In September 2003 I had the opportunity to travel to East Africa for a photographic safari.  On the itinerary were visits to 4 different parks in Kenya and the Virunga National Forest in Rwanda to see the majestic and endangered Mountain Gorillas (approximately 500 still exist).

The trip was led by internationally renowned photographer Art Wolfe (www.artwolfe.com) and his assistant Gavriel Jecan (www.gavrieljecan.com) a very accomplished photographer himself.  The trip had 6 additional photographers including another professional (Gary), a software engineer (Brian), a biologist (Greg), a college professor (David), a lawyer (Burns) and of course me.

Art Wolfe - Nikon D1X, Nikkor VR 70-200 f/2.8G AF-S           Gavriel Jecan, Nikon D1X, Nikkor 17-35 f/2.8D AF-S

 The trip started in the Masai Mara Game Reserve which is located in the Southwest portion of Kenya, bordering on Tanzania.  

Masai Mara Sunrise - Nikon D1H, Nikkor 500mm f/4 AF-S II

During September Wildebeests and Zebras migrate north from the Serengeti to the Mara following the rains and green vegetation.  During this period one of the great events in nature commonly takes place, referred to as the Crossing.  When the migrating heard reaches the Mara River, which runs through the middle of the Masai Mara, they bunch up waiting to cross.  All at once, typically started by the Zebras or a spooked wildebeest, the heard rushes the river and in great numbers swims to the other side.  The Crossing is very dangerous due to the predators in the river (crocodiles) and also Hippos wading in the river, but also many animals get trampled in the mayhem of entering and exiting the river. 

Masai Mara, Waiting to Cross  - Nikon D1X, Nikkor 500mm f/4 AF-S II

During our five days in the Mara we saw several gatherings at river crossings, but were not fortunate enough to see a large Crossing.  This is just reason for me to return in the future!

Also in the Mara we had the opportunity to photograph Cheetah, Lion, Elephant, Hyena, Gazelle, a large number of  bird species, and many other animals.  This was the most awesome display of wildlife that I have ever witnessed.

Masai Mara - Nikon D1X, Nikkor 500mm f/4 AF-S II

We left the Mara and moved onto our next location, Lake Nakuru National Park.  Lake Nakuru is a relatively small park when compared to the Mara, set in a picturesque landscape of surrounding woodland and grassland next to Nakuru town with the lake in the middle.  One of the big draws to Lake Nakuru is the Flamingo population which numbers at approximately 2.5 million.  During the next three days the group saw both white and black Rhino’s, a variety of Chimpanzees, Baboons, Giraffe, Buffalo and of course Flamingos.  This is also where the incredible run of eight Leopard sightings in eight days started.  In this case the first sighting was the aftermath of two males fighting over a female.  When we arrived at the scene both males were too tired to continue fighting even through they were just feet apart.  Both were injured and would retreat to recover.

Lake Nakuru - Nikon D1X, Nikkor 80-400 f/4.5-5.6 VR

Moving on from Lake Nakuru to Samburu National Reserve in the Rift Valley we continued this incredible journey.  Samburu is a dryer more arid park then what had been sceen to this point.  It is located about 90 kilometers north of Mount Kenya .  We stayed at Larson Tented Camp which is located along side the Uaso Nyiro River ('River of Brown Water' in Samburu)  in a wooded area.  On two of the evenings spent in the camp, Elephants wandered through during the late evening or early morning feeding on tree branches.  The Vervet Monkey was a willing intruder to a tent if it was left open and unattended.  During the stay in Samburu we saw Elephant, Reticulated Giraffe, Oryx, and Crocodile along with many other animals.

The group took time one evening in Samburu to visit a Samburu tribal village.  The Samburu Tribe is closely related to the Masai Tribe from the South.  An evening was spent meeting the Samburu women who performed a traditional welcome song and dance, meeting the Samburu Morani and seeing the children play.  During our visit we heard the unfortunate news that one of the village children was attacked by a crocodile that very day while retrieving water.  She was not killed, but hurt badly and was moved to a hospital in a far away city.

Samburu Tribe welcome ceremony - Nikon D1X, Nikkor 28-70 f/2.8D AF-S

This completed two weeks on safari and half the group headed home at the end of our stay at Samburu.  Art, Gavriel, Brian and I moved on to another park in Kenya, Amboseli National Park in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.  Amboseli is an extremely dry park with only small tracks of wetlands caused by underground springs flowing from Kilimanjaro.  This has the effect of grouping the wildlife around the wetlands and causing miniature migrations from wetland to wetland creating wonderfully abstract views of animal trails when viewed from the air.  Doug, Brian and Gavriel all had the opportunity to do some aerial photography from an ultra-light during our stay.  The real draw to Amboseli is the Elephants and there are large groups here.  In one case we saw a heard of over 100 heading away from the water.

Amboseli Elephants - Nikon D1X, Nikkor 500mm f/4 AF-S II

Rwanda was the next stop for us with the sole goal of seeing the Mountain Gorilla.  Over the next three days we did three hikes into the Virunga National Forest to photograph the Mountain Gorillas.  Rwanda is an extremely interesting country with a very volatile recent history.  The density of the population is hard to internalize and the land pressures are dramatic.  With only 32 permits a day to see the Gorilla’s (4 groups of 8 trekkers) we were very fortunate to get three opportunities over three days to photograph the Gorilla’s.  The first day trek was reasonably short, trekking for about an hour and a half and then spending an hour with the Gorilla’s (the maximum allowed in any one day).  On this day we trekked to see the smallest group that has been habituated, the Amahoro group which has eleven individuals.

The second and third day found us trekking to see the Susa group, largest of the habituated groups with 35 individuals.  The trek to see the Susa group was much more difficult, approximately three and a half hours and 2100 feet of elevation increase.  Some through farmland (which extends right to the park boundary and sometimes into the park), then bamboo forest (some of the most beautiful forest I has ever scene) and finally very steep and dense forest, this portion only passable with the help of machetes used by the guides.

Parc National des Volcans Mountain Gorilla - Nikon D1X, Nikkor VR 70-200 f/2.8G AF-S 

With the end of our third trek to see the Gorilla’s our trip ended and we traveled back to Nairobi and prepared to return to home.  Over the three weeks of this trip, I took over 10,000 images, and brought home over 8,000.  Shooting all digital images allowed me to do some in field editing and delete unquestionably bad images.

I am left with several overriding thoughts from this trip.  First and foremost is the awesome nature of the natural world and the wildlife that shapes it.  From the great Wildebeest crossings to the inevitable impact that an animal the size of an Elephant has on its habitat, the natural world is an amazing place.  And no where I have traveled has this been as evident as in Africa.  My second and more important thought is I have a deep fear that these wonders will not exist in the long term.  The encouragement of the ever growing population on the parks and the instability of the governments in this part of the world writes a tenuous future for these parks and the inhabitants.  I strongly encourage anyone that can make the trip to see this magnificent part of the world to do so.  I am not sure it will exist for future generations without our help.

All images and text © Douglas C. Hebenthal., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. No form of reproduction, including copying or saving of digital image files, or the alteration or manipulation of said image files, is authorized unless accompanied by a written permission issued directly by Douglas C. Hebenthal.   For information regarding commercial or personal uses, please contact: info@doughebenthal.com.