First mornings in the Mara

This is a dream trip I saved for a long time. I’m traveling with a small group and a guide who has been at this for thirty years. I’m going to post a few of these from the Mara over the next week as I have data.

Day one got us two lion sightings — a young male at the river crossing and a whole pride with cubs in the afternoon. The afternoon pride had maybe fourteen animals visible including three cubs that were almost too cute to photograph seriously. I tried, anyway.

I expected to spend all my time on big mammals but the birds keep grabbing me. Lilac-breasted Rollers are just showing off. Superb Starlings look like they were designed by a tile-maker. A Tawny Eagle held a thornbush perch for most of a morning and let us drive right up.

The light here is not like anywhere I’ve photographed. Dust takes the edge off mid-day and turns the golden hour into something genuinely golden. I’ve been shooting wider than usual to keep landscape in the frame with the animals.

Wildlife doesn’t care about you at all here, which is exactly right. The point is not to approach them, and our guide is strict about it.