Wilderness Mara is a reborn version of the long-standing Little Governors’ Camp. The property’s been shrunk down and zhuzhed up, but still occupies one of the best locations going – the Mara Triangle is a key area for Great Migration river crossings, jam-packed with wildlife, but quieter on the human front as it’s in a private concession. When you’re not out on game drives, you can visit the open-sided spa tent for a massage or facial treatment, pop into the photography studio to fine-tune your Nat Geo submissions, slot in a quick workout in the gym, or cool off in the pool.
Nesting arrangements
The 12 tented suites are decked out in natural shades of sandy brown, blue-grey and forest green – textured with woven rattan panels, Maasai beadwork and brass accents. Mesh sides let the light in during the day. Bathrooms have indoor and outdoor showers; choose your adventure.
The tents are dotted along the edge of a marsh where hippos wallow. Your private, shaded deck is the perfect place to plonk yourself down for a lazy afternoon of spotting grazing warthogs or even an elephant nonchalantly wandering past camp. Best done with a glass of chilled sparkling wine in hand.
Food philosophy
Food is as much an experience as everything else at Wilderness Mara – think surprise bush breakfasts (with Kenyan coffee, natch) or a Maasai-style fire-cooked dinner under the night sky. At camp, meals are served on the covered dining deck with views of the surrounding plains.
Expect lots of local flavours and dishes, such as Swahili-spiced braised pork, Tusker-beer-battered red snapper, the famous East African rolex (a chapati egg wrap designed to fill even the most bottomless of stomachs), or Kenyan beef kofta.
Secret sauce
Wilderness Mara is in a concession, managed by the non-profit Mara Conservancy. It has stricter rules than the main national reserve, such as a limit of five vehicles around a wildlife sighting, and it’s only open to people staying at the concession’s camps, so it’s much quieter.
For those visiting when the migration herds are in town (roughly July to October), Wilderness Mara’s location advantage will become crystal clear. The camp has access to both sides of the Mara River via its suspension footbridge (sadly not available to the wildebeest who must still brave the chock-a-croc waters) – giving you a full range of options depending on wildlife whereabouts, such as where the migration herds are gathering.
But it’s not all about the migration, great as it is – expect big cats, elephants, giraffes, rhinos and birds galore, from grey-crowned cranes to martial eagles.
One more thing…
The hot air balloon launch site is right next to camp so there’s no need to wake up at some ungodly hour to get there before sunrise. Instead, you’ve got time for a leisurely coffee as the burners fill the balloons, ready for your ride. Fly over the Mara hills, forests and plains, watching herds of wildebeest, elephants or buffalo from a bird’s-eye vantage point, before touching down for a Champagne toast – magical stuff.
