East Africa 2024 Trip Report

What an experience this was! For years I have wanted to plan an ultimate trip to East Africa that combined all the major safari destinations/activities. I knew that meant gorilla trekking in the Virunga Mountains, seeing the landscapes of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro Crater in the green season, and of course the Great Migration in the Southern Serengeti. While nothing is ever guaranteed in wildlife photography, I was absolutely thrilled to have crossed off everything on my list that I wanted to see.

Starting off my trip after a 20 hour flight to Kenya, I somehow had the bright idea to go on an all day safari to Nairobi National Park before the official start of my trip. I arrived at my hotel in Nairobi at around 1 AM, and then promptly woke up at 5AM for my game drive. Needless to say I will never be making that mistake again. But we did have an amazing trip to the park, with good sightings of giraffe, hyena, rhinos, some lions that took over a picnic site. The real treat though was finding Imara, the resident cheetah of the park with her one cub. We searched for over and hour to find them, but luckily they came right out on the road and posed beautifully. Nairobi National Park may not be one of the most popular for safari goers, but I personally love it and think it's a great warm up destination for wildlife photographers.

Nairobi National Park is the perfect example of human-wildlife coexistence

It would have been nice to stop at this picnic site for lunch, but lions decided to use it for shade instead

Capturing wildlife in front of the city skyline was a main goal of mine

White rhinos are very common, and this is one of their strongholds across all of Africa

Imara with her one cub. She's one of the few cheetahs here, so seeing her was very rare

After spending a couple of nights in Nairobi, it was off to Rwanda to go gorilla trekking! I have tried doing a gorilla trip for a long while, but logistically just couldn't get it done until now. I briefly spent some time exploring the capital city of Kigali, where I got a chance to visit the Genocide Museum and the real Hotel Rwanda. It is an incredibly moving experience, and even if you only care about wildlife I genuinely believe it's worth taking the time to visit.

The drive from Kigali to the Volcanoes National Park was about 3 hours, but wow was it scenic. Seeing thousands of green hills and giant volcanoes in the background was probably the most beautiful drive I've ever been on.

The view from my room of Mt. Sabyinyo just outside of Volcanoes National Park

The following morning it was time for my first trek. I requested the Susa family, which was one of the original families that Dian Fossey researched during her time in the park. What I didn't realize was that the Susa live an hour away from the initial park check in point, so we had a long drive before we could even start hiking.

When we got there, we were provided walking sticks and began to make our way up towards the park border. The hike was mostly uphill through farmland, and it took us about an hour to reach the border wall that separates the local farmers from the jungle. After that, it was about 15 minutes macheting through dense jungle before we actually came across the gorillas.

The moment when you actually see them just leaves you dumbstruck. Watching a wild gorilla literally 10m right in front of you is absolutely exhilarating. They are so human like in their eyes and faces, which allows you to connect with them in a deeper way than say an elephant or a lion.

Photographing them was a huge challenge though, because they were on a slope and moving down hill, so we basically had to chase them and snap a few photos before they moved again. Very difficult, but still amazing to experience.

One of the newest members of the Susa family

This family had multiple silverbacks, which is apparently quite common

Following the gorillas downhill was difficult, but when they posed they posed perfectly

Looking into a gorilla's eyes you can see how we are so closely related

What I didn't realize was that my first gorilla trek was going to be the easy one. You wouldn't call a 4 hour round trip hike "easy" usually, but compared to to my second one it was a piece of cake. Unfortunately the next day I was assigned the Igisha family, which lived even further than the Susa. We had to drive almost 2 hours right to the Congo border to even start the hike.

This time though, the hike was almost reversed. It was about 15 minutes to the border wall, and then began the single most brutal hike of my life. It was a 2 hour trek through thick, deep mud, stinging nettles, up and down through the thickest jungle I've ever seen. There was essentially no path, and we literally couldn't see anything in front of us until our guide sliced through with his machete. I felt like one of those old colonial explorers making my way through the Congo rainforest, and was starting to question why on earth I signed up for this.

But finally we found the gorillas, and those intrusive thoughts quickly disappeared. The Igisha are the biggest in the park with 36 members. That includes 6 silverbacks, and lots of babies! They were also in a much better position than the Susa, and seemed to be relaxing which made for some awesome photography.

A very lazy young gorilla. I wish I could be as relaxed as him after my hike!

The photographic opportunities with the Igisha were very different than with the Susa

Mothers and babies are always a goal on a gorilla trek, and there were plenty in this family

One of 6 silverbacks in the family, the largest number of any in the park

Finally my gorilla time was over, and I had to make the 2 hour trek back down the mountains, this time in the pouring rain. The gorillas were awesome, but the hike was absolute misery.

The next day it was time to leave Rwanda, but I decided to do a quick golden monkey trek on my way out. This was more of a stroll than a hike, and we actually found the monkeys right on the border with the farm land. Golden Monkeys apparently love potatoes, and so we spent our entire time with them as they raided the local crops. Not the most "wild" wildlife photography, but at least I can say that I got to see them.

We found the gorilla monkeys right on the park border

After saying goodbye to the monkeys, it was off to the airport to catch my flight back to Nairobi. Then the real safari could begin.

The following morning we made our way south towards Amboseli National Park. I have visited the park many times during the dry season, but it is honestly so depressing to see the death and struggling animals at that time of year. This time the park was so green and filled with life, which was a total 180 from my previous trips.

With plenty of rain and food to eat, the animals of Amboseli are enjoying the good times

The landscape during this time of year is totally different than during the dry season

With so much green, the wildlife real contrasts nicely

The real objective this time though was for one very specific type of photo: elephants in front of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The mountain never plays nice for photographers, but the tricky part is actually finding elephants to put in front of the mountain. Call it destiny or fate or whatever you want, but by some miracle every single day in Amboseli the mountain was out perfectly, and every single day I got my elephant photos. I think I can never got back to Amboseli because nothing will ever top these shots for me.

One of the most magical photos I've ever taken

Every morning the mountain came out and every morning so did the elephants

The hits just kept coming. This time with a hot air ballon!

I couldn't script the scene any better than this

My time in Amboseli was just next level. I seriously believe that I'll never be able to top this, and should probably go buy a lottery ticket now.

It was time to say goodbye to the elephants though, and we headed to the border to cross into Tanzania. This was my first time in Tanzania, and I was excited to see how it compared to some other safari destinations that I'd been to.

The first stop on the trip was of course to the Ngorongoro Crater. It is a one of a kind type of place, and really felt like a Garden of Eden. An ancient volcanoes that erupted and collapsed into itself, forming a paradise for wildlife? Words can't even do it justice so pictures will have to do!

Early foggy mornings add to the atmosphere of the descent to the crater floor. You never know what you'll find

Any photo you take has the crater rim as a backdrop

Lake Magadi is a huge soda lake in the Crater, which makes it perfect for flamingoes

Most elephants here are bulls, which seemed small compared to the expanse of the Crater

One of the rarest animals to find here is the black rhino. Incredibly shy, but still amazing to see at a distance

A full day in the Crater was fantastic in my opinion. You can technically drive around the whole thing in about 2 hours, but every sighting you have has the giant rim in the background which really shows a sense of scale.

After our day in the Crater, it was time to visit the most famous of all parks: the Serengeti.

We made our way to the central Serengeti, where we would be exploring the famous Seronera area. Everyone has envisioned the Serengeti at one point: elephants and zebra and giraffe everywhere! With lions and cheetahs ready to pounce around every corner! But when we got there, it was like nobody was home. There might be a giraffe or two, maybe an odd elephant here and there, but otherwise the whole place was like a ghost town. We had to drive almost 2 hours away to find a cheetah that someone called on the radio, and on our last day we found a few lions, but otherwise it was probably the quietest safari I'd ever been on.

We would often come across crowded hippo pools, with some very angry residents

With wildlife hard to come by, I was able to play around with some landscape photography

The main highlight proved to be this cheetah that had hunted a gazelle. It was 2 hours away but worth the trip

Wildlife was very scare, and outside of a few elephants most game drives ended with few photos

This male lion on our last full day in the park made for a great portrait

Disappointing isn't quite the word to use, because being in the Serengeti is still such a beautiful and magical experience. Photographically though, I think maybe it didn't quite live up to expectations. It just means that I'll have to come back at some point, and hopefully have better luck then!

We decided to exit the Serengeti via the Gol Kopjes area. Historically this has been a research area for cheetahs, but it is open to visitors at an additional cost. And thank goodness that we did because this was what I had in mind when I was planning a trip to the Serengeti! Huge rock formations, endless short grass plains with wildlife everywhere! There were mega herds of wildebeest and zebra, and we were finding big cats with zero work. Lions on rocks, cheetahs just hanging out, quintessential Serengeti.

The day started with these two male lions which made their way to lay in the sun on some kopjes

Gol Kopjes is what people think of when they imagine the Serengeti

We also stumbled across tens of thousands of wildebeest and zebra

This area has one of the highest density of cheetahs in all of Africa

Every kopje seemed to have lions on them

With fluffy clouds it made for some dramatic photos

After spending much of the day in Gol Kopjes, it was time for the finale of the trip in the Southern Serengeti area known as Ndutu. Ndutu is generally where the big herds of wildebeest come to give birth, and while we were probably a few weeks late to see that, it's still an incredibly productive game viewing area. With woodlands, marshes, and open plains, Ndutu is very different than the rest of the Serengeti. Plus the ability to off road makes it a photographers paradise. Every day we saw lions, and on the days when we ventured to the plains we always saw the big herds and several cheetah. It was a fantastic place to visit, and I'm glad that we saved the best for last.

The ability to off road in Ndutu allowed for perfect photographic positioning

The woodlands here was the perfect habitat for giraffes. Also for leopards but we never saw them

The smaller residents deserve love too. Like this chameleon who took forever to cross the road

I've seen secretary birds before, but never had any solid photos until now!

The Big Marsh area was perfect for finding lions in the morning

I got to practice some panning photography with the huge herds of wildebeest that were often run by

With the herds coming to give birth, there is also sometimes death. But that gives life for others like this tawny eagle

Endless herds of wildebeest as far as the ey can see

Ndutu is famous for some of the more rare African animals. Like this African wild cat which I had never seen before

The short grass plains are the perfect hunting grounds of cheetahs, which we saw several times

The resident lions here also know how to climb trees. You think you've seen a leopard when really it's a giant lion!

With plenty to eat, these cubs have lots of opportunities to play and enjoy themselves

What an adventure! 3 different countries, 5 or 6 national parks depending on who you ask, and several thousand photos later, I can honestly say that this was an ultimate East Africa trip. I'm so happy that I finally got to see gorillas, get my dream shots of elephants and Mt. Kilimanjaro, see the big cats of the Serengeti, and so much more. I know that I definitely need to come back, because there is a lot left to see in places like the Serengeti, but that's for another trip. For now though, I need a little break because that was exhausting! Until my next safari that is!