From July to October, the great wildebeest migration fills the Maasai Mara, as do the bulk of the Mara's annual travelers. But from November to June, the Maasai Mara continues to brim over with an astonishing abundance of wildlife, along with fantastic opportunities for private walking safari, horseback safari, luxury mobile camping, and thrilling nighttime drives. On a 10-day safari outside of the migration months, the Maasai Mara is as authentic and surreal as ever.
Upon arrival you will be picked up by your safari guide and transferred to House of Waine. Immersed in the leafy surrounds of Kenya’s beautiful Karen Forest is the elegant House of Waine – an upmarket retreat, which offers guests intimacy and superb accommodation. Guests can unwind in one of 11 individually decorated suites —each with a spacious, marble en-suite bathroom, satellite television, a complimentary personal non-alcoholic mini-bar, TV with satellite and local channels, and tea and coffee-making facilities. Appreciate colourful fresh flowers and delicious cookies delivered to your room each day.
House of Waine offers a wonderful selection of menus, served in various locations on the property, which reflect the diversity of flavours found in Nairobi. There are also two bars, which are exclusively for the use of guests and a sparkling heated swimming pool for those quiet hours between sightseeing. Must-see attractions include a visit to Kazuri Beads, the Karen Blixen Museum, Matbronze Art Gallery and Foundry, Giraffe Centre (to hand feed giraffes and for nature walks), the Daphne Sheldrick Wildlife Sanctuary – where you can interact with (and perhaps adopt) elephants and rhinos – and the renowned Nairobi National Park.
After early morning breakfast, you will be transferred to Wilson airport for your maiden flight to Ol Pejeta conservancy. Your small plane will cruise alongside Mount Kenya, Africa's second-highest mountain, before descending onto a rugged savannah that will immediately evoke your firm impression of the wilderness. The odd elephant is seen near the airstrip, and on the short drive to Sweetwaters Serena, you will likely encounter buffalo herds, scattered impala, and an array of different antelope. The conservancy's great attraction hides nearby, usually amongst the thicker clumps of low-growing bush.
Ol Pejeta's rhinos are famous across East Africa and rightly so, for it is here that the conservation battle has had great recent successes. Later on during the drive, you will see another rhino that is even larger and stockier than those encountered before. Bashfully, it will appear from the bush before it walks on, one of only three Northern white rhinos that exist in the wild. All three of them are located here in a last-chance attempt for mating and the preservation of the species. You will continue your drive and admire a lion pride as it lazes away the afternoon while a nearby elephant herd redefines your notions of size.
The Sweetwaters Serena Camp lies within the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, on the Laikipia plains, with stunning views of Mount Kenya. The camp is a sheltered oasis, designed to offer a charming blend of under-canvas ambiance and uncompromising luxury. This tented camp is in a class of its own - located within the sprawling Ol Pejeta Conservancy, one of Kenya's most successful conservancies and home to the 'Big Five' (elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo and leopard). This private reserve is set in the extensive savannah grasslands and riverine forests that border the Ewaso Nyiro River (location of Kenya's only Chimpanzee Sanctuary). Due to its private status, it also allows unforgettable pleasures such as night game drives, guided bush & bird walks and camel riding across the plains teeming with game.
After a delicious breakfast, you will be transferred to the local airstrip. Your flight will land in the Maasai Mara, and the abundance of mammals is immediately revealed. Thompson's gazelle are scattered across the plains, bounding around with grace and dexterity. Wildebeest gather in small herds, perhaps a hundred rutting and grazing their way across the short grass. Sometimes you will pass individual zebra families, usually five to eight of them that did not follow the migration but occasionally you will also pass larger herds with upwards of a thousand zebra huddled together in a mass of black and white. On the open landscape, the grasslands extend as far as the eye can see which makes it easy to spot the giants; elephants marching along the horizon, clusters of buffalo, the giraffe that walks so distinctively, and perhaps the odd hippo out of the river. Whichever month you visit the Masai Mara, there is always this immediate impression of abundance. You will check in at the Mara Serena Safari Lodge.
The Mara Serena Safari Lodge has a beautiful hilltop location overlooking the rolling plains and woodlands of the Masai Mara, one of the world’s richest wildlife sanctuaries. The annual migration of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle takes place across these plains, and even outside of the migration season you can look forward to spectacular sightings. You can spend your day on a game drive; enjoy a morning bird walk with the lodge’s resident naturalist, or visit a traditional Masai Manyatta (village). A great extra is a hot-air balloon safari where you can enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the wildlife below and then descend to a scenic champagne breakfast served in the middle of the bush. In the evening, you can enjoy tribal dancing displays, as well as wildlife and cultural talks.
After breakfast, you will be transferred to Mara North Concervancy. on arrival you will check in at the Mara Bushtops Camp - perfectly situated for a hot air balloon safari, as it's just a short drive from the launch site in the west of the reserve. You will travel skyward at dawn as a bulging African sun pierces the horizon, and the herds are dappling the grasslands below. Admire the Mara River as it slices through the landscape to twist and turn beneath the layers of scorched grass. The scale of it all is unraveled as you float across the Masai Mara as the vast landscape stretches out beyond the horizon in every direction. Panoramas complement the intimate details of the previous two days, helping you grasp just how old and endless this ecosystem truly is.
You will have enough opportunities in an immersive Maasai Mara safari experience as you take game drives that will go off the trail into this private conservancy. The breathtaking sights will keep coming, and it will be rare to go a day without seeing one of the cats on the move. As well as being able to drive off the trail, you can continue your game drives into the night. With a roving spotlight that illuminates the plains, these drives continually bring rare and surprising sights. Perhaps jackal and caracal who have emerged from their hiding places or perhaps leopards as they mate, the female scratching the ground and leaving her scent for the male to follow. It could be lions battling with buffalo, the lionesses upsetting the herd and the big horned buffalo males trying to protect their young.
Mara Bushtops has been designed to blend into its surroundings, minimising our visual and environmental impact, whilst providing every comfort to our guests. 12 spacious and fabulously appointed luxury tents (think of a 5-star hotel room, under canvas) can be found by following private paths from a shared space, to secluded havens of privacy and calm.
Though your safari experience in Kenya will reach the end of the road today, you will relish one final morning slowly soaking up the sunshine from your patio and sipping on freshly squeezed juice to backdrops of the sprawling bushveld. After breakfast, you will gather your things and revel in a game drive that will lead you to a few remaining animal viewing hotspots before you arrive at the airstrip to catch your flight back to the Wilson Airport. There are optional plans for a day room or lunch before your final transfer to JKIA for your home-bound flight.
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