Travel reviews by Mr J from Ridgewood

The actual Masai Mara was problematic. I do think you need to warn guests a little more ardently about high season in the Mara. There were probably about 100 cars all battling to watch the wildebeest crossing at the river. We waited for almost 2 hours under the scorching sun to watch them go.

Every time they were about to go down so jerk would start their car ignition and spook them from crossing - EVERY SINGLE TIME. There were even cars trying to corral them down into the gorge which only scared them more. I have photos and videos of this debacle to share if you like, though there is a lot of profanity coming from my fellow safari goers at the frustration of the moment. I also think you should open up a discussion with the guides you work with in Kenya because there has to be a better way.

On the way home I met people whose guides took them to the river at the end of the day as the park was closing. They said there were only four cars and they had SPECTACULAR footage of thousands of wildebeest crossing the river, taken in almost total privacy as everyone had started to go home by that time. When something is crowded, in Africa or anywhere else, you have to plan around that and go either BEFORE or AFTER the crowds. We went at 10am and burned our whole morning waiting because EVERYONE else in the park was there at that time waiting too. It showcases the worst aspect of tourism (crowds, pushiness etc) and kills the experience.

This is a comment just for the river crossing aspect, the rest of the day was pretty good.