Spotting leopards in the Masai Mara

It’s fair to say I love wildlife photography. So you can imagine how excited I was to get the opportunity to host a tour to Kenya and Uganda with Melbourne-based travel company Twos a Crowd. Not only host, but host as a photographer. Let’s just say I didn’t take any convincing.

I was even more excited when I received the itinerary for the tour, it was put together by RAW Africa Ecotours, based in Yarraville Melbourne, our “on the ground” tour operator in Kenya. It was a fantastic blend of wildlife, community and culture.

It not only included the “must see” Masai Mara, but several unique cultural, community-based encounters in the Mt Kenya region. I knew this was going to be uniquely different from other tours I had taken in East Africa. But for now the Mara.

After an overnight stop in Nairobi our group of five intrepid travellers, our guide Jaros and I hit the road. After several hours, we were still hitting the road. Actually I think we were still in Nairobi.

It’s tough going in the traffic in Kenya. But our group was pumped. We were off to the Masai Mara. The “Mara” is the Kenyan section of an eco-system that is continuous with the Serengeti (in Tanzania). It is the site of the annual wildebeest migration and of all the places I have been, it is the best place to view wildlife.

After another hour or two, we were exhausted. Like a mirage Narok appeared and it was time for lunch.

Well rested, we hit the road again. Narok is about the half-way mark. But now the road gets rough – ahh the Masai massage. It’s a tough drive to the Mara, but well worth it. If you’re cashed up you can take a charter flight and avoid the drive. But where’s the challenge in that?

It was late afternoon and we were getting close to the lodge, when Jaros yelled out “look over to the left”.

A female lion with two cubs was relaxing in the grass. We weren’t even in the Mara yet. By the time we got to our lodge (actually a selection of luxury permanent tents) we were ready for a shower and a cold beer.

But we were finally here.

The view from the dining area was spectacular. It took in the Mara river, with herds of hippo wallowing and giraffe wandering along the banks. It was breathtaking.

Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, dinner was served. After three courses a couple of beers and a glass of red, it was time for bed.

We were up early the next day for a full day in the Mara.

As we drove through the conservancy toward the Mara it was a Masai Giraffe to the left a hyena to the right. In the distance, wading in the marsh, a large elephant. The morning saw us observe a large herd of elephants, mongoose, lions, buffalo, crocodiles, hippos and baboons. So that’s three of the big five, and a whole lot more, in one morning.

The wildlife viewing took a turn for the worse when our exit path was blocked by another vehicle while waiting for a possible wildebeest crossing of the Mara river. Our plan B had us ‘leaf spring deep’ in a warthog hole. After trying two high-lift jacks, to no avail, we were snatch-strapped out.

Only to land the whole axle in the warthog hole. More snatch strapping and we were out again – just. It had been a big morning and was time for lunch.

After lunch there was more waiting for a potential crossing, which still never happened. I must be cursed with wildebeest crossings. However, while driving back to our ‘spot’ on the Mara river, we had spied a fresh carcass in a tree.

A sure sign a leopard was nearby.

After waiting for quite some time at the river, we decided it wasn’t going to happen. Plus it was getting late.

We opted to head back to the tree we had seen the zebra in and wait. By this time the tree had about 15 cars around it, so we took a spot, crossed our fingers and waited. It wasn’t long until the leopard appeared, walked to the base of the tree, posed and climbed up to the carcass. I was blown away. Leopards, while not rare, are really good at not being seen.

So this was just amazing.

But wait, there was another leopard. It turned out, the first one was a cub (almost fully grown), the second was the mother. It was just amazing to see them greet each other. The cub disappeared back up the tree, while mum did a quick last-minute scout of the area, then followed. You couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

Yep, gotta love the Masai Mara.

*I was a tour host with the Australian-based solo travel company Two’s A Crowd on this tour. Our on the ground tour operator was RAW Africa Ecotours.

Fast Facts

We travelled in July 2018

We were here for two nights.

Was it long enough? I had already spent five days in the Mara on another trip but could still have stayed longer on this trip! It never felt rushed, though and we got to see everything we wanted to see (except rhino).

Highlights: Seeing the two leopards together, the volume of wildlife everywhere we looked.

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