Mara Expedition Camp is positioned in a grove of typical East African acacia trees overlooking a valley in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. The camp tells the story of early day explorers with touches of campaign furniture and open air space under light canvas. It is an ideal camp, from which to start your safari looking for big cats such as cheetah and lion.

The six rooms are large canvas tents built on wooden platforms, with en-suite bathrooms and outside deck. Three rooms each stand on either side of the dining/lounge tent, where in the evening the friendly staff entertain their guests by the light of kerosene lamps.

Most guests fly in a small aircraft from Nairobi Wilson to the Ol Kiombo Airstrip. The drive from here to the camp then takes about 45 minutes. The flight time from Nairobi Wilson is about 45 minutes.

The Maasai Mara abuts the Serengeti to the north to form the border with Tanzania. The reserve covers an area of approx. 1'510 km² and receives water via the Sand River, the Talek River and, of course, the Mara River. The Mara Expedition Camp is located just a few short kilometres or five minutes’ drive from Mara Plains Camp, and sits within the Maasai Mara Game Reserve on a bend of the Ntiakitiak River.

The Maasai Mara is home to one of the highest concentrations of big cat in Africa and more than 50 species of raptor. Lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, buffalo and elephant are high on the must-see list of most visitors here, and it is indeed the most likely place to get a snapshot of all of them.

Additionally, July sees the arrival of the first ca. two million wildebeest, zebra and Thompson’s gazelle that migrate from the Serengeti to feast on the fresh green grass of the Maasai Mara. They remain until September, when they make their way south again towards the Serengeti. The animals traverse the Mara River, where hungry crocodiles lie in wait for their prey, a spectacle known as ‘river crossings’.

Game drives, balloon flights (additional costs).

Game drives usually take place in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve and are very popular during the Great Migration to see the River Crossings. It is not unusual for guides to pack breakfast and lunch and spend the whole day out with guests to witness one fo the River Crossings.

The border to the neighbouring Mara North Conservancy is open, which means in addition to the Maasai Mara Game Reserve’s 1518 km², guests also have a further 324 km² to explore on game drives in the Mara North Conservancy! Night drives are allowed in the private conservancy, but not in the game reserve.

SwissAfrican Travel Service
Dammstrasse 27
8702 Zollikon
Zurich, Switzerland


Telephone: +41 (0)44 451 40 51