The Masai Mara National Reserve is located in south-west Kenya and is recognised as one of the iconic African wildlife locations. Every year, the Masai Mara region together with the neighbouring Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, experiences the world famous wildebeest migration. The annual migration involves 1.5 million wildebeest arriving in July and then migrating back to the Serengeti in October.
The Masai Mara is the land of the Maasai people. The “Mara” is not a National Park, but a National Reserve belonging to the Maasai people. Due to their distinctive customs and dress, the Maasai people are some of the most recognised ethnic groups in Africa.
The Masai Mara was named by the local people who called the land “Mara” which means “spotted”. One of the very distinctive features of the Masai Mara are the vast grassland plains that are dotted with trees and animals making it easy to understand why the locals called the region “spotted land”.
The region is renowned for showcasing Africa’s iconic wildlife and there have been some 95 species of mammals, amphibians and reptiles and over 400 birds species recorded on the reserve.
EcoTraining recently launched its EcoQuest and Safari Guide courses in the Masai Mara at the Mara Training Centre. These experiences provide guests with the opportunity to not only visit an iconic location but to truly connect with nature and gain knowledge in understanding ecology, animal tracks and tracking, birding and plant identification, animal behaviour and sightings and astronomy.
One of the EcoTraining guides, Andreas Fox, recently hosted the first EcoTraining EcoQuest experience at the Mara Training Camp. Some highlights of his time in the Mara will definitely remain memories for a long time.
“On one particular day, we had a standoff with a breeding herd of buffalo. This was definitely a situation that had our adrenaline pumping,” said Fox. “The buffalo ended up snoozing around our vehicle while we were away on a walk. We eventually managed get to our vehicle, but it wasn’t something that I was expecting to come back to.”
“One of my favourite moments was when we visited a local tribal boma and interacted with the Mara people to learn about their customs and traditions. The local guides, Moses and Wilson, were amazing with their knowledge and skills,” recalled Fox.
“The wildlife in the region is definitely a highlight. From the first day, we saw lions on every game drive for three consecutive days as well as sighting a leopard and her young cub. The leopard and cub were just a stone’s throw from a male lion that had stolen their Grant’s gazelle kill.”
EcoTraining now offer 4, 7 and 14 day EcoQuest experiences in the Masai Mara. The 28 day Safari Guide course is also available at selected times of the year. Find out more by visiting: http://wildarkorg.wpengine.com/travels/ecoquest-experience-masai-mara-kenya/
“One of my favourite moments was when we visited a local tribal boma and interacted with the Mara people to learn about their customs and traditions. The local guides, Moses and Wilson, were amazing with their knowledge and skills,” recalled Fox.
“The wildlife in the region is definitely a highlight. From the first day, we saw lions on every game drive for three consecutive days as well as sighting a leopard and her young cub. The leopard and cub were just a stone’s throw from a male lion that had stolen their Grant’s gazelle kill.”
EcoTraining now offer 4, 7 and 14 day EcoQuest experiences in the Masai Mara. The 28 day Safari Guide course is also available at selected times of the year. Find out more by visiting: http://wildarkorg.wpengine.com/travels/ecoquest-experience-masai-mara-kenya/