Sitting on the deck of your tent, the animals are so close it feels like you can touch them. You are at one with the greatness of the savannah. Leopard hill is high end living and pure nature all at once, located close to a series of waterholes where the wild animals come to drink. The camp feels comfortable, quiet and private, located in an area restricted from motorised vehicles. In bed, click a button and the tent ceiling opens. Only a mosquito net is between you and the vast African night sky.

Camp

The Leopard Hill camp is watched over by a giant fig tree. This twin tree, dubbed Double Fig Tree, was struck by lightning in the 1950’s, as told by the local people. The tree was splintered in two, giving it it’s unusual shape. Built almost under this Fig Tree, the camp has the perfect sunrises. While enjoying your morning coffee on the terrace, you can witness as the sun rises over the eastern horizon, sky blazing in magnificent colors, completed by the majestic silhouette of the Double Fig Tree.

Lounge

Leopard Hill has a spacious lounge tent adjacent to the dining area. The lounge houses a bar and library with interesting safari books. The lounge tent is built on levelled terraces, offering cozy spots by the fire to enjoy the vastness of African wilderness. You can have a cup of coffee and a snack served on your tent terrace before the game drive and decide to have the breakfast out in the bush during your morning drive or just have a full breakfast in the main dining tent. At Leopard Hill, we serve a traditional English afternoon tea every day. A favourite location for this is under the big fig tree, or at your own tent.

Dining

A 3-course lunch is served in the dining tent or as a picnic lunch during a full day game drive or hiking safari. Dinner is a memorable time of the day, and the option of where to dine is up to you. You can join your safari companions for a meal and an evening of stories and laughter at the dining tent, or dine outdoors in the privacy of your own tent, alone with your loved one. The choice is yours.

Animals of Maasai Mara

The expert guides are always ready to reveal to you the secrets of the savanna. Maasai Mara game reserve is a renowned park that offers wildlife viewing throughout the year. The Maasai Mara plains are dominated by a variety of mammals. From large herds of herbivores which include the wildebeest, zebra and Thompson’s gazelle to the famous Big Five. It is also home to the Nile crocodile. You will spot them sunbathing on the riverbanks, mouths agape, waiting for prey. There are also over 450 species of birds.

Maasai Mara reserve

The Maasai Mara is one of the best-known reserves in the whole of Africa. It is renowned for its wildlife. More than 40% of Africa’s larger mammals can be found here. Across the vast plains of the Mara, visitors are able to witness lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants and other species in their natural habitats.

Landscape

Maasai Mara contains some 25% of what is left of Kenyan wildlife. The estimate says that around 70% of Kenya’s wildlife lives outside national parks and reserves. Thus the need for new role models preserving the Mara wildlife, on private land is paramount. Naboisho plays that role today. Africa has lost some 95-98% of its most iconic mammals over the last 100 year or so, elephants, rhinos, lions, and cheetah. WWF estimate that the world will lose 2/3 of its vertebras in the short period 1970-2020, ie 50 years. Some 70% of the world’s ecosystem is under stress due to loss of habitat.

Location

The Maasai Mara lies in the great rift valley, which is a fault line some 3,500 miles long stretching from Ethiopia’s Red Sea through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and into Mozambique. Here the valley is wide, and a towering escarpment can be seen in the hazy distance. The animals are at liberty to move outside the park into huge areas known as dispersal areas. There can be as much wildlife roaming outside the park as inside. Many Maasai villages are located in the dispersal areas and they have developed a relationship with the wildlife.

Terrain

There are four main types of terrain in Mara – Ngama hills to the east with sandy soil and leafy bushes favoured by black rhino; Oloololo escarpment forming the western boundary and rising to a magnificent plateau; Mara triangle bordering the Mara river with lush grassland and acacia woodlands supporting masses of game, especially migrating wildebeest; and central plains, forming the largest part of the reserve with scattered bushes and boulders on rolling grasslands favoured by the plains game.

Wildlife

The Mara is perhaps best known for the great migration, which takes place every year July to September. During these months the yellow savannah is dotted black by more than 1.5 million wildebeest, zebra and antelopes that migrate from the Serengeti to the Mara in search of food and water. This is where the world’s largest multi-species migration takes place. The movement is centred around the wildebeest migrating from Serengeti into Maasai Mara during the dry period in Tanzania, crossing the mighty Mara river on their way. The great wildebeest migration rightfully deserves its standing as one of the natural world’s most astonishing spectacles.

Migration

From the end of July onwards, millions of freshly arrived brown and black dots scatter the great plains of the Maasai Mara national reserve, making this natural wonder of the world even more wondrous until they wander back in December. The life cycle of the wildebeest is a snapshot of the circle of life of all living creatures. They wildebeest spend their lives wandering. Their migratory routes are determined by the rain patterns; they wander in constant pursuit of water and fresh grass. Similarly, their calving instincts are timed to the movements of the moon, resulting in a three-week-long birth fest on the Serengeti plains in February.

Wildebeest

The comings and goings of the wildebeest also shape the lives of many other species. For the predators of Maasai Mara, the arrival of the wildebeest marks the beginning of a time of feasting and prosperity. The big cats, in particular, thrive during the migration season. The abundance of available prey means that the lions, cheetah and leopards are able to grow strong and produce healthy offspring. The dramatic contrast between life and death can be witnessed during the great migration.

Making the migration even better

No one knows the savannah-like the Maasai – these are the true experts. Like the wildebeest, the Maasai people are a nomadic culture who wandered the plains with their cattle. In modern time the Maasai have been forced to find alternative ways of living. We are proud to have been their partners during this struggle to preserve their area.

Community

Experiencing the great migration adds another layer to witnessing this natural wonder of the world. A safari with the Maasai guides is a life-changing experience that will provide you with a deeper, more meaningful understanding of Maasai Mara. Because of our commitment to the Maasai community, we are able to provide authentic safari experiences that leave the guests filled with lifelong memories, a sense of purpose and a longing to participate.

Safari dimensions

The three camps have been designed to offer unique, yet complementary experiences. Our mother-camp, Basecamp Maasai Mara is situated bordering the Maasai Mara National Reserve, making this the ultimate place for welcoming the Great migration as they arrive from the Serengeti. For a different, but equally fantastic experience, our Naboisho Camps – Eagle view and Wilderness bush camp – offer exclusive viewing of the northern migration, the not-so-distant relations of the great migration. Wherever you are in our circuit the Basecamp signature of exclusivity, authenticity and sustainability remain.

Best time to see the migration