Mara migration 2025, what we saw, what we missed

The migration in 2025 pushed south later than usual. Our September itinerary caught two river crossings, one small at the Talek early on day two, and one much larger at the main Mara River on day four. Both worked because we were there at the right time of morning, not because we drove more.

The leopard family at the Olare Motorogi conservancy showed on three of six days. A young male crossed the road within four metres of the vehicle at first light on day three. The guest who wanted photographs of a leopard on a branch got it in the good side light forty minutes later.

What we missed: cheetah hunt attempts. We saw a coalition of three brothers on the western plains and one solo female with sub-adult cubs, but the light was wrong on both mornings and neither hunted while we watched. The compensation was a wild dog sighting the group had not asked for, a pack of eleven moving through the same block at 4 pm on day five. That does not happen every year on this route.

Migration season in the Mara is not a fixed calendar. Guests planning a 2026 trip should build in five nights minimum if the crossings are the primary reason for coming. Six is better.