WOMEN ON THE MARA
July 25th – August 2nd, 2024
Join tour leaders Piper Mackay, Vicki Santello, and Sarah E. Devlin as Women In Wildlife Photography descends upon the greatest wildlife reserve in the world, the Maasai Mara. As wildlife photographers, woman have arrived, and what better way to celebrate than to travel together on every wildlife photographers bucket list safari with one of wildlife photography’s woman pioneers, Piper Mackay and award winning wildlife photographers Vicki Santello and Sarah E Devlin. The Great Migration is perhaps the most exciting wildlife experience to be had. With over a million Wildebeest and thousands upon thousands of Zebras and Gazelles migrating through the Mara in search of lush green grass, they are met by some of the worlds most lethal predators, big cats. This is wild Africa at its best.
We will be traveling in style, visiting two locations in the Mara to maximize photographic opportunities. Each location has been carefully chosen to diversify predator action and landscapes, including river crossings. Our deluxe safari vehicles are fully extended Land Cruisers with open sides and built in bean bags and a roll-back top. With nine participants and three vehicles, everyone will have their own row with plenty of room for flexibility. There will be a tour leader in each vehicle for every game drive.
Experienced Driver Guides
Our driver guides are all silver rated and have thousands of hours of experience throughout the entire Mara. Our driver guides are all silver rated and have thousands of hours of experience throughout the entire Mara. They understand the needs of photographers and the importance of quickly positioning the vehicle for the best light, composition, and exceptional photographs. Our main guides have vast personal networks, through which they receive information from all corners of the Mara. Having a large solid network in the Mara, especially during the migration, is critically important for the best photographic opportunities.
Extra Weight Allowance
We have arranged extra weight allowance on your flights to and from the Mara, so your gear and luggage can remain with you.
This is sure to be a groundbreaking and memorable experience for all women who participate. Come be a part of this extraordinary experience and celebration of women in wildlife photography!
$9,585 based on double occupancy
$1,140 single supplement*
9 Participants
*If you wish to have a roommate, we will make every effort to pair you with someone. However if we are unable to find a roommate for you the single supplement will be applied to your final invoice.
Payment Schedule:
February and June 2024
We are thrilled to have Paul’s Photo sponsoring this event!
About your leaders….
Piper Mackay’s intrepid journey as an African wildlife and tribal photographer has taken her on adventures spanning the African continent for the past 18 years. Driven to create compelling imagery and stories that make a difference, her work breaks expectations by moving away from the beaten path, immersed in the cultures and wild environments she is photographing. Piper’s photographs are licensed by Getty Images’ top collections. Featured articles of her work have been printed in national publications such as; National Geographic Traveler, Outdoor Photographer, Nature Photographer, Ranger Finder, and Lens Magazine, as well as local travel and online magazines. Her images have graced the pages of Nature’s Best, National Geographic, National Geographic Explorer, Travel Africa, WWF calendars, and numerous travel publications. Her images have won many awards including the African wildlife category winner of nature’s best and highly commended portfolio in the Travel Photographer of the year in 2020. Her images have been exhibited at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington DC, The Museum of History and industry in Seattle Washington, The Art Wolfe gallery, The G2 Galley and are hanging in private collections around the world. She has been an inspiration speaker for Canon, Nikon, and large photography venues. She lives in Kenya and leads safaris across the African Continent.
Vicki Santello is a US based photographer who retired from a career in finance to devote herself full time to photography. Vicki enjoyed the excitement of living in New York City and working on Wall Street for 10 years in the early part of her career. Living in a big city, however, deprived her of being in Nature and enjoying outdoor sports. She moved to North Central Florida, a mecca for birds and a unique area for rivers and first magnitude springs. Here she was able to balance her love of the outdoors and her corporate career for 30 years. Her passion for photography is now her lifestyle. Vicki now travels worldwide to diversify her photography portfolio. She typically stays one to two months in each location to fully immerse herself in the environment and maximize photography opportunities of animal behavior. Vicki started traveling to Africa in 1981 and has visited 19 different times to various countries in Southern Africa including South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Kenya. In the USA, her favorite locations for photography are the wild places and national parks in Alaska, Wyoming, New Mexico, Louisiana, up and down the East Coast including her home state of Florida. Her work has been exhibited in museums, galleries and won several international awards including Nature’s Best Africa 2018 – Category Winner, Wild Cats Behavioral, WildArt Photography of the Year 2022 – Category Winner, Wet and numerous Top 100 and Top 250 and semi-finalist recognitions.
Sarah E. Devlin is the founder of Women In Wildlife Photography. Her love for nature photography began several years ago as a single mother to three children, when nature became her sanctuary. Since then Sarah has developed a deep connection with nature through her photography that has transformed and improved the quality of her life. It is her passion to share this process with others, especially women. Today she travels internationally leading and organizing wildlife photography tours for women and helping to promote other professional women wildlife photographers. Sarah has a unique style to her photography which has garnered several awards including Audubon and NANPA (North American Nature Photography Association) top 100. Her work has been featured in publications such as Natures Best Photography and Wild Planet. Sarah is based in the US on the beautiful shores of Cape Cod.
July 25th – August 2nd, 2024
Day 1 (July 25th): Nairobi
Upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel for overnight stay. Official check in time at the hotel is 3:00pm. Overnight at Emara Ole Sereni Hotel
Day 2 (July 26th): Nairobi – Fly Maasai Mara
Breakfast at 7:30 am followed by group briefing at 8:00.
Depart the hotel at 8:30 and transfer to Wilson Airport for scheduled flight departing at 10:15 to arrive at approx. 11:15.
Pick up on arrival at the airstrip and transfer to the camp for check in and lunch
Afternoon Game Drive
Overnight at Mara Engai
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3 July 27th): Maasai Mara
Morning and Afternoon Game Drives
Overnight at Mara Engai
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4 (July 28th): Maasai Mara
Morning and Afternoon Game Drives
Overnight at Mara Engai
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5 (July 29): Maasai Mara (change location to Main Mara area)
Morning Game Drive
Switch camps to main Mara area arriving at your new camp in time for lunch.
Afternoon Game Drive
Overnight at Olive Camp
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (soft drinks, beer and house wines during meals included)
Day 6 (July 30th): Maasai Mara
Morning and Afternoon Game Drives
Overnight at Olive Camp
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (soft drinks, beer and house wines during meals included)
Day 7 (July 31st): Maasai Mara
Morning and Afternoon Game Drives
Overnight at Olive Camp
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (soft drinks, beer and house wines during meals included)
Day 8 (Aug. 1st): Maasai Mara
Morning and Afternoon Game Drives
Overnight at Olive Camp
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (soft drinks, beer and house wines during meals included)
Day 9 (Aug. 2nd): Maasai Mara
Morning Game Drive
Transfer to the airstrip for scheduled flight back to Nairobe, departing at 11:00.
Arrive in Nairobe approximately 12:20 pm.
Upon arrival, you will be met by your guides and transferred to your dayrooms at Four Points by Sheraton Airport Hotel. Official check out time is 8:00 pm.
End of tour!
July 25th – August 2nd, 2024
All payments are non-refundable unless a tour is cancelled due to under-enrollment, in which case you will receive a full refund of your initial deposit, or you may transfer your deposit to a future tour.
There will be no refunds if you need to cancel your trip for any reason.
In the event we need to cancel a tour due to natural disaster, pandemic, labor strikes, or any other situation that is beyond our control, there will be no refunds.
We strongly recommend purchasing trip insurance as soon as you book your trip, in most cases this will be your only recourse for a refund. Trip insurance that includes medical evacuation is required for all international tours.
- All accommodations as stated in the itinerary
- All meals as stated on the itinerary B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner
- Transportation and exclusive use of deluxe custom safari built, open side, 4-wheel drive Land cruiser vehicles.
- Scheduled flights from Nairobi – Maasai Mara and Maasai Mara to Nairobi with 30KGS luggage allowance per person
- Airport transfers in Nairobi
- Airstrip Transfer in Maasai Mara
- Park Entrance Fees
- Evacuation insurance to a Nairobi hospital – cost of hospitalization payable direct
- Complimentary mineral water in your safari vehicles
- Travel and medical Insurance
- Personal purchases (such as curious, spirit liquors, telephone calls, internet, laundry…) except where specified
- Gratuities for guides, camp and lodge staff
- International flights to and from Kenya
- Lunch and dinner while in Nairobi
- Visas
Easy, we will be traveling in safari vehicles.
