The Greatest Show on Earth

Oh my word! Oh! My! Word!

I really am one of the luckiest guys in the world with the best wife ever! That's for sure! 

On August 28th 2010, I am going to go and see "The Greatest Show on Earth"; the migration of thousands of Wildebeest and Zebra across the Mara river into Kenya's Masai Mara National Park. This great migration takes place around August/September each year as the wildlife migrate through the Serengeti and into the Masai Mara in search of fresh grazing.

I'm going to have the opportunity to spend 7 days on Safari with C4 Images & Safari and our knowledgeable guide and great photographer Shem Compion from the 28th August until the 4th September.
If luck is on our side we will see several crossings of wildebeest and zebra as they brave the waters of the Mara managing the perilous drop down into the river whilst avoiding the snapping jaws of hungry crocodiles who lie in wait. Furthermore the massive herds are followed closely by predators including Lion, Hyena and Cheetah (and if we're really lucky a Leopard or two) as the herds offer such great feeding opportunties for them.  The precise timing of the annual wildebeest migration depends on the rain and naturally it can be quite unpredicatable and spontaneous but if you look at the migration route below of the animals around the Serengeti and into the Mara you can see that August and September (the time period that I'm going to be there) is the typical crossing time which certainly does bode well.

The photographic tour to see the Masai Mara migration is expertly managed by Shem and his crew and one of the great bonuses of going on such a safari with them is the exlusivity and the experience that they can offer.  The Safari is booked soley for 12 photographers of like-minded desire and motivation operating from a luxury tented camp inside the reserve 5 minutes from one of the favoured crossing points.  The vehicles are specially catered for so that each person will have their own seat for their equipment with their own window and roof hatch access ensuring that they have ample room from which to photograph and get the best vantage point possible either low down or up higher for those wider panoramic shots that the Mara plains are famous for.  The C4 guys also don't just focus on the river crossings which are a magnificence in the own right but also allow opportunities to explore a large part of the reserve with all the other bio-diversity on offer with the aid of expert guides and trackers. The luxury tented camp is catered for in traditional East African safari style  with all the amenities that your intrepid photographers could possibly hope for including great meals, comfortable accomodation and the inspriation and motivation from fellow photographers and experienced guides around the fire at night.

If it sounds like I'm excited that's simply because I am overjoyed to be able to have this opportunity in my lifetime and one that I have long dreamt of seeing with my own eyes! The desire has been even greater since I became an enthusiastic wildlife photographer and the Mara crossing is like a photographers Mecca; one that you have to plan for so your lifetime does not pass you by without it leaving it's mark.  So finally, in less than a years time from now I will be one of the very fortunate ones on the planet to be able to say: "I was there" and here are the images that I captured to bear witness. Let's hope so anyway.

A huge thanks goes out to my wife Wendy for giving me this opportunity, to be able to spend the hard-earned money on some mental therapy as she puts it and for loving and looking after my children, Michelle and Laura-Ashley while I am away for those seven days.  Thanks also to Seymour Brugger with whom I'm going to be sharing a tent with, who encouraged me to come along with him on this adventure of a lifetime.

Thanks Shem and C4 - this all before I have even got to the place. I'm that confident it's going to a phenominal experience!
Have a look at this video from Shem's site to get an idea of what you might experience vicariously when I get back and have some photographs to tell my own tale with.