Masai Mara Predator Safari
This Africa wildlife photography safari includes a Masai Mara photo safari to experience the great plains of Kenya and a ‘best Amboseli photo safari‘ extension. This is the best Africa wildlife photography tour for you!
Book your spot now by filling in the form at the end of this page.
Only space for 3 photographers.
Scroll down to see the guest testimonials at the bottom of this page. Watch a YouTube video from this safari, made with my iPhone.
A Signature Experience
Africa wildlife photography tour: This Masai Mara photo safari is different to all others because African wildlife photographer, Greg du Toit, has specifically designed this itinerary for you to experience the most beautiful parts of the Masai Mara Game Reserve. This is an exceptional and classic Kenya photo safari with a ‘best Amboseli photo safari‘ extension easily added on. This Amboseli photo safari extension can be added either before or after your Masai Mara safari.
Greg has been photographing in the Masai Mara for many years. Long before Africa wildlife photography tours became popular, he used to camp in various parts of the reserve on his own. For this special safari, Greg has designed a photo itinerary that takes you to the parts of the reserve where he used to camp, enabling you to experience the true wonder and freedom of East Africa’s great plains. To do this you will stay in two camps; one in a forest on the banks of the Mara River and the other, a special luxury mobile camp erected specifically for this Kenya photo safari and in the most beautiful and remote part of the reserve.
Almost all other Kenya photographic safaris take place in a single location, on the periphery of the reserve and inside a conservancy. While you can easily add a 3 night extension to the Naboisho conservancy when filling out the form at the end of this page, this signature Masai Mara photo safari takes you to the very heart of the Masai Mara reserve and to the far-flung corners, where you will enjoy a true ‘great plains of East Africa’ photographic experience.
This exclusive Africa wildlife photography safari has space for only 3 photographers and you can easily extend your safari by doing any of the following 7 exciting ‘best Kenya photo safari‘ extensions (includes a big tusker photo safari).
Masai Mara Predator Safari Details
This is a 7 night (8 day) Masai Mara photo safari and includes the first night in a boutique hotel in Nairobi.
Extend your safari easily with a 3 night Naboisho conservancy, ‘best Amboseli photo safari‘, gorilla photography tour, Northern Kenya photo safari, Chimpanzee photo safari, Ruaha photographic safari or a Laikipia photography safari and make this a ‘best Kenya photo safari‘.
- Masai Mara Signature Predator Safari
- ON REQUEST ONLY
- The cost and dates of this safari will depend on whether you are traveling alone or in a group, and if you choose to do any of the safari extensions listed at the bottom of this page and can be customized to your unique tastes.
The rates for your Africa wildlife photo safari includes all accommodation in Hemingways, Il Moran Camp and Angama Safari Camp; meals; laundry; drinks (excluding premium brands and selected wines); park fees; internal flights; meet and greet service with transfers; an additional luggage allowance; private safari drives with exclusive vehicle use; photographic tuition and the guiding services of professional African wildlife photographer Greg du Toit.
Not included in the cost of your Africa wildlife photography tour are visas; purchases of a personal nature; staff gratuities; personal travel and medical insurance; your international flights and adhoc activities not included on the itinerary like hot air balloon rides.
40% deposit confirms your booking on this Masai Mara photo safari. Spaces available for a total of 3 photographers on this exclusive safari. The above cost applies if the safari is fully booked with 3 participants.
All the ‘best Kenya photo safari‘ extensions to this Masai Mara photo safari, including the 3 night Naboisho conservancy, big tusker photography tour, Rwanda gorilla photography tour, trekking chimpanzees in Mahale, Laikipia photo safari, Ruaha photo safari, and the Northern Kenya flamingo photo safari are costed and booked on a private basis. Enquire about doing any extension or combination of extensions and make your safari the best private Africa photo safari by filling out the booking form at the end of this page.
Masai Mara Predator Safari Itinerary
Overnight in Karen
After being met at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, your Africa wildlife photo safari begins as you are driven into the leafy suburbs of Karen. You will settle in to your luxury boutique hotel, just across the road from where Karen Blixen had her coffee farm. There is of course WiFi to let your loved ones know you have arrived safely.
Special note: To get from the airport to your hotel, we take the southern bypass, so we do not go into Nairobi city at all on this safari.
Masai Mara Game Reserve
After breakfast we transfer to a small airport out of town, called Wilson, for our flight to the great plains of the Masai Mara Game Reserve. An extra luggage allowance is included in the cost of this Kenya photo safari and for more on what equipment to bring, see the bottom of my Safari FAQ page.
A short 40 minute flight on a scheduled charter will see you land on an airstrip in the heart of the Masai Mara Game Reserve. From the airstrip you will enjoy a short safari drive of approximately 15 minutes to our base camp for the next three nights.
Arriving at camp in time for lunch, you will be escorted to your very spacious luxury safari tent which has a private verandah, ensuite bathrooms and twin basins. Your camp is situated deep inside a beautiful riverine forest on the Mara River where the birdlife is prolific. Situated on this famous river in the heart of the reserve, you will literally feel your city stresses dissolve.
Located in the middle of the Masai Mara Game Reserve and in the middle of famous predator territories, like the Marsh Pride, you will spend the next few days exploring the incredible great plains of the Masai Mara. By basing ourselves in the heart of the reserve on this Kenya photo safari, we have no gate times to contend with and we are surrounded by 360 degrees of the best photographic opportunities in Africa. We are able to access the entire reserve, including the remoter parts, ensuring you get the full Masai Mara experience. With only three photographers onboard, you have maximum freedom to photograph out the left and the right, as we seek out unique thrilling photographic opportunities and lots and lots of predators.
Taking packed breakfasts with us allows us to follow predators hunting without needing to rush back to camp. You will indulge in some of the finest predator photography on offer anywhere in Africa and indeed in the world, as you photograph a wide array of predator sightings on your Kenya photo safari. It is not unusual to find a jackal den close to camp and the vast plains behind camp are dotted about with lone umbrella-shaped trees, making for a quintessential picture of Africa!
The Masai Mara is the photography mecca of Africa and on this Africa wildlife photography tour you will feel like you have stepped into a wildlife documentary.
Greg knows the Masai Mara intimately and will take you to the heart of the action and to the seldom seen far-flung and beautiful corners of the reserve, where you will enjoy a fine wilderness experience and be blown away by the beauty of Africa’s great plains.
Masai Mara Private Camp
A morning safari drive will take you to our next camp which is a luxury mobile camp that has been especially erected for you. You are now experiencing an Africa wildlife photography safari like Hemingway did! Your camp faces the great plains of East Africa and these are the most beautiful plains to be found in both the Masai Mara and the Serengeti reserves. You will receive a full safety briefing as, without any fences, predators roam freely. You did sign up for a predator safari right?
Your home for the next 3 nights is this intimate and superbly comfortable mobile camp on the great plains of East Africa. This juxtaposition of camp locations, moving from the river to the plains, means that you will get the full Masai Mara experience with the associated photographic opportunities.
You will enjoy your meals alfresco on the great plains. The food is yummy and all cooked in the traditional safari style.
The photography is especially exciting in this part of the reserve as not only are predators abundant but the plains are exquisitely beautiful, offering you a chance to capture your animals in their environment. With the escarpment behind and the plains in front, dotted with umbrella-shaped trees, you can elevate your portfolio, making this a special Masai Mara photo safari that is different to all others.
There are no gate times to adhere to, nor are there long traveling distances as our camp is inside the beating heart of the reserve. Incredible sunsets, lone trees and Africa’s iconic animals on grassy plains are the order of the day! This is the Africa of your dreams.
Sitting close to the campfire at night, you will enjoy the starry African sky and a delicious dinner. Once safely escorted to your tent by your Maasai watchman, you will be lulled asleep by the sounds of the African night, including a possible roar from a lion.
Depart home or continue on with an extension…
For those of you not staying on in the Mara to do 3 nights in the Naboisho Conservancy, a last safari drive ends at the camp’s airstrip and a short 45 minute schedule charter will take you from the Masai Mara back to Wilson Airport, where transfers are pre-arranged to Jomo Kenyatta International, for your onward travel home. This is officially the end of your Africa wildlife photography safari but if you not ready to go home keep reading about exciting ways to extend your safari as an Amboseli photo safari is only a short flight away.
If you are not ready to go home, then the good news is that there are no fewer than 6 exciting ‘best Kenya photo safari‘ extensions for you to choose from, including a ‘best Amboseli photo safari‘, mountain gorilla photo safari, Laikipia photography safari, Greystoke chimpanzee, Tanzania Ruaha photo safari, and Lake Logipi flamingo photo safari. Book your extension to your Masai Mara photo safari by filling out the enquiry form at the bottom of the page.
See the Masai Mara photo safari portfolio below and click on any image to enlarge.
Your photographic possibilities on this safari
Why this Masai Mara photo safari is the safari for you…
– This Masai Mara photo safari is different to any other photo itinerary in that you stay in two different camps and in two very different locations. This means that you will see, explore and photograph both sides of the Mara River and will experience and photograph the entire reserve, including iconic plains and far-flung corners. By changing locations on this Africa wildlife photography safari your exposure to both differing landscapes and predators, who are very territorial, increases drastically. Your photographic portfolio on this photo safari will include predators as well as animals in their environment.
– This safari itinerary gives you access to the entire Masai Mara national reserve. Make this the ultimate ‘mara safari’ by adding 3 nights at the Naboisho community conservancy. This gives you a sublime 9 night itinerary covering all corners of the ecosystem.
– This is not a big group Africa wildlife photography tour where your professional photographic tutor moves between safari trucks. On this Kenya photo safari there is only one truck and the same professional photographer will host and guide you for every safari drive.
– Where else in Africa can you potentially photograph lion, cheetah, leopard, serval, hyena, foxes and jackals? Not to mention all the other iconic animals of Africa in a beautiful setting on this Africa wildlife photo safari.
– With expansive scenery this Masai Mara photo safari takes you to the Africa of your dreams, an Africa teaming with wild animals, open plains and predators. This is the tour for you, so sign up now by filling in the booking form at the end of this page.
– With only 3 photographers on this Kenya photo safari you will receive help, guidance and advice on camera settings whilst on safari and back in camp. Greg has a complete photo workshop on his laptop so you can request lessons on any and very aspect of wildlife photography. The same applies on the Amboseli photo safari extension.
– You will be staying in two strategically located safari camps on this Africa wildlife photography safari: The 1st camp is in the heart of the reserve on the Mara River and also in the heart of numerous overlapping predator territories. The 2nd camp is a private mobile camp allowing you to photograph the predators and other iconic wildlife on the great plains of the Masai Mara. This camp has been specifically chosen so that you can photograph and experience the finest grass plains in all of East Africa. A private mobile safari camp is by far the best way to do an Africa wildlife photo safari.
– This Kenya photo safari is timed to coincide with the time of year when the migration has left. Not only are the tourist masses also gone but the predators are super hungry and active, making this one of the best Africa wildlife photography tours to do.
– The amount of general plains game like zebra, giraffe, gazelles, elephant, buffalo, hippo, warthog, jackal, eland, dikdik, kongoni (the list goes on and on) are in such abundance on this Africa wildlife photo safari that you will experience and photograph the absolute wildlife mecca of Africa. If you love elephants, then don’t miss the Amboseli photo safari extension!
– Because the wildlife sightings are so abundant and varied on this Masai Mara photo safari, we could not expect you to leave any lenses behind. For this reason, we have booked an extra luggage seat for the flight in and out of the Masai Mara.
– This is no ordinary Africa wildlife photography tour as the location of our camps allow us to access parts of the reserve where tourists are largely absent and where you can experience the Mara in more privacy and seclusion.
– This Kenya photo safari offers you freedom, exclusivity and personalised photographic tuition that larger scheduled tours cannot. With only 3 people on the safari your photography will be unhindered, more creative and will yield better results.
– This Masai Mara photo safari is tailor-made to suit wildlife photographers and it guarantees you a portfolio of dynamic imagery.
– Photographers of all levels are welcome on this Masai Mara photo safari and you will receive expert tuition based on your level of experience. If you would like a ‘camera refresh’ you can book the Amboseli photo safari extension before your Masai Mara safari.
– Non-photographing partners will LOVE this Kenya photo safari as the camps are luxurious and the experience is truly ‘Out of Africa’. Add any one of 6 extensions to your safari to make this an absolute best Africa wildlife photography tour.
– Amboseli photo safari extension: Enjoy splendid views of the magnificent Mount Kilimanjaro, as you explore two private concessions in the famous Amboseli National Park on an Amboseli photo safari (offered as an extension to this safari).
– Diane Fossey Gorilla extension: Track Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda on a Gorilla photo safari. You will go to the same gorilla descendants and areas that Diane Fossey did in her famed Gorillas in the Mist. Rwanda is just a one hour flight from Nairobi so why not make this the ultimate Africa wildlife photography safari! You can also carry on to the Mahale Mountains in Tanzania to photograph chimpanzees and make this the ultimate Great Ape photo safari.
– Photograph rhino, Reticulated Giraffe and Grevy’s Zebra on the highland plateau of Laikipia (also offered as an extension to this safari). This is the most popular extension on offer and and turns your safari into the best private African photography safari. See Run Rhino Run and On Wobbly Legs, photographed on this extension.
– If you want to experience and photograph Pink Africa on a Lake Bagoria flamingo photo safari then this can also be booked as an extension to your Africa wildlife photography tour making it a ‘best East Africa private photographic safari‘.
– You will be personally hosted and guided by professional African wildlife photographer Greg du Toit on this Africa wildlife photography tour. He has worked in the Masai Mara for 18 consecutive years now and photographed on assignment in the Masai Mara for the National Geographic Channel. He will also guide on your Amboseli photo safari and other extensions helping to make this a ‘best Africa wildlife photography safari‘.
– No fewer than 6 exciting extensions are offered to make this the very best Masai Mara photo safari. Book your place now by filling in the form at the bottom of the page. Space for only 3 photographers on the Masai Mara photo safari and all extensions booked on a ‘per request’ basis. Enquire about any extension when filling in the form below.
* Still got questions? See the FAQ I wrote about African photographic safaris.
East Africa Extensions
Guest Testimonials