Little Governors’ Camp – Masai Mara

Little Governors' Camp is an unpretentious, full-service camp known for offering its guests excellent service as well as very memorable safari experiences. The camp has won multiple awards ever since its establishment in 1976 and continues to receive very positive reviews by both novice and experienced safari travellers. The camp’s reputation for adventure and excitement begins even before you reach it. The local airstrip is frequented by elephants and lions. You never know what kind of wildlife will be waiting to greet you when you arrive. Even after you leave the airstrip, getting to the camp itself is a fun adventure. The camp is located on the edge of the Masai Mara National Reserve and can be reached by going on a very short boat ride across the Mara River and a short hike through the woods. The area surrounding Little Governor’s has a very tropical feel to it. The camp is surrounded by thick riverine forests and wide-open plains. The camp’s seventeen safari tents each have front decks that are each ideally situated to watch the local wildlife visit the popular local waterhole. A small island in the centre of the waterhole is a popular go-to for a wide variety of waterbirds and wader. A delight for birdwatchers.

Aside from the natural beauty that surrounds the camp, the facilities offered by the camp itself are also a thing of a beauty. The camp’s common areas feature very spacious tented lounges and a dining area with tiled floors, comfortable sofas and heavy wooden coffee tables. In the evening a log fire is lit in front of the bar tent to keep the area warm and inviting. The rest of the common areas are lit in the soft light of lanterns. The camp’s bar serves up delicious cocktails and snacks and is a wonderful place to swap safari stories with fellow safari travellers and your Masai guides. The camp also has a small souvenir shop featuring a gallery of wildlife and natural history pictures.

Each of Little Governors' tented suites are spacious and fully outfitted with everything you may need to make your stay comfortable and enjoyable. The camp’s seventeen massive walk-in tents are sprawled out along the edge of the lagoon under the forest canopy and look out upon the waterhole and the towering Olooloo Escarpment far away in the distance. Some of the tents are relatively close to the common areas and the furthest tents are about 250 metres away from this area. The tents are all the same size, approximately 3 metres in width. The tents’ polished wooden floors and decks are covered with an occasional rug and the tents are furnished with comfy sofas, director’s chairs, a folding front deck table, a small writing table/ dressing table and a luggage rack. The tented suites have luxurious en-suite bathrooms with hot- and cold running water and flushing toilets. Hot water is generated using eco-friendly solar water heaters. Solar energy is also used to generate round-the-clock energy for the tent power sockets. Filtered drinking water is provided in each tent using an eco-friendly reverse osmosis purification system.

Delicious meals are prepared throughout the day, and these are served both outdoors during the day and in the dining tent in the evening. As dusk falls, the camp is lit by traditional candlelight, gas and kerosene lamps, creating a peaceful and atmospheric setting.

Guests at Little Governors' have a variety of scenic dining locations to choose from when enjoying meals at the camp. Breakfast on the banks of the local lagoon, lunch in the shade of one of the African ebony trees or dinner by fireside beneath the stars, wherever you choose to enjoy you’ll meal you’ll look out upon the lovely natural surroundings and the hippos, buffalos and even a warthog family that enjoy strolling around the camp. The camp offers a full English breakfast buffet each morning complete with fruit, cereals, pastries, bread and other tasty treats. Lunch is served buffet-style and generally includes a variety of tasty dishes such as curries, moussaka, rice, baked breads and a salad buffet with your choice of salad ingredients and dressings. To top it all off, there’s always a lovely dessert waiting in the end. Dinners at Little Governors' are always a delight and consist of a meat, fish or vegetarian meal option. With dishes such as the roasted pumpkin quiche, a Mongolian barbecue, a vegetable risotto and desserts such as a sticky banana cake with toffee sauce or a Kenyan cheese platter there’s always something good cooking in Little Governor’s kitchen.

Each evening of your stay the Little Governor’s manager will check in with you to see which activities you would like to undertake the next day. Since the camp is located in the northern part of the Masai Mara National Reserve most game drives you’ll embark on will be operated within the Musiara Sector of the National Reserve. You can choose from either an early morning game drive that departs at 6:15 and returns around 9:00 or a mid-morning game drive that departs at 10.30 at returns around lunchtime. A picnic bush breakfast can be packed up for you to enjoy at a scenic spot along the way. The third and last game drive option of the day leaves in the afternoon. You can also choose to go on half-day or full day extended game drives complete with packed picnic meals. The camp has open-sided Land Rovers with two rows of rear seats that offer wide-open panoramic views of the wildlife surrounding you. In addition to 4x4 safaris you can go birdwatching, go on cultural excursions to a local Masai village and go on guided walking safaris.

Ready for an extra special safari adventure? Just behind the camp lies a launch pad for unforgettable hot air balloon ride safaris. As the hot air balloon rises towards the skies, the secrets of the endless African savannah and woodlands are uncovered. Add a glass of bubbly, the lovely colours of an African sunrise and a side of good company and you’re all set for a very memorable high-flying safari adventure. Keep in mind that the cost of a hot air balloon ride safari is not included in the price of your stay and that the costs are approximately 500 US Dollars per person. Having the launch pad right behind the camp means there’s no need to wake up extra early to travel to your take-off destination. Even if you decide to forgo the hot air balloon ride, having the balloons take off near camp means you can enjoy the view of seeing them head off.