River
African Rivers: 4 Live Cameras — Mara and Olifants
Four cameras in Kenya and South Africa: two Mara River crossings, the Mpala river with animal paths on both banks, and the Olifants with its crocodiles.
What you can see
Four African rivers. Unlike a waterhole, a river camera catches the crossing from one bank to the other.
The Mara River main crossing is in the Mara Triangle, in the west of the Masai Mara, and is the principal point at which the migrating herds cross the Mara. The Mara River fig tree crossing is near the Tanzanian border, the entrance the herds most often use coming into the Mara. More than 1.2 million wildebeest line up there, joined by Burchell's zebra, Thomson's gazelle and eland.
The Mpala river (Laikipia, Kenya) sits upstream of the waterhole, at an angle that takes in the animal paths on both banks at once. Elephant, giraffe and kudu come down it towards the water.
The Olifants (Limpopo, South Africa) is a tributary of the Limpopo, watched from its bank. It never runs dry, so its volume swings hard with the season. Crocodile and hippo are there daily; elephant and giraffe come down to drink.
Cameras you can watch now: 4
All 4 are live video. Tap one to open it in the camera list.
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Live video
Olifants River
Limpopo · River · Wildlife
A camera set on the bank of the Olifants, a tributary of the Limpopo. It is a perennial river, so the volume of water changes a great deal with the season. Crocodiles and hippos are there routinely; elephants and giraffes come to drink.
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Live video
The Mpala river
Laikipia · River · Wildlife
Set upstream of the waterhole, with the wildlife corridors on both banks in frame at once. Elephants, giraffes and kudus make their way down. The operator recommends between 06:00 and 07:00 local time for the sunrise.
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Live video
Mara River main crossing
Mara Triangle · River · Wildlife
The main point at which the migrating herds cross the Mara River, in the Mara Triangle in the west of the Masai Mara. Outside the crossing season the animals that come to the river, and the crocodiles, are still there.
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Live video
Fig Tree crossing on the Mara
Mara Triangle · River · Wildlife
The Fig Tree crossing point, near the Tanzanian border. This is one of the favoured entrances for herds moving into the Mara, where more than 1.2 million wildebeest, joined by Burchell's zebra, Thomson's gazelle and eland, form a continuous line.
When to watch
For the Mpala river the provider recommends sunrise, local 06:00 to 07:00. At 6 hours' difference that is 12:00 to 13:00 in Japan.
For the two Mara cameras no season is given. The crossing itself is a seasonal event, but we are not going to invent a date for it here. The provider's own note is that animals and crocodiles are in the river outside the crossing season too.
Kenya is 6 hours behind Japan, South Africa 7, neither with summer time. Local noon in Kenya is 18:00 in Japan and local 18:00 is 00:00 the next day; South Africa is an hour later.
The Olifants is a river whose water level changes the view. High water narrows the banks; low water brings the bed rock out.
If it isn't showing
All four also appear on the Kenya and South Africa pages. For the still water instead see Savanna Waterholes; every river camera is under River.
For a Japanese river whose level you can watch rise and fall, The Arakawa and The Yodo River System are the closest thing.
How to pick the hour is set out in Which cameras are in daylight now.
Where to find African Rivers
Agencies publishing the cameras on this page
- explore.org (Deep links and embeds OK, no image reuse) — Official site
The footage belongs to each agency. This site is an unofficial guide, and each sample frame was copied once per camera under that agency's terms of use.