Reading the river

By eight in the morning the herd has been standing at the bank for an hour. Ten thousand wildebeest, maybe more, packed so tight the dust hangs over them like weather. Nothing is happening. Your guide switches off the engine and pours tea.

This is the part of the Great Migration the films cut. A crossing is not an event, it is a decision made by animals that cannot agree. One cow walks to the water and turns back. Twenty follow her and turn back. The crocodiles, who have been doing this longer than anyone, do not move at all.

What the guide is watching

A good Mara guide reads three things. The wind, because the herd smells the far bank before it sees it. The zebra, who cross first and more decisively, and whose confidence pulls the wildebeest in. And the other vehicles: a crossing point with forty cars parked on the exit bank will not be used, which is why we favour the conservancies and the quieter stretches of river north of the main crossings.

Then one animal commits, and the river explodes. It is over in six minutes. If you have waited two hours you have earned it; if you have driven up and down the bank looking for action, you have probably missed it.

When to go

The herds are in the Mara from late July to early October. August and September give the most crossings, and the most vehicles. We put most guests in a private conservancy on the reserve's northern edge, drive into the reserve for the river, and keep two full river days in the plan so a quiet morning is not a lost one.

The river rewards patience. The reserve rewards an early start. Bring both.

• Book nine to twelve months ahead for the camps nearest the river
• Two river days minimum
• A balloon flight on the morning you are not at the river
• Long lens, warm jacket, low expectations before ten o'clock