From today, tourists and residents will no longer be able to access the Maasai Mara National Reserve with their own private vehicles for excursions within the park.
This was communicated by the Narok County Government, as expressed in a directive sent to the media and industry associations, in order to control the flow of tourists into the world-famous park in view of the wildebeest migration, scheduled to start in July 2024.
‘In line with the implementation of the Masai Mara management plan, we have banned the use of private vehicles for game drives. The vehicles that will be used for game drives are only Safari trucks, Safari Land Cruisers and Safari vans,’ said the reserve's chief administrator, Alex Nabaala.
The directive does not specify whether the decision is temporary or final, although from some rumours gathered by insiders, it would appear to be a ‘sine die’ directive.
According to the posted statement, the only vehicles allowed inside the park will be safari trucks, Land Cruisers and the like, and minivans.
Nabaala appealed to those responsible for guarding all park access gates and airstrips to abide by the new rules. Do-it-yourself tourists will be able to park their cars at the park entrances and be picked up by the lodges and hotels that provide this service, or hire off-road vehicles or minivans with drivers to enter the reserve, as per the new regulations.