Tourists head back to Mara for wildebeest migration

By KIPCHUMBA KEMEI

NAROK COUNTY, KENYA: Tourists are trooping back to Maasai Mara Game Reserve to watch thousands of wildebeests migrating back from Serengeti plains in Tanzania, almost two months after they left.

Most lodges and camps have already started recording high business with their proprietors saying they would remain fully booked until mid-next month.

“Though most of the visitors are locals, the bookings are impressive. We have also started receiving bookings from foreign tourists. We expect more arrivals this month and part of the next one,” said the Keekorok Lodge Hotel Manager Stephen Mpaayei.

He said yesterday the unexpected migration, which has been widely reported by the international press, has forced tourists who did not watch the July-August migration to return.

“The Westgate attack forced many foreign visitors to cancel bookings when the season was still on. They have put that behind them and they have started making fresh bookings,” said Mpaayei, who asked the Government to tighten security ahead of the festive season.

“The migration which we expected in July next year has forced us to go back to the drawing board,” said Lily Waddington, the proprietor of Osero Camp within Siana Conservancy.