Kenya (Amboseli, Ol pejeta, Naivasha, Mara) - Sept/11 to Sept/20, 2017

[Gilgamesh]

On 10/7/2017 at 7:22 PM, mtanenbaum said:

Your photos are amazing! I can't believe this is your first safari...your photos would make me guess that you're a very experienced wildlife photographer! Thanks for sharing with all of us. I will be going to the Mara in January for 4 nights after a trip to Uganda, and hope I am as lucky with my sightings as you were.

 

Thank you so much. You will love Mara...it is truly spectacular. I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time...we were having a blast even in Amboslei and Ol Pejeta. Kenyan wildlife is gorgeous.

[Gilgamesh]

On 10/9/2017 at 0:32 AM, Alexander33 said:

So glad you got your cheetah shots to end the safari.  A wonderful finale. Great report. Thank you for sharing this with us. 

 

Thank you! I love those final cheetah shots....I feel like I was able to get portraits of Cheetah and Leopard to my satisfaction and decent lion ones too. It is so hard to get that ideal shot when all of this is happening in the wild, and not a well manicured zoo...obstructions, light, distance etc to deal with....a lot of luck involved in getting the ideal shot. I am very pleased.

Edited October 10, 2017 by Gilgamesh

[Gilgamesh]

On 10/9/2017 at 0:56 PM, penolva said:

Excellent shots of some great action. I love the look the cheetah gives the mother warthog as it chases the cheetah away. We also saw the 5 cheetah on our recent trip, such beautiful animals. Pen

Pen

 

Thank you!

 

When I was viewing that whole hunting sequence just through my viewfinder I missed some action. For instance, my wife who was looking at all 5 cheetahs, the 3 baby warthogs and the mom was able to see all of what was going on. But facial reactions etc. like that can only be viewed by seeing the photos. I also love the way he looks at the baby warthog in the last two frames...still eyeing him, wishing he could get at him. We saw so many new things like this on photographs that we did not realize at the time. So, I am glad we got to enjoy extra things as we were viewing the photos again.

 

The five Cheetah brothers are so beautiful...it's awesome to just sit there and watch them. On the first night when others said they had seen the five cheetahs, I was so jealous...who even dreams of seeing five Cheetahs all together in the wild...having heard it, I was so wishing to see them too. Never dreamt of seeing them actually hunt. It was a beautiful trip.

Edited October 10, 2017 by Gilgamesh

[Gilgamesh]

On 10/7/2017 at 6:03 PM, JakeGC said:

For @offshorebirder : Yes, as mentioned previously, we have now fitted the folding shelves on most of our open-sided Toyota Landcruisers.

 

Jake,

 

You are welcome to any photos taken in Porini lion camp, if you want them for your website. 

 

Jake was extremely helpful to us, prior to and during our visit. I want to elaborate on one of the things he did...

 

Jake has informed me even prior to us leaving the USA that he had contacted 'All-seasons safari' and informed them how the transfer to Porini lion will happen. I also verified with 'all-seasons safari' that they had done so. However, on that last day at Mara Reserve, Jospeh our driver/guide told us he wasn't sure how the transfer will happen as we were retiring for the night. The transfer was supposed to happen the next morning. It sounded like, Joseph wanted to change the transfer point to make it easier for him to return to Nairobi. I emailed Jake around 9pm that night and went to bed. I wasn't holding onto much hope...however when I woke up, Jake had already taken care of everything. He had emailed me back within minutes that he will look into it further. Then he must have contacted the camp, all seasons and agreed to the new transfer point. I received the second email prior to midnight. So, even that extremely last minute change of plans was all taken care of as I was sleeping...that kind of service is unparalleled...Jake, my wife and I really appreciated that...thank you!

Edited October 10, 2017 by Gilgamesh

[Gilgamesh]

I'm going to link this report in TripAdvisor and would like to add this post, so it will help newbies who frequent that forum.

 

I am not an expert, just been to Kenya one time....this is my personal opinion.

 

Driving in Kenya:

• I will never drive in Kenya, but I will not say it's impossible if you know exactly what you are doing.
• You cannot drive on your own inside the parks. You've got to know the inside information (where animals typically are, all the internal paths, some of which are impossible to know etc.) You will still see a bunch of herbivores and think you had a great time, but would have missed almost everything. 
• Hiring the parks own guides/driver should be better than hiring a guide from Nairobi as they seem to work as a team increasing your chances of interesting animal encounters.

 

Driving vs flying:

• I enjoyed seeing rural Kenya. I will strongly recommend at least one or two legs of driving. I know we are going to Kenya for a safari, but I doubt we missed much game drive time as we made up for it by staying out longer. 
• 6 hours of driving is easier to handle for me in Kenya than here in the USA, as the drives involved seeing so many new, fascinating things. However, obviously in the 6 hours we can probably drive twice the distance here. 
• A good tour operator like 'All-seasons safari' will not let you pick the wrong routes/itinerary - like they refused to drive from Ol Pejeta to Mara on one day and said we had to break journey in Naivasha.

 

Reserve vs conservancy: 

       The conservancy all the way. Our next trip will solely be in conservancies. Almost always less crowded. Sometimes unbelievably so, as in when we were the only ones with the lion cubs one whole evening. Driving up to the animals is priceless - IMO, the only way to do it. Conservancies are into environmentally friendly policies too, so that's a bonus.

 

 

Lodge vs tent: 

• Lodges were always better, so nice to sit down in a comfortable lobby, put your legs up with a beer in hand and enjoy a lot of the animals right from there...most of the lodges we stayed had a watering hole or a Savannah where the animals came close to the lodge. Numerous birds too. Food was great as well, but they were excellent in the conservancy too. However, as the conservancy are mostly all tents, I will pick tents next time not for the sake of wanting to stay in tents, but because the game viewing is much better in a conservancy.

 

Lenses:

• Lens- loved the versatility of the 50-500 zoom I took. 500mm on a cropped body is necessary. I did not have one but even your 70-200/2.8 will be very useful in a conservancy. Take some wide angle, normal and macro lenses too - photographic opportunities in Kenya is limitless.

 

All-seasons safari. (Rating 8/10)

• They were always on time. From the time they came to the airport to every game drive etc.
• Delivered everything as promised and at times more. The only thing they promised  but did not provide was a bean bag. But, I didn't need it. I guess if I needed it they would have made arrangements for it, but we were already in Amboseli before I realized there wasn't one.
• Our driver/guide Joseph was from Amali safari - All seasons hired him. He is a very safe driver. We felt totally safe when we drove from location to location. He knows all three parks we visited very well, including where various animals typically will be. He is not highly knowledgeable like porini guides in animal/bird knowledge. This did not affect our experience too much as we were beginners. More experienced safari goers may want to hire someone with more specific knowledge. Although he made friends with other guides to get info for the next day's safari, I suspect the guides from the camp will have more information on ideal sighting. Also, I would think they will work as a team, like in Porini and thus several eyes looking for animals. Here we had to rely on his past experience only and if we happen to stop another vehicle and ask about what they had seen. Did not feel like a coordinated effort among several guides like it was in Porini. So, we may have missed a lot.
• All season safari email response was very weak. At times certain emails will never get a reply, even after repeated prompting. Some took several weeks for a reply. I did find that very frustrating. However, as they delivered everything as promised (except the bean bag), I will recommend them.
• I was asking for driver names for weeks, and was provided only the night before
• When it rained on that one evening, everyone except us left on time. Joseph wouldn't leave till it stopped.
• The cost was $4370 per person, not including international flights. So, it included two internal flights, all park fees, game drives, 10 nights of accommodations, all meals and most of the water supply. It did not include the Naivasha boat ride (6,000 shillings for two). It also included driving us around Nairobi on that last day. All Tips extra.

 

Porini lion (10/10): ...Exceeded our expectations.

• Game watchers/Jake were awesome. I've also mentioned Meshack and other guides. Patrick the camp manager was equally exceptional. He was always there when we came back from each game drive asking us how it went. He was there to send us off on almost all game drives. He had an excellent sense of humor and really made us feel like home. The whole team did. My wife who was apprehensive of the "tents", upon our return said at Porini Lion camp she felt like she was amidst friends. When you stay here, you will not only have the best animal viewing but at the same time keep this wonderful concept alive - Protecting the animals, environmentally friendly while supporting the local tribes.

 

I posted my first thread in safaritalk, exactly a year before my first African safari. This trip could not have been this wonderful without the help of the members here. So, a big thanks to everyone here.

Edited October 10, 2017 by Gilgamesh

[AandA]

Terrific TR and amazing photos! Congrats on your first safari! We had our in May and are already planning one for Kenya in 2019... 

FYI: I consulted many many travel agents and read countless TRs and posts on many websites:

ST is the best for advice and the MOST helpful people!

I found @Sangeeta this way and she has been beyond brilliant and clever and so much fun to work with to plan our next adventure! Feel very fortunate, so wanted to let you know, in case you do plan a return to Africa.

[JakeGC]

On 10/10/2017 at 9:20 PM, Gilgamesh said:

 

 

Porini lion (10/10): ...Exceeded our expectations.

I'm very pleased to read all your positive comments about your stay with us at Porini Lion Camp and to know that you were happy with the services of our guide Meshack who helped you to get some great shots and that you found the Camp Manager, Patrick, and his team to be so friendly and welcoming. I'm so glad that your first safari was such a success and many thanks for saying that we may share your images with our own customers. I was also glad to get the chance to meet you and your wife while I was at the camp and we hope to welcome you back again soon! 
Very best wishes
Jake
PS Here is a shot taken in front of the camp a couple of days ago!

 

[CDL111]

Just arrived home this morning, and spent the last two hours catching up on your report. The quantity of wilderbeast and buffalo is incredible, and the sequence of the 5 cheetah brothers hunt is something. Told you I would be wrong on what was in the tree that the lion climbed. It's nice to know that you are now hooked on ST and not one of those people that a ST is on their tick box list.

[Gilgamesh]

1 hour ago, CDL111 said:

Just arrived home this morning, and spent the last two hours catching up on your report. The quantity of wilderbeast and buffalo is incredible, and the sequence of the 5 cheetah brothers hunt is something. Told you I would be wrong on what was in the tree that the lion climbed. It's nice to know that you are now hooked on ST and not one of those people that a ST is on their tick box list.

You almost got it though...just didn't expect the Leopard to be there with the kill.

 

Yes! Doing a safari has always been number one on my bucket list...sooo glad, we got it done.

Edited October 17, 2017 by Gilgamesh

[michael-ibk]

What an awesome first safari, your sightings was magnificent. That Leopard-Lion-sequence is one of the coolest things I´ve seen here on Safaritalk. Great photos all the way. Thanks so much for sharing.

[Gilgamesh]

On 10/30/2017 at 2:46 AM, michael-ibk said:

What an awesome first safari, your sightings was magnificent. That Leopard-Lion-sequence is one of the coolest things I´ve seen here on Safaritalk. Great photos all the way. Thanks so much for sharing.

Thank you so much...we were so lucky to have witnessed all of this, especially the leopard-lion sequence...after all of these weeks, I can't believe we were actually there and saw what we did...African wildlife is such a beautiful gift to the whole world.