I went to the Maasai Mara for the first time this past June. I already knew it was regarded as one of the best wildlife destinations in the world, so I went into Kenya with pretty high expectations.
I had been on safari in both Botswana and Uganda before, and both experiences were phenomenal. So phenomenal, in fact, that I can’t seem to stop myself from returning to Africa again and again to explore somewhere new. That desire to keep exploring is what eventually brought me to Kenya.
Botswana was my first real safari experience, and it completely changed my life. And no, that’s not an exaggeration. I saw lions every day in both Chobe and the Okavango Delta, countless elephants, and some brief but memorable leopard encounters.
But what stayed with me most was the feeling of Botswana. The cold, early mornings, bundled up with a heated water bottle on my lap as we set out in search of lions. The scent of salvia as we drove through tall, dry stalks searching for animals. The constant call of ring-necked doves in the background. On my final day, I remember tearing up because I was so sad to leave. I turned that sadness into motivation, and promised myself right then and there that I would come back to Africa.
And a year later, I did. But this time, to Uganda. As impactful and special as Botswana was to me, I wanted to experience something different.
Uganda truly was different from Botswana in almost every imaginable way. Botswana in August was painted in shades of gold and brown, while Uganda was overwhelmingly green. I traveled through misty mountain forests, wetlands, villages, lush rainforests, tranquil lakes, and sprawling savannas. I tracked gorillas, chimpanzees, and rhinos on foot, saw big cats, elephants, and giraffes on game drives, witnessed amazing conservation work for the endangered pangolins, and experienced an incredible variety of birds - from shoebills to sunbirds.
All of this is to say, I already had some remarkable safari experiences under my belt before turning my sights to Kenya. After visiting and falling in love with two destinations that were so different from one another, I became incredibly curious about whether Kenya would capture my heart in the same way.
What was the famous Maasai Mara going to be like?
And it didn’t take long to find out.
Almost instantly, the Mara blew me away.
While I didn’t experience the low vehicle counts that I had in Botswana, or the same variety of habitats and species that I had in Uganda, the wildlife interactions in Kenya were on another level.
I saw lions every day, often several different prides, and spent time with multiple cheetahs and a leopard. I also watched the Mara River crossing twice as zebras ran for their lives through crocodile-filled water.
And then there were two days that I still have a hard time believing actually happened.
One morning, I watched four male lions stalk and take down a pregnant buffalo in beautiful golden hour light. An unbelievable scene that resulted in some of my favorite photos to date.
That same afternoon, we found a sleeping female leopard. Eventually she woke up, began hunting, and successfully caught an impala. This entire sequence unfolded over several hours, giving me endless opportunities to photograph her behavior. Afterwards, we waited for her to climb into a tree with her kill for that iconic leopard-in-a-tree shot.
The next morning, before my guide and I had even entered the Mara, we found a large male lion feeding on a wildebeest while hyenas and a jackal waited nearby for their chance at the carcass. That encounter produced some of the most memorable photographs of my career.
Not long after that, we came across a cheetah resting in gorgeous morning light. Eventually, he spotted a gazelle in the grass and began to stalk before sprinting toward it.
And just like that, we had witnessed our third big cat kill in two days.
And that is only a glimpse of what the Mara gave us.
Every day seemed to bring something completely different. Even when the animals weren’t hunting or doing anything particularly dramatic, the light and landscapes made even a simple portrait feel magical.
That is what makes the Mara such a dream for wildlife photographers.
Golden backlight. Animals silhouetted against the sunrise. Big cats moving through endless grasslands. Dramatic behavior. Clean backgrounds. Incredible opportunities for portraits.
No trip has added more to my wildlife photography portfolio in such a short amount of time.
After only five days in the Mara, I understood why photographers keep coming back.
And in just a few days, I’ll be one of them.
This time, I’ll be returning to host a small group of photographers for five full days of game drives in the Maasai Mara. I’m also excited to explore Nairobi National Park for the first time in search of rhinos and try my hand at astrophotography during the new moon. I’m crossing my fingers for some cloudless nights!
More than anything, I’m excited to share this place with my three guests and hopefully watch them fall in love with Kenya the same way I did.
Every African destination I’ve visited has given me something completely different.
Botswana gave me tranquility, exclusivity, and the safari experience that started it all.
Uganda gave me incredible landscapes and wildlife diversity.
And Kenya gave me some of the most unbelievable photographic opportunities I had ever experienced.
In a few days, I get to find out what the Mara has in store for us this time!
