Blogs

Best Lodges in Maasai Mara National Reserve – Mara Triangle, Conservancies  This Best Lodges in Maasai Mara National Reserve guide explains how the reserve, the Mara Triangle, the conservancies and the budget camps differ; compares the lodges named most often; profiles the leading properties; shows how the reserve fee and conservancy fees change the cost; […]

Olare Motorogi Conservancy Olare Motorogi is the conservancy most often named when safari planners talk about the Maasai Mara’s private reserves, and the reason is simple: big cats. It sits directly on the northern boundary of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, formed from the former Olare Orok and Motorogi conservancies, and it is widely documented

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy Lewa began as a cattle ranch, Lewa Downs, and became one of the most influential conservation projects in Africa. In the 1980s it started sheltering endangered black rhinos; in 1995 it was formally established as a wildlife sanctuary; and in 2013 it was inscribed by UNESCO as an extension of the Mount

Mara North Conservancy Mara North is the largest of the Maasai Mara’s private conservancies, a block of more than 70,000 acres on the northern edge of the national reserve, running up toward the Aitong Hills. It was formally established on 1 January 2009, when around 750 Maasai landowners agreed to lease their combined parcels into

Tanzania Cultural Tours This guide covers most worthwhile Tanzania cultural tour experiences, the Maasai, the Hadzabe, the Chagga people of Kilimanjaro, and Zanzibar’s Swahili coastal culture, what makes each one meaningful, and how to tell a well-run cultural visit from an exploitative one before you book, so the time and money you set aside for

Luxury Safaris in Kenya Kenya invented the modern safari as a luxury travel concept, and it still does luxury better than almost anywhere else in Africa, but the word itself has been stretched thin by marketing copy attached to lodges that are comfortable rather than exceptional. A real luxury Kenya safari is not just a

Kenya Photo Safari Kenya has produced more iconic wildlife photography than perhaps any other country in Africa, and much of that reputation traces back to a specific structural advantage most casual visitors never think to ask about: off-road driving privileges. The ability to leave marked tracks and position a vehicle exactly where the light and

Ol Donyo Lodge | Chyulu Hills, Kenya Set on the south-western flank of the volcanic Chyulu Hills, between Amboseli and Tsavo West National Parks, ol Donyo Lodge occupies a landscape Ernest Hemingway once called the Green Hills of Africa. With unbroken views toward Mount Kilimanjaro, rooftop “star beds” for sleeping directly under the night sky,

Mahali Mzuri | Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Kenya  Mahali Mzuri, Swahili for “beautiful place,” is Sir Richard Branson’s own safari camp, opened in 2013, and one of only five properties permitted to operate within the private Olare Motorogi Conservancy on the northern edge of the Maasai Mara. With just twelve tented suites and a maximum capacity

Ngorongoro Conservation Area Set high on the forested slopes of Olmoti Volcano, well away from the crowds that gather at Ngorongoro Crater’s main rim, The Highlands reimagines what a Ngorongoro Conservation Area stay can actually look like. Eight geodesic domed suites, blending canvas and glass in a  striking, contemporary architectural style, sit tucked into the