The crossing

I knew, coming to Governors’ Camp, that I was arriving in peak crossing season. Every year the wildebeest and zebra migrate in a big loop between the Mara and the Serengeti. It varies from year to year, but through July and August they often cross the Mara River from the Mara Triangle onto the reserve side, which is where camp is. So I knew there was a chance, but I didn’t let myself get my hopes too high, because it is a very chance thing. You have to be lucky, and you have to be patient.

Days went by, and guests would come back saying they’d seen a crossing. Some said they’d seen two in a day. One group said they’d seen four in a week, and I still hadn’t seen one. Two weeks went by, then three. I could see the wildebeest arriving on our side, and the anxiousness started building that the whole herd might go through and I wouldn’t see it.

On the 20th of August we went down to the river. There was a huge herd on the banks at one of the crossing points, and slowly the cars filled in. We were there for three hours, then four, and there were no rangers. The wildebeest paced up and down the edge of the bank, deciding where to cross, or not deciding. The whole time you’re just unsure about what’s going to happen. By then there must have been forty vehicles lining our side of the river.

A few of them started heading down the bank to drink, and as soon as they went down, vehicles rushed to the front of the riverbank on our side. The wildebeest startled and moved back. Then there was a row of about five cars that just lined the bank and blocked everything — the exit points, the view from other vehicles, other people’s photographs. It was chaos. I’d seen how bad the Mara can get on social media, but I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. The sightings I’d had so far had been busy, but nothing had been like that.

The next day, the 21st, we heard they might cross again. I was sceptical. I really wanted to see a crossing, but I really didn’t want to experience what had happened the day before. I was in a very mixed space and I didn’t know what to do, but I decided to go and see what it would be like, because sometimes people aren’t patient and sometimes it can be quiet.

This time the rangers were there — the game rangers for Narok County, in the Maasai Mara National Reserve. They drive around and make sure you aren’t off-roading, which isn’t allowed, and they try to keep a bit of space around a sighting. At a crossing that means the entry and exit points stay clear, and the vehicles sit in some kind of order.

We went back and there were still forty or fifty cars, but at least there was a bit of order. The entry and exit were clear, and there was a gap in the middle where the wildebeest could come through, with a lot of vehicles either side. I’m not saying it was a good thing. It wasn’t at all. It was still very difficult to see and to witness. But this is one of those things I’d seen online for as long as I can remember, and I really wanted to see it in person. Of course, by being there, you become part of the problem. I completely understand that. I went anyway.

We waited two hours, then three. The wildebeest paced up and down the edge, and as a photographer I was getting more and more nervous, because it’s such a dramatic event that I didn’t even know how to start photographing it. Do I do photo, do I do video, do I try both? Wide or tight? There were a lot of decisions, and it was actually quite stressful. I opted for both — one camera set up for video, and I was fortunate to have a second body I could shoot stills with.

They went up and down the bank, up and down, and then suddenly one individual made the leap. I was actually filming when that first animal went in, which felt very special.

Then the rest followed. There was dust everywhere, there was grunting, there were crocs in the water. It was incredible to witness. It’s very hard to explain how many animals there are crossing this river, how much dust, how much noise, and being able to see with your own eyes something you’d only ever seen in wildlife documentaries before.

I came away from it with very mixed emotions. From a wildlife point of view it was simply breathtaking. It was something I’d never seen before, and something I may never see again. From an ethical, moral, conservation point of view it was very difficult, because that is not a place I want to be again — not with that many vehicles, that many people, in one area.

The way some of those cars were driven is still hard to sit with. The lack of respect, not only for the wildlife but for other guests, was mind-blowing. People were beeping their horns at a river crossing. You’re here to see wildebeest cross the river. Do you think behaviour like that is going to make them stick around and go? It’s exactly what happened the day before — they don’t cross. Guests have paid thousands of dollars to be there, and you’re ruining it for them, and you’re ruining it for the animals.

Even writing this now I’m still in mixed emotions about how I really feel, but I think I’ve come away from it with a more negative than positive outlook. Of course I’m happy with the videos and photos, but the overall feeling I have from seeing that river crossing is probably a more negative one.