Porini Mara Camp

Mara Porini Camp is set on well-landscaped site in the Ol Kinyei wildlife conservancy, an area of savannah, riverine forest, streams and hills beyond the boundaries of the Masai Mara National Reserve. The area is crucial to the future of the Mara-Serengeti and enables visitors to experience the fabled wildlife of the Mara on night drives and bush walks in an exclusive area. 

Accommodation

Mara Porini has six tents set on wooden decks and shaded by acacia trees. The tents are sited along the banks of a permanent spring. Each tent has both a double and a single bed, ample clothes storage, a separate bathroom with shower, running water and a flush loo, and 24-hour solar electricity. Each has a shaded, furnished verandah overlooking the Laetoli Spring.

Facilities

There is a spacious mess tent, where breakfast and dinner are served, which also houses the lounge area. Batteries and phones can be charged in the office, and you can often pick up a Safaricom signal just behind the kitchen. 

Activities

Your guide and spotter will take you on morning and evening/night drives, with sundowners, in the conservancy. In one game drive, I saw elephant, giraffe, zebra, buffalo wildebeest, hartebeest a variety of buck, topi, and banded mongoose, among others. Vehicles are customised Land Cruisers with bucket seats and roof hatches. During your stay you will also have a full day in the Masai Mara National Reserve (with picnic lunch) and you can also take an escorted bush walk with your Masai guide. All Porini guides are certified and each camp has at least one guide with a silver level qualification on its team. At Mara Porini, John is the silver guide and he was knowledgeable and unusually interesting. 

Food

In camp, lunch is served on the lawns, under the shade of a large parasol, and might include cold ham, pasta, a variety of salads, home-baked bread and fruit salad. Breakfast is served in the mess tent. Depending on the weather, dinner may be taken in the mess tent, outdoors or as a bush banquet.

Environment & community

Porini Camps have an enviable reputation for their environmental and community policies, which have been recognised with a variety of awards. We’ll be glad to tell you about them, but this camp demonstrates that ‘green’ is not only good, but very comfortable.