Extrakt Travel GmbH - Betreute Fotosafaris in Afrika & weltweite Angelexpeditionen

Day 1 - Arrival in Nairobi, Kenya
The group will meet up at our hotel in Nairobi for a first night dinner and a chance to meet your hosts and fellow travellers. The hotel that we use has been chosen is for its position between the international airport where you will arrive and the domestic terminal of Wilson Airport which you depart to the Masai Mara from the following morning.

Day 2 - 7 - Flight into Mara and Game Drives

We head to Wilson airport early in the morning to board our private chartered flight to the Masai Mara. We have made the decision to charter all of our flights to maximise the time that we have and also to allow for extra baggage and camera gear for the group.

The flight takes approximately one hour and then we will land at Ol Okiombo airstrip where we will be met by our team of drivers and guides in the customised Pangolin game viewers. We have three vehicles with a maximum of four guests plus one guide in each. The photo hosts will rotate through the vehicles during the safari giving you a chance to learn and receive photo advise from each of them throughout the trip.

Our first five nights will be spent at Mara Bush Camp. Chosen for its location we will spend plenty of time out in the Masai Mara National Reserve photographing in the areas surrounding the camp. The location is ideal for getting to the wildebeest crossings for which the Mara is so famous. During our time at Mara Bush Camp you will also have the opportunity to photograph from the air in our private chartered helicopter. This was a real highlight on previous trips with some startling aerial images being taken from the one hour allocated to each person on the trip. Each one hour flight will be for two clients and one of our photo guides who will be seated behind you.

This first part of the trip will involve full day game drives which will prove very productive photographically. Lunches will be taken out in the field in between sightings.

Also included in the safari package is a hot air balloon flight along The Mara River. This form of flight is fantastic and a must-do so we have decided to included it in the itinerary for everyone on this trip. Photographing as we skip along the trees metres away from soaring vultures and other birds of prey is quite simply stunning. The control that pilots have is incredible and the Governors Balloons are the only ones that spend the majority of the flight directly over the Mara River. After we land in the Mara Triangle we are treated to a full champagne breakfast at the foot of the escarpment overlooking The Masai Mara. Its an awesome way to start the day

Day 7 - 10: Samburu

During our days in The Mara we will have covered nearly all of the photographic hotspots and crossings and have hundreds if not thousands of brilliant images and so we will move on to a very special reserve in the north of Kenya – Samburu. Again to save time we have chartered a private plane to fly us directly from The Mara to Samburu and the flight will take just under 2 hours.

Samburu is very different to The Mara and more similar in look and feel to the thorny bushveld of Southern Africa. Its is however the unique species of animals that draws us to this place as well as the beautiful Samburu people who call the magical region home.

Upon arrival we will take the short drive to our lodge Saruni Samburu. Built by a visionary Italian, Riccardo Orizio, on top of a rocky outcrop this lodge is one of the most stunning places we have ever been to. The rooms all have spectacular views over the surrounding reserve.

The animals of the Samburu are as exotic as the reserve itself with rare species like Reticulated Giraffe, Gerenuk and Grevy’s Zebra making for very unique subjects. The Samburu people who work in the reserve and lodge are the most charming, beautifully dressed and adorned people we have encountered and are more than happy to have their photos taken.

Time at Samburu will be spent photographing in the reserve, from the Saruni photo hide near the lodge and also doing more editing and post production in between. Saruni is a great way to end the trip in a more relaxed fashion…..it is a holiday after all!

Day 10: Departure

Sadly this is the end of the annual Mara and Samburu photo safari. Should you wish to extend your trip we can heartily recommend traveling onto the coast for some more R&R/editing time or perhaps even south towards The Chobe. Kenya Airways have regular flights from Nairobi to Livingstone in Zambia where you can see the mighty Victoria Falls and then transfer over to our houseboat on The Chobe River.