Kenya 2022 Trip Report
- pscrimshaw
- Apr 28, 2023
- 8 min read
It was surprising for a lot of people to hear that I wanted to go back to Kenya literally one year after just being there. Why would you go back to the same places when there is a whole world out there to explore? For me though, I felt like I really didn't do Kenya right the previous year. I had just taken up photography and didn't feel like I knew what I was doing when looking back at my photos. That and I felt like I barely had enough time to enjoy each park that I had visited. So after a year of upgrading to the right gear, researching destinations, and actually practicing my photography, I was ready to head back to Kenya!
We begin our trip to the classic Amboseli, which had previously delivered some of my best photographic work to this day. Elephants were our obvious focus, and we came across so many different types of them in the short few days we were here. Individual mothers with babies, lone bull big tuskers, as well as huge herds walking across the dry landscape. I tried to work on my black and white shots, and found Amboseli to be a very easy place to practice this type of photography.
Surprisingly we didn't see any of the big cats, but I was 90% sure that we stumbled upon the rare black serval which was far off in the distance and too difficult to circle back to before we had to return back to camp. Even though Amboseli was a more general game experience this time around, it is still one of my favorites in all of Africa.
From Amboseli we began the long drive towards Samburu National Reserve, in the harsh frontier land of northern Kenya. I had not heard much of Samburu prior to planning this trip, but there was just something about animals struggling to survive in a desert like environment that just astounded me and made me have to include it on this trip. We finally entered the park in late evening just as light was fading, but our guide heard commotion on the radio and was so excited to get us to a sighting even though he refused to tell us what it was (probably in case we didn't find anything and would be left disappointed). Finally, we came across a young female leopard with an impala kill that led to some absolutely stunning photos. I had never seen a leopard before, so this was truly an amazing first experience. Unfortunately we had virtually no light to work with, so we headed back to camp and called it a day.
Unfortunately we couldn't find the leopard the following day, but we did get to experience the other amazing animals that call Samburu home. The Samburu Special 5, the beisa oryx, reticulated giraffe, Somali ostrich, Grevy's Zebra, and gerenuk were all here in abundance. We even spent several hours trying to photograph a striped hyena that kept popping out of his den, though with limited success.
Later that evening we came across a lioness with three subadult cubs, and were treated to some amazing golden light on the lions that was perfect photographically.
Samburu was just unlike any landscape that I had ever seen before, and in many ways it was a surprise that anything could even survive here. A terrible drought had been affecting the area, so the rivers were dry and the herbivories were struggling. Yet life persists. Even though I had never heard of Samburu before, it is easily the most underrated park in Africa.
From Samburu we headed back south to Ol Pejeta Conservancy. I hadn't seen any black rhinos on my previous trip to Kenya, and as a staple animal of East Africa I wasn't going to leave without seeing one. Ol Pejeta is probably the best place on earth to photograph rhino, so I was hoping for the best. Here we were treated to some amazing rhino encounters, both young white rhino calves with their mothers as well as solitary black rhinos that were still skittish around people despite being around them so often.
We even came across some young lion cubs playing, and it was fascinating to see lion pride dynamics between the cubs and the adults.
Ol Pejeta is also home to the last two northern white rhinos left in the world, and so we of course took the opportunity to meet the rhinos and their keepers to hear about the conservation work being done with the most endangered large mammal. It really is an emotional experience to be able to touch an animal that is one of the last of its kind, and a sobering tale of the effects that humans have played in their extinction.
Later that evening we got the chance to go on a night safari, which was a first for me. Photographically it is incredible challenging, but the experience alone was amazing. We got to see aardvark, striped hyena, civets, and even the lion pride from earlier roaring at night. Even if I didn't come away with too many photos, it was definitely a trip highlight.
The following morning, we set off for the Maasai Mara, but on the way out of Ol Pejeta we spotted two tiny bat-eared foxes running across the plains in the early morning light. I had never seen one before, but as nocturnal animals they were an extremely lucky find.
Afterwards, about 10 minutes from the conservancy exit we found an entire pride of lions feasting on a young zebra. Seeing how different lions interact at a kill was incredible to witness, and there wasn't a single other vehicle around us which made it even more special.
We eventually had to leave the lions otherwise we'd never make it to the Mara, but after a long drive we would finally arrive at the climax of the trip.
I had only spent around two days in the Mara on my last trip, and that simply wasn't enough photographically. This time we would be spending a week there, and boy was that the right decision.
After entering the reserve, we got word that the three remaining members of the Tano Bora cheetah coalition had made a wildebeest kill. After some time searching, we finally found them with full bellies, though the crowd of vehicles around them made the sighting a bit unpleasant. We decided to leave them there, and headed off towards a large acacia tree where a leopard had decided to perch up in the evening light. Again, the whole host of vehicles surrounding the secretive cat made me realize that the Mara wasn't going to be as quiet as Samburu or any of the other parks had been.
We woke up early the next morning for a hot air balloon ride, which can be a welcome break from all the game drives after over a week of safari. The Mara from above is always stunning, and sometimes it's better to just enjoy the experience rather than try to photograph it.
After landing and enjoying breakfast, we decided to check out the Mara River because a large herd of wildebeest was building up and was soon about to cross. River crossing can take hours to happen, but not even 20 minutes after we got there the herd decided to stampede down the banks of the river. And of course the 50 other safari vehicles rumbled after them to get into position to watch.
Eventually we decided to leave the crossing and just enjoy safari around the reserve. On our way back to the lodge, we found 3 young cheetahs that had just recently separated from their mother. Given the heat and time of day, we decided to leave them and follow them again in the evening, but they weren't too active then either.
The following morning is when things started to go wrong for me. I started to feel deathly ill, and while I speculated everything from migraines to Covid, I really believe that I was suffering from dehydration and heat stroke. The Mara wasn't overly hot, but I was definitely pushing my body hard and not drinking enough fluids which I believe led to me feeling so sick. I would basically lay in the back of the vehicle and only perk up for a big cat sighting over the next several days, which is not quite how I envisioned my week in the Mara to go.
Anyways, that first sick morning we set off to find the Topi Pride which was over 20 members strong. After searching for much of the morning, we finally found them laying down in the tall grass, which goes to show that these cats are so good at camouflaging that you could drive right past them and never see them. They weren't too active at that point, so we left them and found a female leopard that climbed back up a tree where she had stored a gazelle kill. When it seemed like she was done for the day, we headed back to camp when we found a female cheetah with 3 cubs enjoying the afternoon shade. The Mara was quickly delivering in terms of big cat sightings.
We hoped that the cheetahs would hunt in the evening, but unfortunately their prey would spot them fairly quickly and they didn't up being too successful.
The next few days all tended to be rather similar in terms photographic opportunities. Lions in the early morning, maybe brief leopard sighting, followed by cheetahs later on.
On our last day in the main reserve, we spotted two of the young independent cheetahs that we had seen earlier, and patiently waited for them to hunt. In the afternoon when lions and hyenas are less active, cheetahs have the best chance of hunting and getting to enjoy their kills. After almost 3 hours of the cheetahs stalking, being spotted, and then trying again, they finally managed to take down a young baby gazelle. I didn't even try to take photos because seeing the speed of a cheetah in person is just too incredible to bother trying to capture in a photo.
The next day we set off for the Mara Triangle, a more private area of the Maasai Mara with better regulations on guests and vehicle activity.
Here we were treated to a cheetah mother who had just taken her 4 tiny cubs out of their den a few days earlier. Even though they were far away to photograph, just seeing cubs that small was such a treat.
The following morning we searched for her again, but instead came across a big male lion with a bloody nose that probably had gotten into a fight the night prior. We left the lion, before realizing down the road a commotion had been stirred up. The male lion had actually walked right towards the mother cheetah, and she ran off to distract him away from her cubs. In the process, one of her cubs had gotten separated and she was anxiously calling and looking for it. We didn't personally see them reunite, but later on we would find out that all 4 cubs would be together safe and sound.
Later that evening we checked out one of the river crossing spots in the Mara Triangle where some wildebeest were standing quite nervously. A giant group of crocodiles were waiting below, but apparently one gazelle didn't get the message because it attempted to cross the river anyways. One gigantic crocodile literally dashed over the river rocks and snatched that gazelle right before it could make it to the other side. Seeing Mara crocodiles that were easily over a ton really made me realize that the dinosaurs never died out because they were right here ripping apart their prey. It was by far the craziest wildlife encounter of my life.
Finally, as the sun started to fade storm clouds began forming which led to a beautiful Mara rainbow. A black rhino mother and calf hidden in the bush would be one of our last sightings, before calling it a night in the Mara Triangle.
We would leave the Triangle and head back to Nairobi that evening, stopping for some lions and giraffes along the way. It had been another fantastic trip to the Mara, and truly demonstrated that no two trips are the same to that amazing place. Even though I just left, I can't wait to go back.
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