TENTS CAMPING

The Tented Camps of Masai Mara Game Parkby Richard Chowning Masai Mara Reserve is the most famous Kenyan game park, second only to Tanzania's Serengeti. It is a long, three-hour drive away from the bustling capital of Nairobi. The reserve is home to all of the big five: lion, elephant, rhino, cape buffalo and hippo. Visitors to the Masai Mara have the opportunity to see them all and relax in five star lodges. Mara Sara Lodge or Kikorok Lodge are situated in the center of the park.

Slumberjack 4 Person Trail Tent

These lodges are top notch, but the most luxurious and enchanting place to experience the wild is to stay at one of the array of tented camps on the fringes of the park. First off, let me assure you that game are as plentiful on the fridges, if not more, than in the game park proper. Every nightly you will be able to see animals very near by as you sip a cool after diner drink on the lawn of a tented camp. These are not just functional tents or minimalist camps, they are permanent, canvas hotel rooms. Guests are far from roughing it in the wild. Each tent has a hot shower and a toilet. In the middle of the night guests hear Buffalo gnawing at the grass, right on the other side of the canvas wall. Monkeys jump from tree to tree and antelopes graze in meadow that is stretched out before your breakfast table on the lawn.

Coleman Hooligan 2 Backpacking Tent

Masai tribesmen provide security with their spears and entertainment with their dancing in the evening. The tented camp experience come as packaged deals coming complete with room, meals, and morning and afternoon run through the Masai Mara Reserve in a hatch topped van or a Land Cruiser. The two most famous tented camps are Governors Camp and Kitwa Tembo. Governors Camp, as the name suggests, is in an area that British royalty and provincial officials came to rest with the wildlife. The camp is on the bank of the Mara River, home to hippo and crocodiles. It is a five star hotel under canvas, complete with a large pool and cordon-bleu dinners. The camp has 38 tents and full room and board, plus game viewing is around $375 per person per night. Kitwa Tembo means "elephant head," referring to the head marking the entrance to the tented camp. The land is owned by Masai. The stately warriors, clad in red sheets, are evident around the grounds. Each tent has a private veranda facing the grasslands. The Sabaringo River runs behind the camp. Full room and board here is just under $300 per person. African travel forums on the Internet are an excellent resource for research on accommodations in the other tented camps of the Masa Mara. Other Africa forums offer reviews.