Mara Intrepids

Mara Intrepids is located in a special Leopard spotting zone of the Maasai Mara. This camp is just a short drive from the Mara River, where over a million wildebeest and zebra make their perilous migration crossing every year. Outside of the migration, period, the camp still offers some of the world's finest game viewing, with large local populations of plains game including, elephant, rhino, buffalo, and all the Big Cats. In 2004 for example, some 75% of the footage for the BBC's famous Big Cat Diary was shot in the vicinity of the camp.

The camp is run on strict eco-principles, with hot water generated by burning used coffee husks, biodegradable waste mulched for compost, and all wastewater recycled through our own on-site constructed wetland.

Accommodation

Mara Intrepids boast 30 luxurious tents that are widely spread across a large riverside site to ensure you the optimum of privacy and peace. Each tent is furnished in the classic style of the grand African safaris, with large four-poster beds and handsome reproduction furniture, offset by modern en-suite bathrooms with hot showers, flush toilets and all modern amenities. Each tent sits on a shady raised platform, with sweeping views over the riverbanks where a large variety of animals come to drink.

At night, the restaurant is usually visited by wide-eyed bush babies some of which are melanistic. A separate dining area is sometimes used for larger groups travelling together, and bush breakfast, sundowners and bush dinners can also be arranged.

Activities

Game drives are always a delight here as they don't get much better than in this central triangle of the Maasai Mara. Lion, cheetah, buffalo, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, bat-eared fox and various antelope are conspicuous in the plains that divide the rivers, whose confluence lies close to the main crossing point used by tens of thousands of wildebeest during the annual migration. This part of the reserve receives fewer visitors than the eastern part and as such it is possible to drive long periods without seeing another vehicle. The lodge also offers nature walks and cultural visits to local Maasai villages. They can arrangements hot air balloon safaris, leaving before dawn, and the Adventurers Club runs various activities for kids.

As one of the Mara's most established camps, Mara Intrepids enjoys a very close relationship with the local Maasai community, from which most of the camps staff hail. Together with a sister camp, Mara Explorer, Mara Intrepids channels part of income into local community initiatives, including environmental awareness training, the establishment of medical clinics, and financial support for primary schools, churches and women's groups.

Mara Intrepids is 298 kilometers from Nairobi and is served by an all-weather airstrip that enables guests to be at the camp within 45 minutes of leaving the capital city of Nairobi. Daily scheduled flights are available from the Wilson airport and other safari destinations on your itinerary.