Masai Mara Reserve
Kenya's Masai Mara is without any question one of Africa's most famous parks. Home to a stunning array and exceptional density of big game, the sheer quantity of game that every game drive throws up is outstanding. There are very few places on the continent that offer such good big five viewing and the Mara also hosts the Great Migration's immense herds towards the end of the year. Serengeti, Okavango, Etosha, Kruger....no list of Africa's best reserves would be complete without the Mara.
After such a glowing opening paragraph we have to take you back to reality somewhat; the Mara's fame has come with a price, turning it into one of the busiest parks in Africa. Its proximity to Nairobi means the park is too easily accessed; as a result it is vastly overrun by day-trippers and package tours and large hotels. It is not uncommon to have more than 10 vehicles around a pride of lion!
But like any sought after tourist destination, you have to look beyond the crowds and try and appreciate what makes it so special. The Mara is classic Africa: awe-inspiring endless plains, studded with the odd acacia. This is the landscape that you have seen so many times in hundreds of documentaries. The BBC film their famous Big Cat Diary here for one reason - the game really is reliably good at any time of year. Travel from August to the end of October and your vehicles are covered by herds as the Great Migration moves into town, creating one of the worlds most unbelievble wildlife events. The Masai Mara National Reserve and the Greater Mara
The Masai Mara Reserve is the Mara that we have all heard of. It is here that the highest densities of wildlife are found and here that the vast majority of wildlife filming takes place. Surrounding this reserve is the Greater Mara, an area where the strict rules of National Reserves are not followed, allowing guests to walk and night drive whilst still being able to game drive into the Mara Reserve itself.
The Masai Mara: Accommodation choices
The most famous hotels inside the Masai Mara National Reserve are the three Governor's properties, Il Moran, Little Governor's and Governors itself. They are all located close to the area the BBC film the Big Cat Diary and subsequently have reliably good game viewing. We are fans of Governors and Little Governors simply due to the game viewing on offer and the value that both these camps offer, but when clients want to pay a little more than the Governors rate, we suggest that people stay in either Rekero or Naibor. Rekero is for the safari purest - it is effectively a no frills safari camp that is well respected for its quality of guiding whereas Naibor is the camp for honeymooners, or people wanting a little more luxury than Rekero. Either way, we think these two camps along with Serian or Ngare Serian (both in the Greater Mara) are the best camps in the entire Mara region.
Recommended lodges in this area:
Masai Mara Reserve
Rekero has long been held as the camp to try and emulate in the Mara as it has everything you would look for from a camp. Owner run and managed, the level of standards are comparable with those of camps in Botswana and, due to the depth and knowledge that is learnt through experience of an area over a long period, the guiding can certainly be compared as well.
Masai Mara Reserve
A slightly younger sister to the infamous Shompole Camp down on the Tanzanian border, Naibor is a beautiful tented camp set in a stunning area in the centre of the Mara. Each of the 9 tents has been well thought out and use a side opening construction that allow you to feel even more a part of the forest around you.
Masai Mara Reserve
Governors’ has become synonymous with the Masai Mara and the camps, of which there are 4, are all superbly located to benefit from the annual Migration herd of wildebeest that come up from Tanzania around the end of July and depart towards the end of October. The camps have also, for the last 10 years or so, been the base for the famous BBC Big Cat diaries which have made the plains of East Africa so famous.
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