Masai Mara and Melting Pot Safari... So disappointed! (page 3 of 7)

Hmm! I'm not expert enough to appreciate that subtle angle shift of a few degrees!

Thanks Régis I booked with MPS for 2020....

All that's left is to wait, that's the hardest part 😉

Hello, I’m a regular on the forum but completely new to this part of Africa. Interested in a possible trip to your "neck of the woods." I followed this thread with interest. I found your reply really helpful and, all in all, very educational. Personally, though, I trust Régis’s opinion. Best regards,

Well, personally, I trust Régis’s opinion. Best regards

I’m honored 😏

Me too. End of my posts on these topics!

Thanks for your detailed report—I’m not in love with Africa at all, but of course I’m interested in it like any other place worth visiting. - .... - I completely agree with your criticisms.... I wouldn’t have enjoyed that spectacle either (is it really one?? or just visual cruelty???), and while I can understand that sometimes there are crowds gathered in front of a beautiful spot or a rarity.... (I live in Vietnam, so magical or rare places aren’t in short supply.. nor is the American West, which I’ve crisscrossed in every direction.....) I really wouldn’t have liked the lineup of cars at all...... -

Thanks again—have a great day—.... and good luck on your next trip... somewhere more appealing....

Best regards - Kimtwo..

Hi Claire, I just read your post/rant about the Masai Mara and, more generally, safaris in Kenya with great interest. We’re actually in the middle of planning a solo trip (just the two of us) to Kenya, like we usually do. We book our flight ticket and the first few nights at a hotel in the arrival city, usually the capital, and then we move around using public transport, taxis, or even a rental car when it’s common. Since we’re pretty familiar with—and especially fond of—Africa, we were thinking of spending a month enjoying Kenya, particularly its amazing reserves that everyone raves about. We started exploring Africa about ten years ago with Tanzania and the Serengeti-Ngorongoro-Lake Manyara trilogy from Arusha... we’re thinking of doing something similar in Kenya, obviously visiting several reserves.

My initial research from France, using the internet and other modern tools, has left me really puzzled, and your post, unfortunately, doesn’t make me feel any more optimistic. Back in the day, we weren’t exactly alone in the Serengeti—especially during our breaks with 5 or 10 4x4 vehicles to observe a sleepy leopard in a tree or a lion napping—but with the Masai Mara, it seems to be the absolute worst.

Even before reading your post, the sheer number of agencies of all kinds I saw online and in the Lonely Planet made me fear the worst, and you’ve just confirmed my initial impression. As for the price, I’m struggling to find any 4- or 5-night circuit for less than 1500 € per person... the last offer I got about three days ago was around 3300 € per person for 12/13 nights.

Before I keep digging from afar, it’d be great to get your feedback. First, I’d love to know if you think there are quieter, less crowded reserves outside the usual big names. I didn’t see much in the Lonely Planet... and on top of that, there’s the fear of scams, so my feeling is that for anything off the beaten path, word of mouth is the only way to go.

Another question: during your trip, did you visit Kenya outside the reserves, and how did you find the rest of your journey, aside from your—let’s say—less-than-happy experience in the Masai Mara? If you have any other details that could help us out, we’d love to hear them. Thanks in advance for your reply! Best regards,

Dominique

hey kimtwo not a fan of Africa, have you been there? it’s a continent like Asia and isn’t limited to the Masai Mara or even Kenya plus, there’s safari and then there’s safari when you decide to join a tour operator, you have to accept the downsides, like being in a vehicle with others, knowing the vehicles are radio-linked, and that as soon as an animal is spotted, it’s a free-for-all for the photo of the century there’s a way to do it differently as an individual, but it’s more expensive, and you can’t blame people who’ll only go once and have been sold the dream of seeing the Big Five that’s where the fierce competition between guides comes from, because in the evening, tourists compare what they’ve seen so this image of Africa is awful, but it’s not all there is you’re in Vietnam, and I think you get the same impression, except it’s not around animals that people crowd...

hi dominique I’m not clear but I read your message Here everyone only talks about the Masai Mara but there are lots of other very famous reserves Tsavo, Nakuru, Amboseli, and others maybe less so Shaba, Mount Meru, Mount Kenya, Sibiloi, Marsabit If you’ve got the means, renting a 4x4 with probably a driver at least for the north, not going during European holidays, and camping lets you do what you want—turn around if there’s a crowd of vehicles And then there’s Mombasa and its Portuguese past The problem in safari countries is that if you use public transport, at some point you’ll have to go through a tour operator for the national parks, and you end up with the same issues valerie

hey claire when you're a "seasoned traveler," you don’t go with tour operators—especially French ones—or else you accept the lack of privacy with fellow countrymen you don’t necessarily want to run into at the other end of the world. valerie

Hi Gérard,

Unfortunately, I share your opinion because learning that this park is suffocated not by "tourists"—who are absolutely right to go there—but by the locals themselves is disheartening. From my perspective, Ruaha and Selous are also an excellent alternative. See you,

Hi Tony,

Thanks for your analysis of the chaos in the Masai Mara. Indeed, it seems difficult to control under any circumstances, so the worst is unfortunately yet to come.

See you,

hi is the Masai Mara being stifled by the locals??? the Maasai have been there for centuries independent Kenya decided to turn it into a nature reserve, excluding the Maasai, but eventually part of the land was returned to them, free to manage and graze their livestock, even if it's true that some encroach on the tourists' territory... it seems to me that every national park in Africa is very different from another so Selous, Mikumi, Ruaha, yes, but there are also other national parks in Kenya

Hi, I’d add that when you’re a seasoned traveler, you don’t forget to pack your own soap and you take care of your own underwear, like a big girl. Or you bring enough for the whole trip if water is scarce and you need to save it.

hi sylvie I don’t get this attraction people have for their expat compatriots who run camps, hotels, restaurants, and so on. the real change of scenery is actually not running into your neighbor on the other side of the world. totally agree—you can ask the guide to stick to the trails unless you’ve got a few excitement-seekers trying to snap the photo of the century. the best is definitely going solo, no doubt, even if sometimes you get side-eyed by tour operators who think they know better. and like you said, Kenya is huge. valerie

Hi Valérie,

If the predators (poisoned) are eradicated from their habitat, then only the herbivores will remain, and they’ll eventually disappear too because they compete with the Maasai’s goats and cows—which don’t eat meat but sustain their livelihood. And there you have it! 😉

even if it’s true that some encroach on the tourists’ territory...

The tourists’ territory? The park isn’t theirs—it’s dedicated to wildlife. So it’s not abnormal for our big cats and other carnivores to take a few. As for tourists, they’re just passing through, asked to observe with their eyes and not disrupt the natural order.

See you,

hey did I misread your message to gerardelux? park suffocated by locals

Hi Valérie,

“Asphyxiated” might be a bit strong, but there’s definitely a sense that overgrazing is encroaching on that balance.

See you,

hey eric I still don’t get it—between your message and your reply—how we were supposed to see the predators in there. I was only saying that the Maasai are legitimate and had little to do with the disappearance of the habitat compared to tourist overconsumption. They’ve always been there; the national park has only existed since the 60s. What’s happened since then? A skyrocketing Maasai population or a skyrocketing number of tourists? valerie

Good evening,

For my part, following the interesting exchanges with Blesl, I went back through my documents and references, and there’s no clear study showing a direct link between overgrazing and the decline of large herbivores. The strongest connections seem to be around natural resources and access to them (water in particular), the spread of animal diseases, and the fact that many of the problems aren’t caused by herders but by agricultural populations who "block" migration corridors for both wild and domestic animals.

I’d also like to point out that many reserves were created on land where people were already living. These same pastoral communities are being pushed off their land, not just by reserves (which has been going on for a while) but now also by the expansion of agriculture and general population pressure.

So blaming them as scapegoats seems a bit simplistic to me. Especially since tourists, who don’t stay long (though the camps do, and the damage caused by overtourism, etc.), could just as easily be called out. And we don’t manage our own reserves in our countries the same way (where herders can live just fine).

Then there’s the myth of prestige livestock farming, which has been debunked for quite some time. Accumulating livestock is a risk-management strategy in extremely difficult areas. Of course, there are wealthy people with large herds they don’t use, but most are small-scale herders trying to have more to survive (and they make up the vast majority).