2027 dates - arrival 10th September - overnight in Nairobi

2028 dates - arrival 10th September overnight in Nairobi

2029 dates - arrival 10th September- overnight in Nairobi

Exclusive use of a specialist photographic vehicle

Oltepesi Tented Safari Camp is a specialist photographic safari camp in Maasai Mara, Kenya, established in 2017 based on a shared photography concept developed by Arnfinn Johansen and John Siololo. It is an eco safari camp, made for professional wildlife photographers and nature photo enthusiasts. Oltepesi offer the best guides in Maasai Mara, giving clients the best opportunities for the best images, including modified vehicles for wildlife photography. Images by Arnfinn Johansen.

The dry-season period concentrates animals around remaining water and grazing areas, while the widerMara ecosystem can offer exceptional concentrations of plains game and predators.

And then there is Oltepesi itself and the opportunity to experience this landscape with a smaller-scale, more intimate approach, surrounded by people who understand that great wildlife photography is rarely about how many sightings you collect.

It is about how long you are willing to stay with a moment.

Come for the wildlife.

Stay for the light.

Leave with a story.

Typical baggage allowance

(Internal safari flights)

Most common rule (scheduled bush flights)

• 15 kg total per person (≈33 lbs)

• This includes EVERYTHING (checked bag + carry-on + camera gear)

• Soft-sided bag only (duffel, no hard suitcase)

This is what you’ll get if you fly with airlines like Safarilink / Air Kenya

Private / charter flights

• Usually 15–20 kg per person total

• Sometimes up to 20 kg including hand luggage

Slightly more flexible, but still strict.

Key things people often miss

• Carry-on counts toward the total weight

• Camera gear counts (unless you wear it, unofficially…)

• They can weigh bags at departure (especially Nairobi Wilson Airport)

• Hard suitcases are often refused—must be soft and squashable

Practical advice (important)

• Aim for 12–13 kg packed, not 15 → gives margin

• Wear your heaviest items on the flight

• Bring a soft duffel (not a roller case)

• Leave extra luggage in Nairobi storage (very common)

Bottom line

• Standard rule: ~15 kg total (most likely scenario)

• Best-case (charter): up to ~20 kg

• Non-negotiable: soft bag + light packing

Arrive at your destination, where you will be warmly welcomed by your tour leader or a Wildlife Dreams representative. Transfer to your hotel and take some time to relax and settle in. If time permits, enjoy a local excursion, pre-arranged by Wildlife Dreams, offering your first introduction to the destination.

Overnight in Nairobi.

Into the Wild

Early Morning Departure: After breakfast at your Nairobi hotel, transfer to Wilson Airport for your flight to Mara Olkiombo Airstrip. Arrive in the Maasai Mara, where your Oltepesi guide will meet you and your photographic adventure begins immediately with a game-drive transfer through the Mara to Oltepesi Tented Safari Camp, arriving in time for a relaxed lunch before your first afternoon photographic safari.

Settle into your spacious private safari tent before heading out for your first afternoon photographic drive.

As the afternoon light softens, begin looking for the Mara's inhabitants:

• Lions resting in the grass

• Elephants moving across the plains

• Giraffes silhouetted against the sky

• Zebra and wildebeest herds

• Raptors riding the thermals

• Cheetah and other predators where conditions allow

Then comes one of the great moments of African photography, the golden hour.

Your guide will look for opportunities for backlighting, silhouettes, animal interactions and clean backgrounds rather than simply driving from sighting to sighting. This is very much the Oltepesi philosophy.

Return to camp after sunset and your first opportunity to review the day's images.

Chasing the Light

Rise before dawn, with coffee, a light breakfast and cameras ready, and head into the Mara while the landscape is still cloaked in blue-grey light. As the first rays of sunrise begin to illuminate the plains, settle into the specially adapted low-angle photographic vehicle and prepare for a morning devoted to wildlife behaviour rather than simply collecting sightings. Lions may stir and begin to hunt, a leopard could emerge from the shadows, cheetahs may scan the open plains, while jackals, birds of prey, zebra and wildebeest provide endless opportunities as the morning unfolds. Your experienced guide will constantly assess the light, background, animal behaviour and positioning, sometimes moving only a metre or two to transform an image. A relaxed picnic lunch on the savannah gives you time to download and review your photographs, recharge batteries, clean equipment and discuss compositions before heading out again in the afternoon. As the sun begins to fall, return to the action for the day's most magical light, seeking dramatic backlighting, dust, silhouettes and intimate wildlife portraits before returning to Oltepesi for dinner and an informal review of the day's images.

The Predator's Day

Today is devoted to one of the great prizes of Maasai Mara photography; the big cats. Set out before sunrise for a full-day photographic expedition, with no rigid checklist and no need to rush from one sighting to the next. Instead, your experienced Oltepesi guide will read the landscape, following tracks, alarm calls, bird activity, fresh kills and the movements of prey in search of opportunities with lion, leopard and cheetah. The art is in the waiting: you might spend an hour with a single animal, watching a lion rise from the grass, a cub approach, a leopard descend from a tree, a cheetah scan the plains or two predators interact. Then, as the light shifts and the animal moves into the perfect position, everything comes together and suddenly you have the photograph. A picnic lunch is enjoyed out in the wilderness before continuing your patient observation through the afternoon, with the final hours devoted to the extraordinary golden light of the Mara; dust rising around a lion, a predator silhouetted against the horizon or a cheetah disappearing into the glowing grass. Return to Oltepesi after sunset with a memory card full of stories and, hopefully, that one unforgettable frame.

Beyond the Portrait

Today broadens the photographic experience beyond the iconic predators, inviting you to capture the wider story of the Mara. Set out at first light in search of elephants moving across the open grasslands, giraffes framed against distant horizons, and vast herds of zebra and wildebeest. This is a day to experiment with environmental portraits, wide-angle wildlife, silhouettes, reflections, birds in flight and intimate details that reveal the character of the landscape. Rather than simply photographing individual animals, look for images that place wildlife within its extraordinary surroundings and tell a richer story of life on the Mara. Where conditions and local guidance allow, there may also be an opportunity to photograph on foot, offering a completely different perspective and a more intimate connection with the landscape. After some downtime at camp, head out again in the afternoon as the light begins to soften. For the final evening, forget the checklist and concentrate on the light; dramatic skies, glowing grasslands, elephants silhouetted against the horizon, birds in flight and wildlife bathed in the warm colours of sunset. Return to Oltepesi for a celebratory final dinner, carrying with you not simply photographs of animals, but a visual story of the Mara itself.

The Last Frame

Rise before dawn for one final photographic expedition into the Mara, with the morning deliberately unhurried and the freedom to follow whatever the wilderness offers. Perhaps lions will appear in the first light, elephants will cross the plains, or a cheetah will emerge unexpectedly from the golden grass, or perhaps the greatest moment will simply be watching the sun break over the horizon and transform the landscape. That is the magic of safari: you never quite know what the next frame will bring. After your final game drive, return to Oltepesi for breakfast and time to pack. Then it is time to say farewell to camp, your guides and the Mara.

Five days. Hundreds of frames. Thousands of moments. One unforgettable way of experiencing the wild.

If your international flight schedule makes an overnight stay more convenient, we can arrange an additional night at a Nairobi hotel on request, giving you a relaxed final evening in Kenya before your journey home.

One-lens option....especially useful to know if you are flying

One Lens, Maximum Flexibility | 100–400mm / 100–500mm or similar focal length

For photographers who prefer to travel light, a 100–400mm or 100–500mm zoom can be an exceptional single-lens safari solution. It provides enough flexibility to photograph everything from a relatively close lion or elephant to a distant cheetah, while allowing you to quickly recompose as the animal moves.

The biggest advantage is speed and simplicity: no lens changes, less equipment to carry, and more time with your eye on the action. The 100mm end also gives you considerably more flexibility than starting at 300mm, particularly when a large animal approaches the vehicle.

The trade-off? These lenses are generally slower than a professional 70–200mm f/2.8 or 300mm f/2.8, so they may not perform quite as well in the very low light of dawn and dusk. For the photographer who wants the ultimate combination of reach, low-light performance and background separation, carrying multiple fast lenses still has an advantage.

Our advice:

• Travelling light? A 100–400mm or 100–500mm can be your ideal one-lens safari companion.

• Want maximum versatility? Combine a 24–70mm + 100–400/500mm.

• Want the ultimate photographic setup? Add a 70–200mm f/2.8 and/or a fast 300mm+ prime.

• And remember: f/2.8 matters when you're chasing those magical first- and last-light images.

For any photographic journey, a 100–500mm-type zoom or similar focal length is the one-lens recommendation over a 300mm+ prime for many guests. The ability to go from a wider environmental composition to a tight cheetah portrait without changing lenses is incredibly useful when the action is unpredictable.

The camp is located in Oltepesi Village a genuine Maasai village about five minutes from the border to Maasai Mara National Reserve. With this unique location, you will also experience the Maasai people’s traditional and famous culture.

At the centre of the Oltepesi camp you will find the restaurant, called the boma, which is the heart and soul of the establishment. There our highly skilled chef and camp staff will serve you safe and delicious western-style food. Any personal dietary requirements will be accommodated, so if you have any personal wishes just let the staff know.

Outside the restaurant, with a view of the sunset to the west, there is a campfire area surrounded by chairs where you can relax and enjoy a drink before dinner.

Where the Wild Comes into Focus

Wildlife Dreams takes you deep into the heart of the Maasai Mara, staying at Oltepesi Tented Safari Camp; a place created with wildlife photography at its heart. Set within a genuine Maasai village just minutes from the Mara, Oltepesi offers something very different from a conventional safari lodge: days are shaped around the wildlife, the light and the perfect photographic moment. From pre-dawn departures and the first golden rays of sunrise to long afternoons on the plains and dramatic light at sunset, you have the freedom to stay with a sighting, wait for behaviour to unfold and work the scene rather than simply ticking animals off a list. Specially adapted photographic vehicles allow for low-angle perspectives and unobstructed views, while experienced Maasai guides understand both the landscape and what photographers are looking for; whether that means positioning for backlight, anticipating movement or simply knowing when patience will pay off. Back at camp, comfortable safari tents, the welcoming boma, good food and the warmth of the local Maasai team provide the perfect place to relax, recharge batteries and relive the day's encounters.

This is the Wildlife Dreams way of experiencing the Mara: fewer distractions, more time in the field, and every day built around the possibility of capturing something extraordinary.