Mara Plains Camp

one of the very best camps in the Mara

Mara Plains Camp is located in the Mara Olare Motorogi Conservancy area of the Maasai Mara in southwest Kenya.

Set in a prime position on this conservancy, this gorgeous small camp is tucked away in the ribbon of riverine forest which lines the seasonal Njageteck River, with great views out over the surrounding plains, often with a good deal of wildlife in plain view.

From the vehicle turnaround we first cross a rickety footbridge to reach the comfortable and stylish public areas, containing lounge and dining spaces, leading out to a campfire area.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Mara Plains Camp is in a total of seven lavish rooms, each with an indoor bathroom and private verandah …

• Standard Suites : x5 : The main guest accommodation is in just five very well-appointed guest tents, accessed by a network of broad ground-level pathways. Set up on decks, these very large tents have separate and very comfortable lounge and bedrooms areas, with a lavish bathroom at the far end, featuring conventionally plumbed basins, shower and toilet, plus a lovely free-standing copper bathtub. Out front a private verandah and an outside shower.
• Jahazi Suite : x1 : The other two rooms are contained within the much larger Jahazi Suite, which features a private lounge and dining room, as well as two completely independent bedroom and bathroom areas. This unit can function completely separately from the rest of the camp, so is great for family groups. You can even take a third room in order that six or seven of you can make your home here.

Activities

Mara Plains Camp provides the following guided activities, not all of which are necessarily included in the room rate …

• Vehicle safari
• Walking safari
• Bush meals
• Cultural interaction
• Night vehicle safari

The Maasai Mara tends to feature in almost all safari trips to Kenya. As well as being the best known reserve, it is also the most productive for wildlife.

The usual stay duration is 4-8 nights split between two camps, less frequently 3-4 nights in just one camp.

Seasonality

The best time of year to visit the Maasai Mara is generally considered to be the Jul-Oct dry season, when the weather should be reliably good and the wildlife concentrated around the permanent water sources.

The Nov-Jun green season may be much less dependable for weather, but remains really strong for wildlife viewing.

Visitor traffic is less of an issue in this private area, but you can expect the camps to be fully booked during the Jul-Oct and Dec-Jan high seasons. So there can be slight advantages to visiting during quieter periods.

Getting around

You’re most likely to arrive into the Maasai Mara area via the regular light aircraft services that operate from Nairobi, which means that you will travel around the area with a guide and vehicle from the camp in which you are staying.

If you’re staying in more than one camp in the greater Maasai Mara then inter-camp transfers are usually operated by the departing camp and generally pass through wildlife areas for most if not all of their routes.

It’s also possible to travel down from Nairobi to the Maasai Mara by road, which is quite a long and tiresome journey, but not without interest. The trouble is that the better lodges in the Mara will offer you no discount for having your own guide and vehicle along, so you end up paying for both, which works out more expensive than flying down.

one of the three best private concessions in the Mara