Masai Mara - A Photographers Paradise

The first time we went on safari, we (my husband and I) stayed in Little Governors camp for the full week but for this trip we stayed at two camps. For the first 3 nights we were in Governors Il Moran camp, which is on the banks of the Mara river and has easy access to the reserve. We always do a fly in safari as the journey takes hours by road.

It‘s a wonderful set up, with the restaurant and tents all overlooking the hippo filled river. As with a lot of camps in the area, it's unfenced so there is always a chance of wildlife appearing unexpectedly. This is especially common through the night when herds of elephants might move through or in our case, a hippo and her baby taking a nap beside our tent. Thankfully, there are guards on duty all the time so you never feel unsafe. The staff are truly excellent and can't do enough for you. They even cleaned our trainers, which were quite muddy thanks to the rain we had during our stay.

The food is incredible across all the Governors Collection camps we've stayed at. I'm vegetarian and it's well catered for in the meals cooked fresh for you. They even took care not to add any fresh coriander to my food (I have that gene that makes it taste awful)

We were delighted to be reunited with our guide from 2025, Koros, who we got on incredibly well with. The reunion was so exciting that we forgot to get our hand luggage off the plane and didn't realise until we got to camp, oops! We got them back by the time we went on our first game drive that afternoon.

It goes without saying that the Masai Mara is an incredible place to go on safari. There's an abundance of wildlife with it being home to the big 5. We saw them all in 2025 but didn't see any leopards or rhino this year but that's the reality of safari, nothing is guaranteed.

The iconic Marsh Pride, which were heavily featured on Big Cat Diary ( a BBC documentary from the 90's) hold a territory close to camp and we had a couple of great encounters with them this year. Over the first couple of days we spent a lot of time with them, with the pride having killed a buffalo. We first saw them with it after two days and it was well past its expiry date by then. Smelling a two day old buffalo carcass is not something I'd like to repeat! It was down to the bones and the lion cubs were keeping themselves entertained by playing with its tail. I went back a day later and all that remained were the skull and spine but the clean up crew were on the way i.e. vultures.

Having watched countless documentaries, it does feel quite surreal to be driving through through the reserve and all of a sudden you're watching a herd of elephants and they're just there in front of you. It's quite hard to comprehend or describe. One of the benefits of doing a safari is the radio communication between guides. This means if something exciting is happening you're more likely to find out about it. Saying that, there can be problems with the number of vehicles around certain sightings and it is somewhat managed by the rangers. After one uncomfortable encounter with a leopard (in 2025) and how other guides were behaving we made our way out the area. My main priority when watching wildlife is the welfare of the animal and not causing any disturbance to them. Our guide was great and both of these images are from encounters where we were lucky enough to be the only vehicle there. It was a much more enjoyable experience.

It's also a dream location if you're a birder (like me!) There's up to 500 species of birds in the Masai Mara and I suspect we've barely scraped the surface of what we could see. From the tiny malachite kingfishers to the martial eagle and everything in between. It did make chuckle to see a common sandpiper on the back of a hippo knowing that in just a few months I'd see them on the shores of Mull.

I'd followed the Governors Camp on Instagram for a long time and they were my first choice when I went to Kenya in 2025. Due to the prime location on the banks of the Mara River, the camps are in an ideal spot to thoroughly explore the area with your excellent guide. It's so good in fact that film camera crews are known to stay there, including for the recent Disney documentary - Lion. If you're looking for a small camp with incredible service, wonderful staff, and a luxury holiday - you wouldn't go wrong with the Governors Camp Collection.

What photography equipment did I take with me?

Canon R6 and R6mkii

Canon RF 100-500

Canon RF 70-200 (hired)

Canon 1.4x TC (also hired)

Please note, when doing a fly in safari you are restricted to a 15kg luggage allowance, which includes your hand luggage. It has to be in a soft bag, with no wheels. The camp has a laundry so pack sensibly but know you can get your clothes cleaned.