Join award winning photographer Donna Bourdon for an amazing safari adventure to the Maasai Mara National Reserve and Amboseli.. The Mara is an area of preserved savannah wilderness in southwestern Kenya, along the Tanzanian border. It is home to the famous Big Five ( lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and buffalo). But more importantly, it is one of the most famous and significant wildlife conservation and wilderness areas in Africa. It is also noted for its exceptional populations of African leopard, large prides of lion and cheetah. A visit to the Mara pretty much guarantees multiple sightings daily of big cats. Of course, elephant, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, rhino, hippos and more can be photographed as well. For a full species list CLICK HERE.

Unlike many other game parks in Africa and around the world, we do not face restrictions on when we can leave and return to the camp. Even more important is that for the most part, we can drive off-road in the area of the Mara that we are staying in. The plan for most mornings is to leave before sunrise to locate the animals that we want to photograph before the sun comes up. Many of the cats are most active in the very early morning. Usually we will try to locate the cats that we have been with the previous evening. The guides have radios in all the vehicles such that on occasion, we may split up. Our guides are in radio contact with drivers from other camps and lodges as well. This gives us a good chance to get to wildlife encounters quickly assuming they are occurring near to our existing location. Most days, when the sun is hot and the light is too bright we will go back to camp, download our images, relax over a cool beverage and spend time preparing for the afternoon safari drive.

Amboseli is famed for its large elephant herds. It is one of only two places in the world where you can still find big tuskers, ie elephants with enormous tusks that touch or almost touch the ground. Another attraction of Amboseli are the backdrops against which we hope to find and photograph the elephants – the distant snow covered peak of Mount Kilimanjaro on clear mornings and the flat, dry bed of Lake Amboseli. Other highlights are the large giraffe population which we hope to photograph on the dry lake bed. Amboseli has a healthy lion and cheetah population as well as abundant bird life.

Vehicles

We will use stretch/modified Toyota Land Cruisers. There will be three rows of seats in each vehicle so that each person has a row to themselves. That way everyone can shoot unencumbered irrespective of what side of the vehicle the action is taking place.

The vehicles are designed so that you can shoot out of the sides or standing, out of the top. The top of the vehicles have two roof hatches which we remove at the start of each day (they rest on the top of the vehicles next to the openings such that they can put back on if it rains or if we need shade.

The side of the vehicles comprise either large roll down windows or roll up, transparent canvass sides. Again, we roll these canvass side up before we go out each day but if it rains, they can quickly be rolled down.

Included

Accommodations on shared basis, unless a single supplement is requested and available.

All meals once we get to our camp.

Private charter flight to the Mara

Guaranteed row and window seat in a private 4X4 land cruiser

Park fees

Bottled drinking water in safari vehicles

Not Included

International flights

Visa

Travel and Medical insurance

Personal purchases (including shopping, spirits, laundry, internet fees, phone calls, etc)

Accommodations before or after the tour

Tips for drivers/guides/camp-approximately $400.00 per participant.

*A detailed information sheet will be sent upon sign up.

Deposit Information: A non-refundable deposit of $2,000 due now to hold your spot. Final payments are due January 15, 2025 via check or wire transfer only, fees on both ends are the responsibility of the participant. Credit cards will not be accepted for any payment other than deposit. Full payments are always welcomed via check or wire transfer . All checks made payable to: Denise Ippolito LLC. Please note that I will do my very best to secure you a room mate; if I am unable to secure you a room mate then you will be charged for a single supplement.

Please be sure to check your calendar carefully and to check out my Workshop Policy Page.

Note: Purchasing travel insurance is strongly recommended.

*A single supplement is available for $1300.00 additional-limited availability.