This was our 5th trip to Kenya, on our previous adventures we had visited multiple national parks this time we concentrated our visit on one, the Masai Mara.
Having followed for many years the Big Cat Dairies and the exploits of the Marsh Pride, I (Liz) wanted to stay at Governors Camp to be close to the big cat action!
Did we see any of the Big Cat stars? Read on to find out!
Before booking this trip Liz put together her intinerary and asked several UK based travel companies to provide quotes. The most compeitive rates and excellent customer service were provided by Cox & Kings so we booked our trailor-made trip with them.
Day 1 - Flight from UK direct (non-stop) to Nairobi - Eka Hotel
Day 2 - Flight from Wilson Airport to Masai Mara - Governors
Day 3 - Governors Camp
Day 4 - Governors Camp
Day 5 - Governors Camp
Day 6 - Governors Camp
Day 7 - Flight from Masai Mara to Nairobi - Eka Hotel day room
Day 8 - Flight from Nairobi to UK
The climate in the Masai Mara is pleasantly warm, with cool nights, all year round. The national park is located just south of the Equator at an altitude between 1,500 and 1,900 meters (5,000 and 6,200 feet). Temperatures are slightly higher from October to March, while they are slightly cooler from June to August. At night it can be cold, and the temperature can drop below 10 °C (50 °F), especially from June to August. There are two rainy seasons, one that lasts about six weeks and occurs from March to May (called "the long rains"), and the other that lasts about two weeks and occurs from October to December (called "the short rains") so there is no real dry season, though it rains less from June to September, and July is the driest month.
During our stay it was mostly hot and sunny with only one afternoon thunderstorm which ended our drive at 6pm.
Sunrise was around 6:15am and sunset was around 7:00pm during our March visit.
For this trip we took both our 7D Mark II’s & their 100-400mm Mark II lenses and the iPhone XS max (for landscape shots). We had to leave our landscape camera and lens at home to ensure we kept within the strict 15kg each weight limit.
We used the Rode Video-mic with one of the 7D MII cameras, it picked up the animals sounds really effectively and massively reduced any wind noise intrusion on sound quality.
We started off using the dry bags to help protect the cameras from dust but we had so many sightings we ended up putting them away. They came in useful the one late afternoon when it rained.
This summary review covers our tailor-made trip to Kenya and the Main Governors Camp experience.
Our tailor-made trip included travel from London to Nairobi 1 night at Eka Hotel, 5 nights at Main Governors Camp and a day room at Eka Hotel before our night flight back to London. Flights from Wilson Airport to Masai Mara and back again were also included.
We flew business class (Club World) with British Airways to & from Nairobi. The flight from Nairobi to Masai Mara was on a 12 seater Cessna plane.
Transfers between airports and hotels were arranged by Southern Cross, a local safari company - Jackson, our transfer driver was always ahead of the agreed pickup time.
For this tailor-made trip we paid an additional fee for exclusive use of a safari guide & vehicle.
Our safari guides was Duncan, Governors ensures you have the same guide throughout your stay so you can build up a good relationship with them and they can understand your needs. Obviously having exclusive use of a vehicle means additional cost, but what you get back from having every drive tailored to your wants more than makes up for it. Duncan was an excellent guide, he spotted wildlife other guides didn’t and ensured we had good views of everything always being considerate of the impact on the animals & others viewing. Importantly he understood about lighting and always positioned the vehicle to take advantage of the light. In addition he would make suggestions for different lighting that we probably wouldn’t have attempted. Most people came and went from the camp after two/three nights, having the extra nights allowed us to repeatedly visit the Marsh Pride and take advantage of different lighting. Duncan would also give us a heads up on what the animal was likely to do next (for example big cats yawning) giving us an opportunity to get ready and not miss the shot. It was clear he was passionate about the wildlife and he enjoyed watching the dramas that unfolded before us as much as we did.
Tip: We can’t state enough how valuable having a local guide is over having a ‘touring’ guide. Guides based at the camp you are staying at have much more knowledge than guides travelling between parks. They know where animals have been seen recently, they will have a network of other local guides they share information with, ensuring you don’t miss any good sightings others are having. You’ll spend a lot more time looking at your target animals than looking for them with a local guide.
Our room attendant was Peter, his job was to bring our morning wake-up drinks, keep the water hot and make up the room after each time we vacated the tent. The only time we physically saw him was when he brought our morning drinks. He did an excellent job of looking after our ‘room’.
Our waiter was Anthony and drinks waiter Augustine, as with our safari guide, they looked after us for our full stay. They were great at remembering our wants and needs and we got into a good routine with them.
The accommodation was in a permanent tent, with private shower, sink, toilet & bidet. Whilst by no means luxurious, it was comfortable and tastefully decorated (see the trip report for photos). Our tent was located next to the river and you could look over the river’s edge and see hippos, crocs, birds and monkeys. The room had the added bonus of a drinking water tap, a first for us in a country that you usually have to use bottled water to brush your teeth.
In Kenya the power sockets are all UK type - the room had a power point with three sockets (which you could use other plug types in (see the photo in our trip report)) it also had six USB charge points. The voltage is 240v.
The usual pattern of each day was up & ready to head out at 6:30am, after a hot drink & biscuit in your room. Back to camp between 11:30am (see trip report regarding two morning drives verses one long drive), buffet lunch at hotel. Out again around 3:30pm. Back to camp around 6:30pm for waiter served dinner at 8pm.
Overall the experience exceeded our expectations, Governors Camp really is at the heart of the Masai Mara action and even outside of the migration it had abundant wildlife. In fact, we much prefer March over the migration, less people means less vehicles giving you much more time to spend with the wildlife. See our photos & videos if you need to be convinced, big cats sightings are no less when the migrating animals are absent! The lodge experience is better too, less people means even at Governors Main Camp you can feel as though you are getting an exclusive experience. There were approximately 10 tents occupied during our stay and they kept neighbouring tents empty increasing the level of privacy.
Do read the trip report (links below) for the details, photos & videos...
Please tap/click the links below to read our full trip report and view our photos & videos....
If you have any questions about our Governors Camp adventure or just want to say hi, please visit our contact page... please remember we are not a travel agent, we can only give you information on adventures that we have done ourselves :)
Print