Guests staying at Angama Mara are faced with many choices of how they wish to spend their day. Sunrise hot-air balloon safaris, photographing Africa’s abundant wildlife, walking on the edge of the Great Rift Valley, or visiting a Maasai family in their home – these are just a few of the adventures on offer.

 

The Migration

The question is often asked, ‘when is the best time to visit the Mara?’ To be truthful, there is not one correct answer, as safari travellers to the Mara are assured of astonishing and abundant wildlife sightings all year round.

 

For guests wanting to experience the Great Migration and the dramatic crossings of the Mara River, July through September or October are the best months to visit. Others prefer a gentler time with less visitors and have the Mara all to themselves – together with the numerous resident herds which quite rightly do not deem it necessary to leave this beautiful reserve by embarking on the annual trek to Tanzania.

 

Although the Maasai Mara is especially renowned for its prides of lions (including the Angama Pride, just below the lodge), the other members of Africa’s Big Five – leopard, elephant, buffalo and black rhino – are also regularly sighted, together with hyena, jackal, cheetah and the bat-eared fox, and of course the Mara River is home to numerous pods of hippo and some of Africa’s largest crocodiles. Great photographic opportunities present themselves with topi standing perched on anthills, Maasai giraffe moving gracefully across the plains, and both Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles grazing peacefully amongst Coke’s hartebeest, impala and herds of lovely eland, the continent’s largest antelope.

 

The Mara Triangle is also home to more than 470 bird species, including almost 60 raptors such as vultures and martial eagles. Surely the loveliest of them all has to be the graceful crowned crane, always found in pairs, together with secretary birds, lilac-breasted rollers, long-crested eagles, superb starlings, pygmy falcons and endangered ground hornbills to name just a few.

 

Angama Mara’s experienced guides make every effort to deliver life-changing wildlife adventures for their guests, be it for first timers, birding enthusiasts, photographers of all skill levels, or safari devotees whose great joy is just to simply be amongst Africa’s creatures, both great and small.

 

Game Drives

Without wanting to turn the traditional game drive completely on its head, the Angama Mara guiding team felt it might be time to shake things up a little: the team struck on the idea of crafting game drives around the guest.

 

Guests are asked where they have been; what they have seen; what their great passions are; what they would like to do and when they would like to do it; and for how long they would like to be on a game drive at any one time – and game drives are structured accordingly.

 

The pace is a little slower here because all of Angama Mara’s guests come to East Africa to see game, and game there is a-plenty. They might start their safari in the Mara and want to do many game drives; they might come here in the middle of their journey and do a little less game viewing; or they might end their adventure at Angama Mara and only go down into the Reserve to find something they might not have seen.

 

One fact for certain is that the Mara Triangle consistently delivers twelve months of the year – so one can afford to take things a little slower, and enjoy a much more flexible day on safari no matter what time of year.

 

A Day on Safari

Guests could leave the lodge at dawn, or decide to go on a game drive after breakfast, descend down Angama Mara’s private road and 10-minutes later find themselves in the heart of the action – surrounded by more animals than they could imagine: the vast grasslands dotted with acacias are home to abundant herds, as well as Africa’s Big Five – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo.

 

Safaris are conducted in the lovely Mara Triangle, open from sunrise to sunset, and are in completely open game viewing vehicles to which the animals are well accustomed – the vehicles are specially equipped and converted, offering comfy seats, ample legroom, charging stations and canvas roofs for respite from the sun.

 

Because the weather is so mild in the Mara, there are no constraints as to when to go on a game drive, and Angama Mara guests tailor-make their safari days: out early and back for breakfast; out early with a picnic breakfast and back for lunch; out after breakfast with a picnic lunch and back mid-afternoon; a post lunch game drive and back at sunset; or very best of all, spending a whole day exploring the Mara Triangle – with a picnic breakfast and lunch down at the Tanzanian border without a soul in sight – that’s an all-time favourite and a grand way to spend the day.

 

Something for Everyone

Angama Mara’s experienced guides tailor-make their guest’s safari days: first-timers to Africa will be guided differently to old-timers, and there are over 570-recorded species of birds which will keep birding enthusiasts busy. First and foremost, the guides are storytellers, and interpret the Mara in a way that immerses their guests in the surroundings: a safari at Angama Mara is about an overwhelming sense of place.

 

Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy the knowledge and companionship of more than one guide as their desired safari experience changes from day to day, and the guiding team will endeavour to match like-minded guests with each other: birders will go on safari with fellow birders, as will those with a keen interest in photography or another special interest.

 

A Rocking Chair Safari

Guests at Angama Mara can also enjoy the wonders of a safari without leaving the comfort of their deck: the views of the Mara from the tented suites are staggering – the sky never sits still and there is always something to spot 300m below – elephant families melting in and out of the forest, a thousand buffalo lazing about, giraffe stepping daintily down from the escarpment or a pod of hippo moving from one water body to the next.

 

All the tents are equipped with binoculars and there is a spotting scope in the guest area. There are heaps of resident game around the lodge: eland, zebra, giraffe, topi and impala; and watching the raptors soar effortlessly above and below you is a great way to while away the hours.

 

Hot Air Balloon

Enjoy one of the iconic experiences of Africa, floating gently over the Maasai Mara in a hot air balloon.

Wake before the dawn, with freshly brewed tea or coffee delivered right to your tent, and enjoy the fresh, early morning drive to one of the two launch sites within easy reach from the lodge.

 

The soft, early morning breeze takes the balloon southwards towards the Tanzanian border, with the typical flight path along the Mara River and its adjoining forest, and over the open plains beyond.

This is an unmatched safari – even the lions look up in surprise as one sails on by – and all the animals of the Mara are visible from the air.

 

A flight normally lasts around one hour, and ends with a sometimes-bumpy landing amidst the termite mounds, all part of the adventure. Once you’ve settled back to earth, toast the morning’s activities with a celebratory champagne breakfast – specially prepared under a tree in the middle of nowhere.

The perfect start to any day in the Mara, and for many, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

 

Walking Safaris - The Great Rift on Foot

Many guests choose to discover the Great Rift Valley on foot. Leaving Angama Mara and heading South along on the edge of the Oloololo Escarpment, Maasai Naturalists offer guided walks through lovely forests and open areas in-between. The birding up here, high above the Maasai Mara, is especially rewarding.

 

Guests learn the traditional ways of the Maasai people from the Naturalists: local legends, fables, traditions, customs, the medicinal use of plants, and are often treated to singing and dancing along the way. All the while, lovely views of the Mara 300m below offer glimpses of great herds of buffalo, or a solitary elephant melting into the forest.

 

Walking safaris at Angama Mara are tailor-made for every guest, and every fitness-level is taken into consideration. Depending on the time of day, and the length of walk, they can include picnic baskets, blankets, or even a lift back to the lodge. From a gentle 2-hour stroll to a full day’s walk, guests can choose exactly how they would like to discover the Rift Valley on foot.

 

Visit the Shamba - Discover the Beauty of this Garden

Kiswahili for vegetable garden, the Shamba is a much-loved experience for Angama Mara’s guests. Within easy walking distance of the lodge guests often stop by on their way to or from the Reserve. The shamba keepers welcome guests at the passionfruit arbor which forms the entrance and guide them through the 1-acre kitchen garden encouraging them to pick and taste along the way. The layout is reminiscent of snakes and ladders and the shamba keepers share the story behind its unique design. This is no ordinary vegetable patch.

 

The lodge offers private shamba-to-table lunches in the garden under towering shady moth trees. Guests are free to pick their own ingredients which are then washed and readied for the freshest salads imaginable. Butlers prepare a wicker basket filled with loaves of bread, local cheese and chilled rosé wine to accompany the salads. Guests are left to while away the afternoon taking in sweeping views of the Mara below whilst watching the butterflies dance through the garden.

 

In the Heart of Maasailand

There are many moments during a guest’s stay when they can interact with the Maasai people, both at Angama Mara and in a neighbouring village. In and around the lodge, guests will spend time with Maasai staff, as the majority of the people who work here come from local communities; and guides, naturalists, the baker, and a camp manager are all Maasai.

 

Every evening at sunset, Maasai warriors perform in the lodge’s traditional brush-packed boma and here, guests are able to not only photograph this time-honoured celebration of song and dance, but can also participate should they so wish.

 

In Angama Mara’s craft studio, guests can try their hand at Maasai craft, as skilled ladies bead bespoke items onto pieces of clothing, and we have also had the privilege of hosting Maasai weddings, vow renewals, Olympics, and even a Maasai Mitzvah for one lucky young guest.

 

In the heart of Maasailand, Angama Mara is surrounded by many traditional homestead manyattas that welcome travellers. Here, guests enjoy a rare opportunity of gaining a deeper understanding into the every day lives of the Maasai, their ways, their fascinating culture and what daily challenges they face in maintaining the fine balance between preserving their ancient ways and embracing the new.

 

Guests may freely photograph the family and their homesteads and buy beautiful traditional jewelry directly from the ladies who craft it.

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