Big Cat Week

Please note

For the departure, the group departs Nairobi on Day 1, 06:00 from Nairobi. It is advised to arrive in Nairobi on the night before, any time. The accommodation on this night is not included in the trip, however we can help in arranging the same at an additional cost.

For the return on Day 6, please book your flight out of Nairobi after 04:00 p.m.

Day 1: Arrival and Afternoon Safaris and Overnight in Masai Mara.

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After breakfast a pleasant drive across the dramatic Great Rift Valley brings you through the Narok Township, a major Maasai administrative centre, to Kenya’s most precious wildlife sanctuary, Masai Mara Game Reserve.

Our afternoon safari begins post lunch to end the day with a remarkable evening safari kickstarting our Big Cat Week.

Days 2 to 5: Morning and Afternoon Safaris and Overnight in Masai Mara.

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Over the next four glorious days, we will enjoy memorable morning and afternoon rides in Masai Mara, photographing the big cats and the various other wildlife that teems in this paradise.

This is not a sightseeing trip or relaxed holiday. On this Tour the objective will clearly be to show you great wildlife and assist you in every way in getting outstanding images. Suitably, therefore, we will make an early start every morning to catch animals at first light. This is when big cats are at their most active and the light is at its best, so we seek to make some evocative images. We carry packed breakfast so we don’t have to return to camp in a hurry and can stay out shooting as long as we want.

Each of our four-side open 4WD vehicles, custom-made for wildlife viewing and photography, will be shared by only three Tour-participants, to ensure ample space for everybody to stow their equipment and shoot from a comfortable angle.

Participants will take turns to share the vehicle with Skipper to take maximum advantage of his experience. Our Skipper, who has visited the Mara more than a dozen times, loves its wildlife dearly and knows it intimately, will be at hand at all times to ensure that the vehicle is positioned ideally in relation to the wildlife to get the best images possible without unduly disturbing the animals.

All vehicles will be in constant radio contact with one another so nobody misses out on great opportunities. Meanwhile the Skipper will constantly monitor the situation and strategize with the drivers, who have been chosen carefully on the strength of their merit and experience, to make our time worthwhile.

Together they know many of the lion prides, leopards and cheetahs individually, and are in a great position to share some fascinating anecdotes of their encounters with them – all of which will help you relate to the animals and appreciate their individuality when you actually get to see them yourself, making for a highly personal experience and helping you connect with the wildlife to a profound degree.

There will be no fixed agenda as every day in the bush is different. We will go by the reported sightings of the day and decide either to stay put in one place waiting for the anticipated action to unfold, or roam around finding something on the go.

If there is an opportunity for exceptional images or a unique experience, we may spend several hours in the same place or travel miles to get to the right place. The Skipper will make these decisions as required, of course in consultation with you, with the goal of optimizing photo opportunities and helping you witness memorable wildlife moments.

In the evening we will stay right until sunset and pick a spot and an animal to try different images, including silhouettes, backlit and side-lit ones. This is when participants can pick the Skipper’s brain on all the technical and subtle artistic aspects of such photographs and make giant strides towards making images that stand out.

Back at camp, we’ll be treated to the highly insightful and interactive ChaayaaChitra, ChitraTantra and CharchaaLoka sessions every day in the evenings, and depending on our schedule, afternoons too if possible.

These sessions impart a wealth of knowledge on all matters photography and natural history, and you can immediately put the knowledge thus gleaned into practice on the very next ride, making the experience truly progressive and enriching. And based on the group’s consensus, these flexible sessions can also be customised to suit the preferences of the participants.

Amongst others, we will have a post-production session where the Skipper will illustrate some important processing techniques, image presentations that will showcase some exemplary images and discuss various shooting techniques, from which you can learn and take inspiration, and an image-review session where where the Skipper will critique your chosen images so you know precisely how you can get better.

Day 6: Checkout and Return to Nairobi

We check out from the lodge at Masai Mara and travel back to Nairobi. The group will be dropped off at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to board their respective flights back home.