned soles of thick skin and muscle, a herd of Elephant moves through camp making their presence noticeable by a few broken branches. The eerie whooping sounds of the nearby Hyena clan, taunting the king of beasts in an age-old feud. Together with the almighty roar of the African Lion, these are the sounds that will put you to sleep at night.

We will touch down at the Musiara Airstrip from where we will enjoy a short transfer to our beautiful camp, located on the banks of the Mara River. After check-in and lunch, we will depart on our long awaited first game drive. Our camp is specifically chosen for its superb location. Besides the natural beauty that surrounds it, this area also offers the highest concentration of wildlife activity found anywhere in the Maasai Mara National Reserve.

Day 3: Maasai Mara National Reserve.

We will make full use of today, taking with us a packed breakfast and packed lunch, which we will enjoy either at one of the many viewpoints along the Mara River or from an elevated location overlooking the vast grass plains. Not having to return to camp for meals enables us to explore some of the areas further away from camp, otherwise inaccessible.

We will put most of our focus on finding the most elusive of the big cats, the leopard. These animals prefer the thicker vegetated areas along the rivers and streams where they are able to use the extra cover to their advantage when stalking unsuspecting prey species. The leopards in the Maasai Mara are very accustomed to safari vehicles and generally pay them very little notice.

Day 4: Maasai Mara National Reserve and balloon safari.

This morning on our Kenya wildlife tour, we will have a very early start as we travel the short distance to Little Governors’ Camp from where we will take to the sky in a Hot-Air Balloon. This activity offers us a bird’s eye view of our wild and natural surrounds.

The general wind direction takes us along the Mara River in the direction of the Tanzanian border, with spectacular views of the sunrise. From our comfortable balloon basket we should see large Hippo pods, plenty of crocodiles, elephants and the vast expanse of the Wildebeest herds. Hereafter we will enjoy a mouthwatering breakfast prepared out on the plains, with a beautiful view of the escarpment towering in the west. Following breakfast we will do a three-hour game drive back to camp.

After lunch, we will once again continue our quest for the most amazing big cat sightings.

Day 5 & 6: Maasai Mara National Reserve

The Maasai Mara is big cat country and home to several large lion prides such as the Marsh Pride, Rekero Pride and the Olkiombo Pride. The high density of prey species in the Maasai Mara offers regular predator and prey interactions and with a bit of luck, we will have the opportunity to witness and photograph these from start to finish.

Over the next two days of our Kenya wildlife tour, we will spend the majority of our time out on the plains, scouting the grass plains and mounds for any signs of the big cats, and cheetah in particular. As with the other cats, Cheetahs too are most active during the early mornings and later afternoons.

Viewing these fleet footed cats sprint across the grass plains is truly an unforgettable sight, reaching speeds exceeding 60 miles per hour. They are unfortunately only able to maintain these speeds over shorter distances, where after they will move their kill out of sight of other predators and vultures. They will generally rest and recuperate before feeding.

Day 7: Day of departure.

After our final morning activity and breakfast, we will sadly depart the Maasai Mara for Wilson Airport in Nairobi. We will enjoy lunch at one of the beautiful restaurants and thereafter we will be transferred back to Jomo Kenyata International Airport where we will say good-bye and board our international flights.