Self drive in Masai Mara questions

I may have an opportunity for a self drive trip with an NB resident who has a small 4x4. Is it possible to hire a ranger to accompany us in the vehicle? What about camping outside the park to avoid park fees - any recommendations? I've got my own tent but a place that had a restaurant/bar would be nice. Are the park entry fees paid with some sort of card? Are those bought at KWS in NB? Where is their office?

Cheers.

Jon

Maasai Mara doesn't really require a guide - it is much smaller than the Serengeti and there are only a few main roads which you are allowed to drive on through the park.

We did self-drive and stayed in one of the tented camps outside the Sekenani Gate (run by Maasai).

Park fees run for 24 hours, so if you arrive at your camp in the morning you can overnight and then do a morning game drive before having to buy another ticket. The tickets were available through the Maasai folk who ran our camp by the way.

Riverside campsite close to the Talek Gate is also highly recomended.

PS: you must bring all food and drinks etc...beer and coke may be available just outside the park but not much else - go self-sufficient.

PPS: MM is run by Narok County Council not KWS so no smart card.

I tendto disagree with Bundubasher. In Masai Mara you are allowed to drive out of the main roads, and it'll be difficult to do it without a guide to tell you where you are. Of course you can take a guide aboard your own vehicle, and you don't have to take him all day long, but he'll be helpful to spot animals.

Camping outside the park won't mean you avoid park fees. You'll still have to pay when you visit, overnight or not.

If your friend is a NB resident, he should know where to buy the park tickets, so no need to worry.

"In Masai Mara you are allowed to drive out of the main roads, and it'll be difficult to do it without a guide to tell you where you are."

I don't understand what you are saying. I'm looking at a digital gps map of the Mara and with a Garmin Gpsr I would know at anytime exactly where I'm at within approximately 5 metres and on which track, park campsites, where many of the popular wildebeest river crossings are, camps, lodges, airstrips, gates, etc. One just needs the proper tools to tour the Mara on their own. For a few bucks, you can buy the same map. And there are alot of tracks to drive on in the Mara, not just the Main ones.

You can disagree with me as much as you want, but you are NOT allowed to drive off the main roads. I know of no reserve or national park anywhere in Africa where a private citizen is allowed off the main designated roads.

It does happen in the Mara and can be particularly bad around preditors/kills. You often see lions being "mobbed" by the ubiquitous white combis used by the local tour ops.The reason it can happen is due to the size of the Mara and the lack of mobile rangers policing the reserve; any responsible tour op/driver shouldn't drive off road just to give his client a better picture.

From the website of the Narok County Council:

Most tourism activities in Narok District are centered on the world-famous Maasai Mara Game reserve. Environmental strategies to address the challenges raised will include:-

Due to the open plains I would strongly advise bringing the biggest and best binos/lenses you can afford - lions, cheetas etc don't always park off in a convenient spot next to the road! :)

As to prices, this info comes from the Narok CC website, prices on the ground may have increased:

APPROVED NEW PARK ENTRY FEES FOR MAASAI MARA GAME RESERVE

IN ACCORDANCE with Section 148 of the Local Government Act – the Minister for Local Government has approved the following fees and charges. The tour operators and general Public are notified that the following rates for The Maasai Mara National Reserve shall be effective from 1st October 2006.

PART I: FEES FOR ENTRY INTO THE MAASAI MARA GAME RESERVE

1. Daily fees for entry into Maasai Mara Game Reserve;-
   Per Entry
   Kenyan Citizens
   Ksh. Residents
   Ksh. Non–Residents
   US$

a. Adult 200 1,000 40
Children 100 500 20
Student 100 200 20

b. Tour Drivers 1,000

c. For any member of an organized group of at least 10 (with 2 weeks prior approval of County Council of Narok) or group of 10 students aged below 18 years on production of a valid student pass or identity cards 100 350 30

• Any additional days will be charged at daily rates

1. Fees for annual passes for persons and their private motor vehicles with seating accommodation not exceeding thirteen passengers to enter Maasai Mara National Reserve shall be as follows:-

ANNUAL ENTRY FEE KSH.
a) Personalized driver 6,000
b) Service crew 5,000
c) Corporate pass 36,000
d) For any child aged 3 years but below 18 years 7,500
f) P.S.V Vehicle (Non Tourist)
(i) 1 – 14 seats 5,000
(ii)14 – above seats 8,500

PART II FEES FOR VEHICLES AND AIR CRAFTS ENTRY FEES

Fees for Public Service Vehicles stationed in Masai Mara National Reserve and operating from Hotels and Lodges, Camps and other places within the Reserve:

ANNUAL ENTRY FEE KSH.
a) For any vehicle with seating accommodation for not more than five passengers and commercial vehicles of less than two tones. 30,000
b) For any vehicle with seating accommodation for more than five but less than thirteen passengers and commercial vehicles more than 2 tones but not more than five tones. 50,000
c) For any vehicles with seating accommodation for thirteen or more passengers and commercial vehicles of more than five tones 100,000
d) For delivery vehicles (Per Entry) 1,500

1. Fees for single Entries to the National Reserve by vehicles PER ENTRY
   KSH.
   a) For any motor vehicle with seating accommodation for not more than five passengers per day (less than 6 seats) 300
   b) For any motor vehicle with seating accommodation for more than five but less than thirteen passengers 6 – 12 seats 800
   c) For any motor vehicle with seating accommodation for more than twelve but less than twenty-five passengers 13 – 24 seats 1,500
   d) For any motor vehicle with seating accommodation for more than twenty-four but less than forty-five passengers 25-44 seats 3,000
   e) For any motor vehicle with seating accommodation for forty-five or more passengers 45 seats and above 5,000

2. Trucks Charges PER ENTRY
   KSH.
   a) 1 – 3 Tones 700
   b) 4 – 7 Tones 2500
   c) 8 Tones and above 3500

3. Air crafts – Singles Landing fees PER LANDING
   KSH.
   d) For any aircraft with seating accommodation for not more than two passengers (less than 3 ) 400
   e) For any aircraft with seating accommodation for more than two but less than seven passengers (3-6) 700
   f) For any aircraft with seating accommodation for more than seven but less than fourteen passengers (7-14) 1500
   g) For any aircraft with seating accommodation for more than fifteen but less than twenty passengers(15-20) 2500
   h) For any aircraft with seating accommodation for twenty one or more passengers(21 and above) 3500

4. Balloons Services:
   a) Operational permit – (annual) 15,000
   b) Landing fee per person (per landing) $ 30

PART III: FEES FOR CAMPING AND ACCOMMODATION

CITIZEN
KSH. RESIDENTS
KSH. NON-
RESIDENTS
US$
1. a) Adult 300 500 15
b) Children 100 200 10
c) Student 100 200 10

d) 18 yrs (adult) & above in a special camp site (per night) 300 1,000 25

Accommodation fees per night for organized groups (with prior approval of the County Council of Narok) for persons staying in a “field study center/research station” established in Masai Mara Game Reserve.

CITIZEN
KSH. RESIDENTS
KSH. NON – RESIDENTS
US$
a) For any student on production of a valid student’s pass or identity card 100 100 5
b) For any non student 250 500 10

There shall be payable a non-refundable reservation fee in respect of all “designated special camp sites” at the following rates:-

Designated special camp site reservation fee per week or part thereof shall be seven thousand five hundred Kenya shillings Only (Ksh. 7,500/=)

Cancellation fee for special camp sites/all reserved sites is Seven Thousand Five Hundred Kenya shillings (Ksh. 7,500/=).

PART IV: SERVICES AND SPECIAL ACTIVITIES

DURATION RATE (KSH.) RATE US$
1. Guided tours per guide Per 4 hrs 1,500 20
2. Guided tours per guide Over 4 hrs 3,000 40

1. Cinematography US$
   (i) 1 – 5 persons Per week 3,000
   (ii) 6 – 20 persons Per week 6,000
   (iii) Over 20 persons Per week 10,000

For the purpose of these Regulations:-

A “daily fee” is a fee for one day (twenty-four hrs or part thereof) of continuous stay within a specified site in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve.

“Student” is hereby defined as an individual from a recognized Tertiary Institution visiting the Reserve for purposes of learning about conservation through documented and organized arrangement with that institution. This excludes students on personally arranged holidays.

Dated: 26TH SEPTEMBER, 2006

WILSON MWITA MAROA
CLERK
COUNTY COUNCIL OF NAROK.

Sorry, by main roads I mean officially designated roads. There are plenty of side roads and tracks to follow coming of the main spur.

We have been 4 times at Masai Mara. Last visit in Feb 08. One of the times we stayed at Sarova Lodge and you can hire one of the masai workers they have there. You don't pay to the lodge, you pay to the guide. We were very lucky, this masai, Rafael, was so gentle, polite and the best of all, a very good guide. We've never seen so many lions like we did that time. Even the lionesses sleeping on the sausage tree. The following 2 times we went, even though we were not staying at the Sarova (due to the high prices), we went to that lodge specially to hire him. Again we had an overdose of lions.

Yes, we did go off the track - but the tour vans did the same. If you don't have a guide, don't adventure to go of the track. You can be driving all day until you find the right track - if you do.

To buy drinks, there is a village just next to Sopa Lodge - the drinks or what ever you need are very cheap.

Good luck

Bundubasher, I think we both say the same things but in different ways. While in some parks such as Amboseli, its compulsory to follow the main road, in Masai Mara everyone is allowed to drive off the main road, which indeed means following the pre-existing wild trails.

As for taking a guide... I do believe it's a good thing to do to be able to spot wildlife, and an abolute requirement for someone who's not living in Africa. I do not believe newcomers would be spontaneously able to find their way in the Mara, or to know how to properly react when facing an angry elephant, which does happen. Now after a while, it's also nice to drive on your own in absolute freedom. And not everyone is dumb to the point of driving over three cheetahs.

in Masai Mara everyone is allowed to drive off the main road

Since we didn't have a NP ranger with us (and if you have a half decent map and maybe a compass then you don't need one), and didn't have clarity on this, we only drove down the main "tarred" road and all the little secondary roads leading off it such as the one's leading to Mara Intrepids etc. All I can say is, having worked with National Parks in Zimbabwe and on private reserves in Zim and SA, that wanton off road driving adversely disturbs animals and causes habitat degradation.

It is basically a selfish act that pisses me off.