Mara Conservancies, Kenya

Mara Plains Camp

Luxury canvas tents on the banks of the Ntiakitiak River

Private access to the 35,000-acre Olare Motorogi Conservancy

Just north of the Maasai Mara Reserve, in the 30,000 acre private Olare Motorogi Conservancy, this Relais & Châteaux camp offers you outstanding game experiences without the restrictions that the reserve itself imposes on other lodges. Each guest’s stay helps to contribute to various conservation and community projects. This conservancy adds a huge plus factor due to the privacy and minimal vehicle traffic within it. You can easily access the Maasai Mara Reserve, but the game in the conservation area is just as excellent. Leopard are regularly spotted passing through the camp and lions can often be heard in the distance.

Stroll along walkways that wind their way through the forest between the tented suites that are built on high stilts offering you stunning views onto the Ntiakitiak Riverr or across the Mara plains. Each suite has deep canvas canopied ceilings, rough-hewn wood floors and accents of East Africa’s rich safari history. Expect thick Lamu wood doors, deep purples, and brass accents. The raised library looks down onto hippos wallowing in the river, while the wine cellar is the perfect place to unwind and sample a selection of excellent South African and French wines. You can also choose to enjoy a private dining experience here.

A highlight of the camp is the family suite, the Mara Plains Jahazi Suite, which is an exclusive-use, two-bedroom tented villa with its own team of dedicated staff.

The game drive vehicles are all completely open which helps you get some phenomenal photographs. In addition to the game, you mustn’t forget that you also have a community nearby that you can visit and witness a genuine working village. A truly marvellous experience.

Highlights

Seven luxurious tented suites

Relais & Châteaux member

Swarovski binoculars and Canon camera equipment in each tent

Day and night access to the Olare Motorogi Conservancy

Hot air balloon rides

Cultural excursions

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Places to combine Mara Plains Camp with

Positive Impact
sasaab-entrance

Samburu

Sasaab Lodge
Located on the edge of the Ewaso River in a pristine wilderness within the Westgate Community Conservancy, the lodge boasts some fantastic views and is perfectly located to give you some amazing game sightings. If you want to get involved in activities, there is a huge variety of things to get involved with but otherwise, ‘Spa Saab’ will look after you in calming treatment rooms and it even offers yoga. What’s more, Sasaab is involved in many projects with the local Samburu tribe and runs many sustainability initiatives. Each of the nine distinctive open-walled rooms are furnished with a Moroccan flair with simple but elegant trimmings. They are extremely spacious (over 100sqm each) with west facing verandas and their own private plunge pools overlooking the Ewaso Nyiro River. You’re higher up and closer to the Sahara here, so it can get very warm, but the lodge has been built to provide respite from the heat. The open tented rooms are airy and your plunge pool is just a short stroll from your bed. The family unit is ideal for two couples travelling together as well as families. This luxurious suite is spacious, featuring one en-suite double room and one en-suite twin room with a communal lounge and private plunge pool. The main dining area is reminiscent of a souk and is great for a lazy afternoon watching the game frequent the river below. The lodge has a strong relationship with the hundreds of families that live on and own the conservancy and they are very proud to give guests to the lodge a special insight into their daily lives. These cultural experiences are non intrusive and if you’re lucky, they might even invite you to see a genuine traditional ceremony in the village. Trips to the local Samburu markets take place twice a week and are not to be missed.

Laikipia Plateau

Segera
Styled in a very natural way, Segera is an unusual and elegant safari retreat founded by philanthropist Jochen Zeitz as part of the Zeitz Foundation to support creative and innovative sustainable projects and solutions that balance conservation, community development, culture, and commerce. Surrounded by lovely sculpted gardens complete with expansive lawns, the property is set in a 50,000 acre ranch right in the heart of Kenya’s Laikipia Plateau, with stunning views of Mount Kenya. Segera offers six spacious timber thatched villas. There is one large Segera villa that has a bedroom, terrace, day bed with its own pool, and both an indoor and outdoor lounge, and Segera House with two bedrooms, central lounge, roof terraces and its own private pool area, a good option for families. A new addition and one of the most unique rooms in Africa, spend a night in the NAY PALAD Bird Nest. Built and designed from raw materials, including actual tree branches which have been woven into a nest by local community members, the interior suite features a fully-equipped bathroom with running solar heated water and a literal 360 degree bird’s eye views over the river and plains below from the top deck. There is also a spa, gym, art gallery and a simply wonderful old Wine Tower which you can dine in. This is also a first class area for viewing game; while on your daily drives it is common to see elephants, lions, leopards, hippos, buffalo, antelopes, gazelles, along with the very rare Grevy’s zebras and Patas monkeys. Another star attraction is Gipsy Moth biplane that starred in Out of Africa from which you can enjoy an unforgettable aerial safari.
solio-lodge-exterior

Solio Private Reserve

Solio Lodge
The only property nestled within a 19,000 acre private wildlife sanctuary and surrounded by the 45,000 acres of the wider Solio Ranch, Solio Lodge’s location is idyllic, with sweeping views across the plains towards Mount Kenya, and when it comes to spotting rhino, you’re in prime position. This is largely due to the fact that it’s the most successful private rhinoceros breeding reserve in Kenya. The lodge features five glass-fronted cottages made from stone and thatch, each with an open fireplace and a large patio, ideal for armchair game viewing and private meals. One of the cottages has two en-suite bedrooms, making it ideal for families. There is a communal mess area where guests can relax with a glass of wine and a good book, and look out across the Solio Reserve. The grounds are home to a kitchen garden where vegetables and herbs are harvested and used in the lodge’s sophisticated menu. Of course, the big draw in Solio is the opportunity to see black and white rhino. The breeding programme here is one of the most successful of its kind and being able to witness these conservation efforts in person is a wonderful experience. As well as rhino, the reserve is home to giraffes, impalas, zebras, buffalos as well as larger predators such as lions and leopards. As well as morning and afternoon game drives, guests can enjoy horse riding, cycling, visits to the local communities and coffee farm or go trout fishing in nearby Aberdere National Park.