The Maasai Mara
The 1500 square kilometres of the Maasai Mara lie in the southwest corner of Kenya, bordering its Tanzanian neighbour, the Serengeti. Both these areas combine to provide an ecosystem that supports a staggeringly large and diverse array of wildlife. The world famous annual migration of the wildebeest ignores man-made boundaries with over one and a half million animals making their way across the grass plains in a continuous search for fresh grazing.
As home to the “Big Five”, elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard, it is not surprising that the BBC chose to base their Big Cat series of programmes here. The Mara is an awesome place, where the Maasai people and their herds share the stunning landscape with vast herds of antelope and accompanying predators, and wildlife still exists in unimaginably vast numbers. This all makes the Mara an extremely popular tourist destination particularly around migration time and it can be difficult to escape the tourist crowds. Despite this, the wildlife spectacle is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Our favoured accommodation option is our own private camp, overlooking a Hippo Pool on the Talek River, well away from everyone else in what is arguably the finest game viewing area in the Mara. Home to all the big cats and a vast array of other animals a stay at "John's Camp" is a very special and privileged experience. We are the only company that has permission from the Park Authorities to stay here and we have to bring everything, including water with us. Glamping nights are spent in the comfort of large safari tents with beds, sheets, blankets and pillows. Our chef will make sure you don't lose weight on the trip and our Maasai askaris will make sure you are kept safe while in camp.
When not using our private camp, depending on budgets we use a careful selection of lodges and camps.
The prime time to see the animals at their best is first thing in the morning or late afternoon to dusk. The choice will be yours and, whilst you are free to make up your own minds about what to do and when, you are strongly urged to follow the advice about getting up early. Time in between the morning and afternoon game drives is normally spent relaxing in camp.
