I’m certain you’re familiar with the wildebeest migration that happens annually between the Mara and Serengeti – the 7th wonder of the world. Just like you, I didn’t know about the humpback whale migration that happens around the same time – July to September – off the Kenyan coast. More about the whales in the next post.

Last weekend, I got a chance to visit the Mara – Kenya’s tourism jewel – and called on Josh Kisamwa and Marion Mithamo for the experience. It was a one-day visit but we were determined to make the best of the first half of this year’s twin migration.

Sunrise found us on the road between Narok and Sekenani Gate.

China WuYi are giving some much-needed tarmac to this road but most of it remains gravel. I’m eager for the completion of this road as it will be faster and cheaper to get to the Mara.

At Sekenani, we found we weren’t the only ones in a rush to get in and take in the Mara’s beauty.

Past the gate, we were soaked in wide open spaces, with wildlife drawing lines towards the horizon every couple of kilometres.

I usually shoot on AV. My camera mode accidentally switched to Manual and I shot several over-exposed images like the one above. By the time I realised my mistake, the elephants had moved on.

During our game drive, we found Morans at an airstrip preparing to usher in guests.They were kind enough to allow me to take their photos.

Marion and the Morans.After our game drive, we stopped at Mara Serena for a feast for our tummies and our eyes.

Josh Kisamwa.
Mwarv.

The above panorama was made by stitching together 35 images. It is 32,000 pixels wide and 9,000 pixels high. The web doesn’t do it or the view justice.

After lunch, we started making our way back to Narok for the night because hotels in the Mara were fully booked.

We bumped into Tourism CS Najib Balala also on a game drive.

This lioness didn’t want to see us.

As the sun set, elephants were at hand to give us a warm send off.

Not having had enough, we kept shooting even after sunset, pushing our cameras’ ISO levels to the extreme.

ISO 640. ISO 5000.

ISO 10000.

Any place with wide open spaces is bound to have wide open skies. So the last shots for the day were taken at about the same place we took our first shots for the day – somewhere between Sekenani and Narok.

We didn’t get to witness the famous Mara River crossing as the closest herd to the river was about 8km away. We weren’t disappointed because as much as the crossing is a spectacle, Masai Mara’s beauty is always a treat – whether there’s a crossing or not.

Next stop : Watamu for the humpback whale migration.