Mara North Conservancy in October
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Mara North Conservancy in October
We were about to settle on an all Kenyan safari for August 2018 when we found out that our friends whom we're traveling with can't go until Sept 28-October 11. We would find ourselves at the Mara North Conservancy the end of the first week in October when we might have missed the Great Migration. Is it still worth it to go there at that time knowing we may or may not time it right? Our loop would include Kalama Conservancy, Lewa Conservancy, ending in Mara North. They all look fantastic! Thanks!
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Tough call. You may want to drop Kalama (which will have the least animals of the places you are going) and add Singita Mara River Tented Camp OR Serengeti Bushtops OR Nomad Lamai. All three are on the far north of the Serengeti near the Kenya border and by having six days in the area (three on Kenya side and three on Tanzania side) your odds of seeing a crossing are going to go up. There was heavy crossing action late into October in the northern Serengeti last October.
Also, the three aforementioned camps are all right by the Mara River (Singita is 100 yards away). You can spend all three days looking for crossings vs. Mara Plains which will take you into the reserve on one of three days per stay.
If you are serious about crossings, perhaps stay at Serian Nkorombo Mobile and Serian Mobile Lamai for three nights each and have Alex Walker, the owner, private guide you. Look at Serian Nkorombo on the Google Maps. It is right where the Mara and Talek River come together.
BUT - Mars Plains is FANTASTIC and almost always guarantees crossings in Aug/Sep. So far, I have never had a client go there and not see them in those two months.
I have been to all these places so shout if you have any questions.
Craig Beal
Also, the three aforementioned camps are all right by the Mara River (Singita is 100 yards away). You can spend all three days looking for crossings vs. Mara Plains which will take you into the reserve on one of three days per stay.
If you are serious about crossings, perhaps stay at Serian Nkorombo Mobile and Serian Mobile Lamai for three nights each and have Alex Walker, the owner, private guide you. Look at Serian Nkorombo on the Google Maps. It is right where the Mara and Talek River come together.
BUT - Mars Plains is FANTASTIC and almost always guarantees crossings in Aug/Sep. So far, I have never had a client go there and not see them in those two months.
I have been to all these places so shout if you have any questions.
Craig Beal
#3
I was in Mara North in February, also not migration season, and I saw over 60 unique big cats in 6 days on the ground. There are three resident lion prides in the Mara North Conservancy and the guides know where to find them. Leopard are fairly reliably spotted as are cheetah. For my third trip to the Mara, it was my best in terms of spotting the cats. Saw one lion pride on a hippo kill, a mom and cubs on a topi kill and saw a young adult cheetah take down a tommie. It was insanely active. Nothing is guaranteed, but when I go back to the Mara, I'm going back to Mara North. It abuts the Reserve, so if you feel the need to daytrip in, you can, but our game viewing was so lush that we didn't bother. Look into Offbeat Mara, they run a great camp, my favorite in the Mara so far.
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24Lisa
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Jul 29th, 2005 08:59 PM