Safari in the Masai Mara

Natur&Foto, in collaboration with Arnfinn Johansen, is delighted to invite you on an exciting safari to the Masai Mara in Kenya

During this journey, you will experience some of the most exciting things Africa has to offer. The endless savannas of the Masai Mara are home to the world’s greatest concentration of mammals, some of them in enormous herds. We will stay in an area with an abundance of big cats, including lions, cheetahs and leopards.

The Camp:

We will stay at Oltepesi Tented Safari Camp, a simple yet comfortable eco-safari camp specially designed for nature photographers. It is just a short 5-minute drive from the unfenced border of the Masai Mara National Reserve.

Oltepesi Camp has spacious safari tents powered by solar lighting, en-suite bathrooms with showers, washbasins and flush toilets. The camp has a dining tent serving delicious food. In the evening, you can relax around the Masai fire and share safari stories before dinner.

There will be a maximum of four people in each safari vehicle. These safari vehicles are also specially designed so that one or two people can lie down and photograph, allowing you to achieve that highly sought-after low-angle perspective. The Masai guides we work with are experts at finding the animals – and, not least, positioning the vehicle in the best possible location for photography.

The camp is owned and operated by Norwegian photographer Arnfinn Johansen in cooperation with local Maasai people. Arnfinn Johansen was the first winner of the Nordic Nature Photo Contest (NNPC), and in recent years, the grand prize in the same competition has been a trip for two to Oltepesi Safari Camp.

Masai Mara:

The Masai Mara National Reserve covers 1,510 km² and takes its name from the Maasai people and the Mara River. Herds of more than 1.5 million wildebeest and 250,000 zebras move into the Masai Mara from July/August. The reserve is home to 95 species of mammals and 570 species of birds. In the area, you will also encounter the Maasai, a nomadic people who live and herd their livestock on the outskirts of the park.

Program

30 January: Oslo – Nairobi
Departure from Oslo Gardermoen. Arrival in Nairobi in the evening. Overnight stay at an airport hotel.

31 January: Transfer from Nairobi to the Maasai Mara
We will travel by private bus to the Maasai Mara (approximately 4.5 hours). At the reserve boundary, we will be met by Oltepesi’s safari vehicles and transferred to the camp for lunch. After lunch, we head out onto the savannah for our first game drive.

1–5 February: Maasai Mara
These days are dedicated to safari activities. On most days, we will spend the entire day out in the reserve with a packed lunch, but if preferred, we can split the day into a morning game drive and an afternoon game drive. The schedule will be decided by the group the day before.

6 February:
After breakfast, we travel back to Nairobi and board our overnight flight to Norway.

7 February:
Arrival in Norway.

Key information

DATES: 30 January–7 February 2027 NUMBER OF PLACES: 7 PRICE: NOK 39,000 (subject to currency fluctuations)

Payment terms:
A deposit of NOK 10,000 per participant is payable upon registration.
The deposit is non-refundable except upon presentation of a medical certificate. The remaining balance is due 3 months before departure.

Included:
National park fees, professional English-speaking driver/guide, private use of an open 4×4 safari vehicle, all meals during the safari, all accommodation in safari tents/cabins equipped with mosquito nets and toilets, and a Norwegian tour leader from Natur&Foto.

Not included:
Flights to and from Kenya, Nairobi–Maasai Mara transfer, tips for guides and camp staff, travel and cancellation insurance, personal expenses, meals and excursions not included in the programme, and hotel accommodation on the first night in Nairobi.

Equipment:
In Kenya, you will have use for your full range of camera equipment. For birds and mammals, 300–600 mm lenses are suitable, while 24–70 mm and 70–200 mm or 100–400 mm lenses are well suited for landscapes, portraits of people, etc. During the safari, bean bags are useful as support for large lenses (bags filled with beans, peas, etc.). Oltepesi has bean bags available for us to use. We do not use tripods in the safari vehicles, but bringing one can be useful if you wish to photograph around the lodges and camps.

Other equipment:
Light summer clothing, comfortable trainers, and a fleece jacket for early mornings.

Please register as soon as possible by emailing [post@naturogfoto.no](mailto:post@naturogfoto.no). Please use “Kenya” as the subject.

Tour leader:
Tom Schandy (95 97 91 95)