I’ve been blogging a lot this year about the merits of a self drive safari, but reflecting on our experiences in the Maasai Mara I realised how wonderful a guided safari can be. We took this photo hanging out of the back of a vehicle (easier than trying to reverse inches to get the sun perfectly positioned), but without our guide Joseph from +Kicheche Camps we a) wouldn’t have been out so early, b) wouldn’t have found this tree. Local knowledge is so important in having a great safari experience (so are walkie talkies and Twitter tools like @latestkruger, but I think less useful in tracking the daily movement of trees).
Not every guide will be as accommodating of course, but in my experience each has their own area of interest and value they can add to a safari; well worth it to learn more about an area and to support a local population.
Food for thought?
This post is the 18th and final in the series “Memories of the Maasai Mara” and is an extract from the Taraji Blue book “Memories of the Maasai Mara” …
Ever since our first visit to Kenya in 2005 we’d fallen in love with the continent and had longed to return. For four years we’d played our Africa CDs daily and viewed our photos longingly, anticipating the day we would return. Back in 2009 we had our chance…
Each morning we bounded out of our beds and into the wilderness, eager and hopeful of what the day would bring. We owe much of our success to the fantastic guides and staff of the Kicheche Bush Camp, Mara Safari Club and David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, who we cannot praise enough and to whom we long to return.
It is through our experiences and time in Kenya that we tell, and re-live, our memories of this amazing continent, and above all, of the Maasai Mara.