The sun sets on the horizon and the sky turns orange. A group of antelopes and zebras wanders across the large wide grass savannah, we have positioned ourselves so that we can photograph the migrating animals in silhouette against the glowing African evening sky. Slowly a giraffe moves towards an acacia tree and when it stops to graze we have the picture ready and in unison we let our cameras immortalize this classic African motif.

Later at dinner in our tent camp, we can hear Masai Mara lions roaring in the dark night in the distance. Expectations for the morning’s game drive are rising, what will we experience and photograph. If we perhaps find the lion or the more shy leopard lying in a tree, regardless of this, we know that the Masai Mara will also offer us unforgettable photo opportunities of both animals, birds and landscapes tomorrow.

MASAI MARA
The Masai Mara is located in southwestern Kenya and is one of the best areas in all of Africa for viewing and photographing African wildlife. Together with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, the Masai Mara forms one of the world’s most spectacular ecosystems with perhaps the largest concentration of animals in the entire world. The ongoing migration of wildebeest and other grazing animals such as zebras and antelopes usually comes to the Masai Mara during the month of July and then the savanna is filled with millions of animals. To get to the grasslands of the Masai Mara, the animals have to cross the Mara River and this phenomenon has become one of the truly great nature experiences in the world and something that as a nature photographer and nature enthusiast you just have to experience at some point in your life. When the animals cross the river to get to new pastures, they expose themselves to great danger as the river is “full” of crocodiles who are happy to take advantage of this opportunity. To reduce the risk of becoming a crocodile’s prey, the animals gather in large herds and the hesitation can be long before venturing into the river. Finally, someone ventures out and is immediately followed by the herd. In order to get across the river as quickly as possible, the animals sometimes throw themselves out of the bank and land on their relatives.

On the tour will we of course try to get good pictures when the wildebeest and the other grazers cross the river but we will not forget everything else that is around. The animals are literally everywhere and of course the large amounts of grazing animals attract many predators, so we have very good chances of experiencing unique encounters with the big cats.