Governors’ Private Camp

Governors’ Camp properties combine the best locations in the Masai Mara with the best-designed vehicles and exceptionally highly trained and experienced guides to give our clients un-matched game-viewing and photographic opportunities in the world’s prime wildlife area. We are in the heart of the best game viewing area of the Masai Mara Our vehicles are custom built 4 wheel drive landrovers. We take you out twice a day into the famous Masai Mara Game Reserve and surrounding areas. Our driver-guides are hand-picked and nurtured by us. They undergo a continuous guide training scheme mentored by experts in the field. Having operated in the Masai Mara for 50 years, our driver-guides have an un-paralleled knowledge of the reserve combined with a deep understanding and respect for the importance of this wilderness area, its flora and its fauna.

Governors Camp Collection offers hot air balloon safaris over the river, plains and forests of the Masai Mara.

The adventure begins just before dawn; departure is from a perfect natural launch site behind Little Governors’ Camp and flames from the hot air balloon burners light the darkness as the crews inflate their craft. Suspended in a basket beneath the rainbow-coloured canopy, you’re off for a game-viewing adventure with an entirely different perspective. What amazes most first-time balloonists is the absolute stillness – the silence as you float above the plains, the forest and the rivers of the Masai Mara. Even if you’ve flown elsewhere, this is a unique experience.

The flight lasts an hour or so, drifting wherever the air currents take you. There are plenty of photography and video opportunities. Finally, your balloon safari finishes with a flourish and in the time honoured tradition of balloon flights the world over, you toast your return to earth with a glass of bubbles and a delicious breakfast, cooked wherever you land. The balloon safari ends with some leisurely game viewing on the way back to camp.

OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH SEEDBALLS KENYA:
Much of the unique riverine forest that lines the banks of the Mara River has been lost over the past few decades due to a combination of factors including, tree disease, river bank erosion and increased grazing pressure from herbivores as large as elephants to ones as small as dik diks. Our flight path at Governors’ Balloon Safaris is unique amongst hot-air balloon operators in the Masai Mara, as the prevailing winds tend to take us right along the river’s winding course.

We have partnered with Seedballs Kenya, and are delighted to be able to offer guests the opportunity to throw seedballs containing the seeds of the African wild olive tree from our balloons. By actively selecting suitable sites from the air we can make a difference in helping to give these plants the best chance at reclaiming their native habitat and restoring biodiversity along the river.

We at Governors’ provide the seedballs. A USD5 donation is requested to be made by the guest which we will pass onto Eburru Rafiki; a grass-roots organisation working to actively plant indigenous trees in the Eburru Forest. Their work is important to us since the Mau Forest Complex, to which Eburru belongs, forms part of the water-catchment area which feeds the Mara River. Each envelope of seedballs will be provided to guests in a biodegradable, elephant dung paper envelope; that itself comes from an NGO group supporting women’s crafts whilst offsetting carbon emissions.

Leave your vehicle behind and take a walking safari with one of our experienced and qualified naturalists for the true thrill of the bush. Down on the same level as the animals you will experience the untamed beauty of the Mara. Our walking safaris take place in the morning in a private concession area adjacent to the Masai Mara Game Reserve. The scenery here very much differs from the Masai Mara. Picturesque acacia trees characterise the hilly landscape. The walk takes approximately 21⁄2 to 3 hours but can be tailored to any needs.

Ask for a 5.30am wake up call. Depart from your camp by vehicle at 6.00am and a 45 minute drive will
take you to the walking area. Hot beverages and biscuits will be available during which time the guide will brief you. Most walks commence at 7.00am, with the walk will take you through differing habitats from open grassland plains to acacia thickets and riverside forests. You will track game, unsure what waits round the next corner – giraffe, buffalo, hyena, zebra or even lion. You will catch the scents and sounds of the wild Africa.

The walk ends approximately at 9.30 – 10.00am in the Lemek group ranch under the shade of African Olive trees. A classic Governors Camp champagne breakfast is served after which a game drive will take you back to your camp in time for lunch. Your drive back to the camp again is a game drive through the Masai Mara. Afternoon walking safaris are finished with sundowner drinks and canapés.

Participants in a walking safari should be in good health and be reasonably fit and active. There is no path as such and some parts of the walk lead through hilly and rocky areas. Children under 12 years are, for safety reasons, not allowed to participate in walking safaris. Walking safaris can either be booked in advance or in camp subject to availability.

The Masai people of East Africa are a striking image, synonymous with safari. A proud people with many traditional practices still very much alive in their culture. Visit a local Masai village and learn about who they are in their own words.

Visits to our responsible tourism projects can be organised from camp. Mara Rianda Primary School and Mara Rianda Medical Centre are two inspirational projects supported by Governors’ Camps.

Find more information about the projects here:

https://www.governorscamp.com/discover/community-conservation/new-health-centre-at-mara-rianda/

https://www.governorscamp.com/discover/community-conservation/mararianda-school-program/

Governors’ Camp hosts a wildlife photographer in the Mara who is available to be booked by Private Camp guests for accompanied photo safaris and in-depth tutorials on all elements of photography, including editing. Do let us know if you would like to guarantee a full day with them capturing the very best of this incredible wildlife reserve. Please note that guests will need to secure an exclusive use vehicle at a daily rate, on top of the photographer’s daily fee.

Governors’ also has 3 ‘photo safari’ vehicles. Listening to the specific needs and recommendations of the photographers we’ve hosted over the years, we’ve modified three Landrover vehicles to include same level seating throughout, cut-out side panels in the middle row to get those much desired low angle shots, high roofs, fully folding windscreens and wide side panelling to offer the perfect place for resting a beanbag and long lens. The cars are available on an exclusive use basis and can be requested for and reserved while making your Governors’ booking. They are available at all our camps in the Masai Mara.