Travel Matters Insight

Karen Blixen Camp

About…

The Karen Blixen Camp overlooks the infamous but beautiful Mara River, where the dramatic spectacle known as ‘The Great Migration’ takes place. Imagine herds of Gazelle, Wildebeest and Zebra racing along this migratory path of the Maasai Mara & Serengeti ecosystems in order to make the voyage across this mass many obstacles. Here they must battle their way through gorges and rivers, which embrace fierce currents and dangerous predators.  Away from the water the landscapes of the Mara Triangle include riparian forestry, imposing valleys, red-oat grasslands, towering volcanic hills and the formidable 400-metre high Oloololo Escarpment. The Camp itself can be found within the picturesque Mara North Conservancy, belonging to the Mara-Serengeti Ecosystem that borders the Maasai Mara National Reserve in the South of Kenya.

In order to access the camp, we are able to assist every booking with either a Bus Transfer (5 to 6 hours) or by air (45 minutes), from Nairobi. Once at the Camp you will feel that you have been transported back to the turn of the 20th Century, when Safari really started to become popular. The Camp has embraced a 1920’s era of lavish & comfortable furnishings, ensuring that your stay will be both exhilarating and comfortable.

The Camp has a total of 22 rooms…or tented abodes! Guests are able to choose from Double, Triple and Quad Tents. Some of which have spacious front balconies with views of the Mara River. Each Mosquito-proof Tent is equipped with an en-suite washroom and outdoor shower. The Camp is also fortified with indulgences to ensure that all guests’ needs are met. We welcome every booking to utilise the Spa that offers several treatments that can be enjoyed before sloshing off in the swimming pool. The Camp also invites guests to coddle themselves in the local cuisine and dine either al-fresco or at the restaurant.  

The weather within the Mara North Conservancy is generally stable, but here’s our short guide to the elements –

Between mid-April and mid-June you can expect the ‘Long Rains’/rainy season and the ‘Short Rains’ to fall during November. During the ‘Green Season’, mid-late March to June, it generally precipitates at night, with bright skies during the day. These seasons enable the Maasai Mara’s rivers and waterholes to be re-filled, thus bringing renewed life that transforms the landscape into lush green terrain. For your holiday, we advise that you pack an anorak, loose t-shirts, dresses, sandals, walking shoes/boots, caps, sunscreen, sunglasses and most importantly binoculars & a camera.

Key Sustainable Features…

The Karen Blixen Camp is a prime example of how to preserve local surroundings, enhance indigenous people’s lives and be a model of how Responsible Tourism should be practiced. The Camp’s fundamental ethos is to safeguard the natural wildlife and its habitat. In recent years huge efforts have been made to contribute positively to the local community, in order to lessen poverty. This has been achieved by aiding land lease payments, bed night fees and the purchase of locally produced products.

The Camp has received international merit for business practices by implementing the ‘Working Law of Kenya 2007’, the ‘Labour Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Rights to Work’, as well as promoting the labour principles of the ‘UN Global Compact’. The Camp also supports the ‘UN Public Private Partnership Program’ in conjunction with ‘Danida’ (Danish International Development Aid) in order to build a Hospitality School. 

Karen Blixen Camp’s Mission Goals are as follows -

• Safeguarding the Maasai Mara as a truly exclusive wildlife area.

• Professional wildlife and land management.

• Direct and transparent revenue distribution to the Maasai Landowners.

• Promotion of strong eco-tourism practices and use of environmentally friendly technologies.

• Controlled tourism and guaranteed low vehicle density for lower environmental impact and

• Fundraising and endorsing corporate social investment for the betterment of the local communities.

Travel Matters Highlights…

Kenya is the undisputed King of Safari!

The Mara North Conservancy is a not-for-profit public company spread over 30,000 hectares. Within the Conservancy there are 10-member Camps and more than 800 Maasai Landowners…proving that mankind can co-exist within the Animal Kingdom! This is home to the ‘Great Migration’, which spans the South of Tanzania on the Ndutu Plains and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The Mara River acts as a divide in the land and also an obstacle for wildlife like Wildebeest and Zebra that are obligated to cross the fast-flowing, crocodile-infested waters.

Within Kenya’s famed Savannah, you will discover palm-fringed beaches, glistening lakes, highland forests, Lemek Hills and the Great Rift Valley. Through guided safaris, guests are exposed to African Wild Dogs, Giraffe, Grant’s Gazelles, Kirks Dikdik, Topis, Wildebeests, Yellow Baboons, Zebra and the Kenyan ‘Big Five’ (Cape Buffalo, Elephants, Leopards, Lions and Rhinos).

We are pleased to assist in booking the following Tours -

• Balloon Safari

• Bird Watching

• Blixen Helicopter Scenic Flight

• Game Drives

• Game Walks

• Nature Walks

• Night Game Drives

Map & Location…

The Maasai Mara is a large National Game Reserve in Narok, Kenya.

Kenya is an extraordinary country; full of history, wildlife, incredible people and unbelievable landscapes.  Its marvellous history stems from its Swahili language, which is a mixture of Bantu and Arabic. The Port of Mombasa was hotly sought after for centuries and was overseen by Arab and Portuguese supremacy, until the 1600’s that saw it fall under British rule. Toward the end of the 19th Century, the Berlin Conference of 1885 met to split these territories of influence by the European powerhouses. The British Government therefore created the East African Protectorate in 1895, which enabled settlers and farmers to move into these fertile highlands to white settlers.

Today Kenya is known for its Savanna Desert that is set across a dreamy horizon, snow-capped mountains, a palm-fringed coastline of the Indian Ocean and the Great Rift Valley. What we also know is that Kenya is the King of Safaris…more specially, the Maasai Mara! You will be hard pushed to find anything that rivals the varied scenery, including the extensive open plains that are crescent with Acacia Trees to semi-arid -desert that is home to extraordinary wildlife, including the Big Five.