Mara Nyika Camp
Mara Nyika Camp is an exclusive safari lodge located in the Naboisho Conservancy, bordering the Masai Mara National Reserve.
Mara Nyika offers a very upmarket tented lodge experience in the exclusive Naboisho Conservancy. Owned and run by the excellent Great Plains, the lodge has an authentic but very sophisticated feel, with huge tented rooms which are luxuriously furnished. Despite the scale of the property, the property caters for a maximum of 12 guests, so it has a very exclusive feel. Great Plains provide high quality guiding and an emphasis on the safari experience as well as the accommodation and hospitality, so Mara Nyika naturally suits anyone looking for an upscale environment with an equal focus on the game-viewing experience.
Rooms
Accommodation is offered for up to 12 guests in four tented suites and a two bedroom family suite. Additionally, the separate Sambuk Suite can accommodation up to four adults (or two adults and three children). Tucked into the woodland, each of the suites is raised off the ground on wooden decking and comprises a lounge, a bedroom with dressing area and bathroom. The decor throughout is sumptuous with leather upholstery and dark wood finishing. The sleeping areas have twin or double beds under a draped mosquito net and have plentiful space for luggage. En suite bathroom facilities comprise of a flush toilet, double vanity, shower and a free-standing copper bath. The Family Suite comprises two en suite bedrooms (one of the bedrooms has a shower and bath, while the second bedrooms has a shower only) which share a lounge.
The Sambuk Suite at Mara Nyika comprises two en suite bedrooms (each bedroom with flush loo, shower, copper bathtub and double vanity), an indoor dining area and large verandah with private pool. It accommodates up to four adults or two adults and three children and includes the services of a private guide and vehicle, a private butler and has its own separate entrance, while the facilities of main camp can also be used.
A pair of high quality Swarovski binoculars, a Canon 5D camera body and Canon 100-400mm and 24-70mm lenses are available in all suites for guests to use during their stay. Any photos you take are downloaded to a memory stick and given to you on departure.
Central Areas
Central to the main camp, and also raised on wooden decks, are the lounge and library, dining tent and bar. Meals will usually be taken alfresco (weather dependant) with communal and private dining options (often dependent on the make-up of guests in camp), whist the outdoor fire pit is an ideal spot to enjoy a refreshing drink beforehand.
Facilities
Wi-Fi – Yes
Power for Charging – Yes
Swimming Pool – Private pool (Sambuk Suite)
Habitat & Wildlife
The Masai Mara ecosystem is one of the best game viewing areas in Africa and is especially good for viewing the big cats. Elephants, buffalo, hippo, crocodiles, giraffe, zebra, lion, leopard, cheetah, spotted hyaena, impala, gazelles, eland, waterbuck, topi, jackal and serval are all common and seen regularly. Rhino are found in certain areas, and wild dogs are more transient visitors. The famous wildebeest and zebra migration is usually in residence from mid-July through to mid-October, though the movement of the animals is always somewhat unpredictable. The scenery of the Masai Mara is stunning with open grassland plains intersected by rivers, rocky ridges and pockets of riverine forest. Birdlife is varied and especially good around the riverine woodland areas.
Whilst the official Masai Mara Game Reserve can be busy with tourist vehicles in places, especially at river crossings in migration season, the Naboisho Conservancy offers relative exclusivity away from the crowds. You do sometimes still see other vehicles, but most of the time you will be able to explore away from other vehicles. The Conservancy offers a good mix of open plains, rocky hills and acacia woodland, and is superb for game-viewing.
The conservancy is funded by a limited number of ‘tourism partners’ in cooperation with local Maasai landowners, and this model has been shown to benefit not only the local landowners who receive greater income and better pasture for their livestock, and the tourism partners, but also the wildlife and in particular, the predators.
Activities
Activities at Mara Nyika include game drives (by day and night) in open 4×4 vehicles. Within the Naboisho Conservancy it is possible to avoid the high tourist density of the Masai Mara National Reserve itself, although if desired (especially to see river crossings during the migration period around July to October), a game drive to the reserve is possible for guests staying three nights or more. Visits to the nearby Maasai village and hot air balloon safaris are also available at additional cost.
Seasons
Mara Nyika is open all year round. While game viewing is excellent year round, it is the long rainy season in April and May and short rains in November. The migration season is between mid-July and mid-October.
Mara Nyika Camp accepts children six years and older and is very suitable for families providing the price and style of the camp is suitable. The family unit is perfect for families with young children with internally connecting accommodation, while the Sambuk Suite offers an exclusive option for families wanting a more private experience with lots of space and a private pool. The Masai Mara is a great destination for families, combining fantastic wildlife sightings with cultural interaction.
Mara Nyika Camp is operated by Great Plains Conservation which exists to conserve and expand natural habitats, using sustainable eco-tourism to protect and restore critical habitats, conserve wildlife, and benefit local communities. All resulting in responsible travel opportunities for guests and achieving the company’s aim of ‘conservation tourism’.
Together with their charitable arm, the Great Plains Foundation, they manage over one million acres of land across Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe. A conservation and community levy is added to each stay with Great Plains Conservation as a contribution to the Great Plains Foundation’s work.
Here are just some examples of the projects carried out and supported:
Great Plains Founders, Dereck and Beverly Joubert established the National Geographic Big Cats Initiative. More than a decade later, the initiative has funded more than 150 projects in 28 countries. Current projects operate in Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Botswana and utilize innovative approaches to generate maximum positive impact. In the past, the initiative has supported projects like the Maasai Olympics and communal cattle herding workshops which tackle human-lion conflict and emphasize conservation and building bridges between communities, conservation and wildlife.
Great Plains supports the Naboisho Women’s Bead Group, based in the community of Nkoilale near the Masai Mara. Great Plains’ support for the project helps the group to bulk purchase beads and other raw materials for their products and provides training, sales and marketing support. The project enables women in the local community to bolster household income, in turn supporting food security, education, health and more for their families. The project directly impacts the households of the women in the group which means that nearly 1,000 people are directly impacted by the money the program generates.
The Great Plains Student Conservation Camps, one of their longest running programmes, have reached students and teachers in both Kenya and Botswana with environmental and conservation education. By engaging and mentoring young people in communities bordering protected land, students see positive examples of local professionals working to protect their fragile ecosystems and are inspired to become champions of biodiversity themselves.
Through Conservation Roots the Great Plains Foundation is partnering with local communities to restore indigenous trees to landscapes across Kenya, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. Working with local communities, partner organizations and school systems Conservation Roots plants indigenous trees and teaches their value and critical role in functioning ecosystems.
In 2024, Great Plains expanded the reach of their impact beyond the areas in which they operate and established a partnership with 4Ocean. Plastic waste is collected from the world’s oceans and turned into fashionable bracelets, which are available for sale in their camps. Every bracelet removes 5lbs of plastic from the sea, provides jobs, and starts a clean-up movement. Great Plains is donating a percentage on behalf of each guest who stays at a Great Plains safari camp to ocean clean-up activities.
In addition to their own projects, Great Plains offers its guests the option to bring a donation of supplies in partnership with Pack for a Purpose where guests may use the empty space in their suitcases for donations of much needed supplies for ongoing projects.
