Maasai Mara.
El Clasico. The ultimate safari.
What’s so special about Maasai Mara, you say?
Maasai Mara is voted the number 1 wildlife destination nearly every year. Chances are high that you would see the big 5 all in one day. The picture that you have in your mind about Kenya, is probably Maasai Mara. It’s a National Reserve, and not a National Park. This means that animals roam freely within the reserve and don’t have a fence to keep them in a specific place – it’s more respectful towards the animals. It’s the same park as Serengeti, but 8 times smaller. This is why it’s more popular – all the wilderbeast that are in Serengeti come to Maasai Mara around June to September, and they can be seen in huge numbers. The Mara River is mostly in Maasai Mara, so if it’s a crossing you are after, the likelihood of seeing it in Maasai Mara is a lot higher.
The Big 5 – elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo and rhino. We add in Hyena and the Cheetah to make the Super 7. (Izzo) We love calling the Elegant 8 adding the wild dogs, Nasty 9 includde the rock python (EW) and Tantalising Ten is you see any animal doing something extraordinary.
Giraffes, zebras, impalas, dikdiks, Thompson gazelle, grand gazelle, wathog and mongoose, hippos… the luckiest get to see the scaled ant eater, the Gods shine luck and long life (that’s what the Maasai say!)
Animals that you can expect to see in Maasai Mara
The Maa people say that they descended from heaven via a long skin and God gave them cows to live off. They are livestock keepers, especially cattle.
Each is a family – a senior man with his wives and sons, and their wives. They know how to coexist with their wild animals – you may be led to belief that they hunt these animals, but they don’t, as they believe they should live off their livestock. The tradition says they live off blood, milk, and wild herbs as well as their cows and goats. The only time they hunt is after the communal circumscition of the young men where they go alone to kill a lion.
They say they are the second most popular tribe in the world, because they have preserved their traditional way of life.
About the Community, the Maasai
3 Day Maasai Mara Safari.
El clasico.
An itinerary.
What can you expect on a 3 day Maasai Mara Safari?
- Cultural experience
- Safari experience
- Savannah Camp experience (Anyoraa)
- Community Tourism
The specific itinerary for your trip will very much depend on whether you are joining a group or we are doing a private trip. Private trips are tailored made to your liking.
The accommodation on this itinerary is budget, but we can arrange any type of accommodation for our adventurers!
The road trip begins.
Begin nice and early with plenty of snacks to bring you through. We will stop at the Rift Valley view point. A small wonder in itself, a depression that goes on for about 9,600km.
Want to really understand what a social enterprise like ours is like? We do a quiet stop at Ripoi Primary School, a project close to our hearts, that showcases who we are and why we do what we do.
Lunch will be at Anyoraa Camp Maasai Mara. This is our other social enterprise to also be discovered.
After a nice lunch and a little rest, we will begin the Maasai Cultural experience. The Maasai will take you around their land, and show you what herbs they use for what purpose, and how they hang out. At the top of the hill, where you have the best views of the park, you will light a fire and have a snack. What a view!
Once you get back to the camp, dinner will be served at 7:30 and the bonfire will start at 8:30. You can make your bonfire drink orders!
The next morning – this is what a game drive is all about. The real safari.
What’s the goal? Explore the reserve, the way that you used to explore a forest when you were little – Taking time and not having to force anything, but wanting to experience and see as much as possible.
There is no set itinerary for a game drive. We see what season, what weather, and where the animals we want to see are at. The point is to explore and to view while being respectful and learning the most interesting bits about the animals.
At lunch time we will break and have a bush lunch, with food and tea and coffee to end with. How long you take depends on how excited you are to continue the journey!!
We usually do the game drive from 8:30 till 6pm, but will adjust too, depending on weather and animals.
Dinner at the camp is at 7:30 and bonfire at 8:30.
The Sunrise and the end.
The next morning we want to see the sunrise from the camp so we leave at 6am! After a game drive in the morning, we will exit the park and make our way back to Nairobi. There is an opportunity to buy souvenirs in shops along the way. We will have lunch along the way too and arrive in Nairobi at around 5pm