News from the Maasai Mara, Kenya Friday 24th November 2006

With one of the longest wildebeest migrations on record, it’s appropriate that 2006 was the year in which U.S. television giants ABC chose to name the Maasai Mara as one of the seven wonders of the natural world. Now well into the latter half of November, there are still thousands of wildebeest on the central and southern Mara plains, from where they are gradually – if belatedly – making their way back to the Serengeti Reserve.

The drawn-out nature of this year's migration has been largely due to the light rains that fell on the Mara in early November, drawing many of the straggling herds back from the Serengeti. This was most fortuitous for the film crew from ABC's Good Morning America, which chose Heritage's Mara Intrepids Camp from which to watch the migration from November 13th-18th - and from where anchor Kate Snow showed the most "moveable natural wonder of the world" to millions of enthralled viewers.

This week, the few wildebeest herds still in the Mara have settled south of the Mara Triangle and west of Musiara Gate, down to Rhino Ridge and Paradise on the eastern side of the Mara River, where there is still plenty of grass. Over the last few days, the reserve has received several sporadic showers, which should carpet the overgrazed areas with lush new shoots of grass - and perhaps keep the wildebeest here for a few weeks more.

Although river crossings have been reduced to a few small groups of wildebeest over the past week, they are still a sight to behold, particularly for first-time visitors. But what would one expect of the world's most wonderful natural spectacle?


If you have any interesting accounts of wildlife activities in the Maasai Mara, please feel free to drop a line to our head guide, Paul Kirui, at: safariguide@mara-intrepids.co.ke. From all at Heritage Hotels, we wish you happy migration watching!


"Lately there has been no better place to film leopards in the Mara than the area around Mara Intrepids and Explorer. Since we first filmed Bella here in 2003, 90% of our filming of leopards for Big Cat Week has been done within 5km of the same location"
- Nigel Pope, Producer, Big Cat Week24-11-06%20Map%2010.jpg