Photo Safaris in Kenya (page 15 of 18)

Masai Mara

We're leaving this little slice of paradise by the lake for the Masai Mara. The drive is long to reach Meltingpot Bush Camp, so we set off very early. The 350 km takes almost 7 hours with very few stops. We're really happy to arrive at the camp and drop our bags in the tents. The Maasai welcome is very warm, and a good lunch awaits us before we start our safari in the park.

The camp is located by the Mara River, facing a beach where hippos have made their home, and elephants come to drink.



The camp consists of about ten tents, which are quite spread out from each other, and all equipped with showers and toilets (the toilets were dry in 2021, but in 2023 they had flush toilets). As soon as night falls, the Maasai guards accompany us to our tent. Animals roam around—there’s no fence.



In the center, there are two large tents: one for relaxation with a bar and electrical outlets to charge our phones and download photos. There are no outlets in the tents. The other serves as a dining room, where we all eat together at the same table for a friendly atmosphere.





Some animals are regulars at the camp—mongoose, monitor lizards, and chameleons are visible during the day. At night, genets and bushbabies (so cute, they look like stuffed animals) come looking for their share of the meal.

We spent a total of 12 days across our two trips, and honestly, we never get tired of it. Okay, every day, the same routine: a Maasai guard wakes us up at 5:30 AM when it’s still pitch dark. After coffee, we’re in the 4x4s before sunrise. Wow! Yes, sunrises and sunsets in Africa are incredible—you shouldn’t miss them for anything in the world.

The goal is to spot animals perfectly aligned with the sun. Honestly, it’s not easy... we’ll have to come back to get better shots, but here are a few samples.



Then, the search begins. The Maasai guides have eagle eyes—they know the animals’ habits and anticipate their movements. In 2021, we were with Tim, Tony’s driver at the time. He knows the Maasai Mara like the back of his hand and is from a small village nearby. In 2023, we had David as our guide. He’s younger and more spirited but also knows the park very well. Here are the two teams: with Régis and our son in 2021, and with our friends Cathy and Laurence in 2023.



After enjoying the beautiful morning light, we take a lunch break around 9 AM in the bush. Every morning, we’re treated to a little feast... on the hood of the 4x4. Before getting out, the guide checks the area for animals to secure the space. One morning, there was a hippo in the bushes. David threw rocks and made noise to scare it off, but no luck—the cheeky thing stood its ground. David dug in his heels, not wanting to lose face in front of us... and suddenly, the hippo charged at him. I think he’s never climbed into his vehicle that fast! We ended up having lunch a bit farther away. According to David, the hippo must’ve been kicked out of its group.

The Maasai Mara Reserve is the extension of Serengeti National Park, located in Tanzania. Its name comes from both the region's inhabitants, the Maasai, and the river that runs through it, the Mara. The reserve is mainly made up of vast plains, allowing for great wildlife observation. Some marsh areas also add beautiful diversity.





With the sky looking heavy, a sign of heavy rain, we had to head back to camp quickly since the tracks can become completely impassable.



For the rest of our stay in the Maasai Mara, I’ll share scenes of animal life, moments that left an impression on us, and some great encounters.

But first, to make my friend Bruno happy, here’s a family of warthogs out for a stroll...



For the big cats, it’s here

I snuck in this morning—wow, what amazing photos! You should submit them to Visa pour l'Image in Perpignan... maybe there’s a trip to win??? 🤐🤳 I doubt it, but hey, you gotta dream! 🤗😊

I snuck in quietly this morning. Wow, what beautiful photos.

Thanks Marie Jo for appreciating my photos

You should come exhibit them at Visa pour l'Image in Perpignan... there might be a trip to win???🤐🤳 I doubt it but hey, you gotta dream🤷‍♀️😊

That's sweet, but I'm just an amateur photographer who takes photos just for fun :) and to share a bit on VF [;]

The off festival is for amateurs—you can apply! 🤓

Thanks Isa for this little moment dedicated to warthogs—they deserve it 😉

Your sunrise photos are absolutely breathtaking. Every time, I feel like I can hear *The Lion King* soundtrack playing in the background... This isn’t just a travel journal, it’s an exhibition, and it definitely deserves to be one (exhibited).

Thanks Isa for this little moment dedicated to warthogs—they deserve it 😉

All animals deserve it, but it's true that some are more endearing than others 😉

Your sunrise photos are just breathtaking,

You see, I included the lion—I told you you’d see it again 🙂

I feel like I hear *The Lion King* soundtrack playing in the background every time....

Yes, especially since Kenyans like Félix often say "Hakuna Matata." Joffrey, our son, used to watch the movie on repeat back then 🙂

This isn’t a travel journal—it’s an exhibition, and it definitely deserves to be one.

Hundreds of photos... we’d need a huge exhibition space

Hi Isabelle, it’s always a pleasure to follow your dual travel journal with those beautiful illustrations. We’ve just returned from our latest trip to Kenya. It’s funny because just three days ago, we were still in Aberdare with Felix. He mentioned the leopard you saw but didn’t have time to photograph again... this time, no leopards for us during the safari, and we really looked everywhere...

Well, welcome back among us, Sylvie😊. Too bad about the leopards😢, you’ll have to tell us all about it😄. Is Felix doing well?

Yes, he’s doing great! After our nearly 3 weeks together, he started a new 2-week safari that began with 3 days in Amboseli.....

Masai Mara: The Big Cats

Since some of you dream of leopards, cheetahs, or other big cats, I’ll start with them. And more specifically, cheetahs for JF (Max68).

A magnificent encounter with this female and her two cubs—they’re lying under a bush. The cheetah cubs are so cute, like little stuffed animals. We had a great close-up view of them.





The cheetah’s morphology is sleek and slender, with long legs that allow it to reach speeds of 130 km/h. It has non-retractable claws, which prevent it from climbing trees to escape predators. It’s classified as critically endangered, and unfortunately, very few cubs make it to adulthood. On its face, the two black marks running from its eyes are said to be "tears" according to legend.

We witnessed the cheetah’s speed firsthand during a hunt. We were following two brothers—we didn’t see it coming. One of them suddenly sprinted and pounced on a young topi in an instant. The other casually finished the job. Unfortunately, they’re young and inexperienced, so they didn’t kill their prey right away. I really struggled to watch the scene, especially since the mother was circling and crying... it brought tears to my eyes.







On our way back to camp that evening, we witnessed the first nursing of a baby topi—it had just been born and could barely stand on its legs.



I thought to myself, it’s the cycle of life—some are born to sustain others.

We saw quite a few cheetahs (all relative, of course) during our stays in the Maasai Mara—whether as a couple, with family, or solo.



This one was alone, and we followed him for nearly two hours as he calmly marked his territory.





What surprised me when we came across this other cheetah was how he strolled through the savanna even though his "pantry" was right nearby. The impalas watched him, then followed, and suddenly bolted.



On the other hand, the wildebeest were less tolerant—one of them actually chased him off, and the cheetah took off.



We followed him for a long while too before letting him continue his hunt.

Now that I’ve made JF happy with a few cheetahs, I’ll satisfy Agnès (Attila) by continuing with leopards.

The leopard is part of the panther family, with a long and muscular body. It’s an excellent climber and has the unique habit of hoisting its prey into trees to keep them out of reach of other predators. It’s solitary and hunts mainly at night, making it difficult to spot.

There are far fewer of them in the Maasai Mara, and we only came across two females—one on each trip.

The first, Romi, is the mascot of MPS and Tony’s muse. In 2021, she was in her favorite spot, not far from camp, with two cubs—a male and a female. We were lucky enough to see her several times. The first time, she was at the edge of the woods calling, and after a while, her daughter arrived but didn’t stay long. Romi teaches her cubs not to fear vehicles, but they’re still very skittish.



Morning and evening, we’d pass by to see if we could spot her. Since she had cubs, she didn’t wander far from the area.

One rainy evening on her favorite tree trunk... (shh, I borrowed these two photos from my husband because I didn’t go out that night)



One morning at dawn, we saw her carrying the remains of an impala she’d killed during the night... not an easy task, even for such a powerful feline.



Two days later, she finished the last bits, groomed herself, and climbed down from the tree to join her cubs, who still didn’t have the strength to climb.





That was the last time we saw her. In 2023, she wasn’t around—she actually disappeared in autumn 2022 at the age of 13, a good age for a leopard.

The second leopard we spotted in the Maasai Mara is Bahati. She was hidden in the bushes when we arrived. The bush radio worked well because there were already a lot of vehicles on the scene. After a little while, she came out and weaved between the cars, passing right next to us before moving away.





David asked if we wanted to keep following her, and we all agreed to say no. It’s not really our thing to be in the middle of all those 4x4s disturbing the animal. I’m okay with waiting for the animal to move when we’re there, but in situations like that, it’s not great.

Especially since David had a nice surprise for us. He didn’t say anything and headed straight for a thicket a few hundred meters away with a big smile. Sure enough, hidden in the bushes was a serval, and we were over the moon—especially since we were the only ones there with it.

The serval is a small feline, rarely measuring more than 1 meter in length. It has very long legs relative to its body size, allowing it to run fast—up to 80 km/h—but also to peer over tall grass. It also has highly developed hearing, able to detect prey even when they move underground. Its jumping ability lets it catch birds in flight.

After waiting for over half an hour, it finally decided to come out and headed toward us, passing right next to the vehicle. Being that close to it was beyond our wildest dreams—we were thrilled.





The rest of the felines are here

Amazing encounter with the serval—what a stunning feline! 😊

Amazing encounter with the serval—what a stunning feline! 😍

Yeah, we were luckier than in 2021, and we really did look everywhere for it! 😄 This one wasn’t anywhere near where Tim was searching.

No worries, I was lucky enough to see it in the Mara on my first trip. Now I’d love to spot a caracal. A female and her cub were seen in Kruger a few days ago 😊

An incredible number of memorable photos. Breathtaking—I'm loving it!

Awesome! 😎