June 2023…// Great Plains, the iconic eco-tourism company founded by National Geographic explorer-filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert, is delighted to unveil a series of exciting updates at its four Kenyan camps for the 2023 season. From a new ultra-spacious two-bedroom suite – complete with a private vehicle, butler and guide – to updated décor, fire decks and in-room spa treatments, guests can expect a bucket list in the bush Kenyan experience like no other this year with Great Plains.
“We just enjoy upgrading I suppose! A once-in-a-lifetime adventures for our clients has to be fresh and fun. It’s at the heart of all we do here at Great Plains,” said Great Plains co-founder Dereck Joubert, who personally designs all camps. “When I am in camps, I ask everyone what we could be doing better and we continually strive to make our camps even better year after year, making no Great Plains adventure the same! We are particularly proud of our new two-bedroom Sambuk Suite at Mara Nyika, which provides a level of luxury and seclusion that we are finding our guests want more and more of. Experiential updates include in-room spa treatments and a stunning new sunken hide at ol Donyo Lodge – allowing one to sleep beside the watering hole like the explorers of yesteryear.”
The updates and new additions for 2023 include:
Mara Nyika Camp *Reopens May 2023 – New two-bedroom ‘Sambuk Suite at Mara Nyika Camp’ with private butler and guide and a 2-bedroom family suite
The incredibly private and exclusive tented Mara Nyika Camp is opening for the 2023 season from end of May, with a brand new two-bedroom suite – The Sambuk Suite at Mara Nyika. The new suite will be a luxurious Great Plains offering of the standard of the Dhow Suite at Zarafa Camp, the Selinda Suite in Botswana, the Zanji Suite at Tembo Plains in Zimbabwe and Kenya’s Jahazi Suite at Mara Plains. The Sambuk Suite at Mara Nyika will include the services of a private guide, vehicle and butler, all with a separate entrance for complete privacy and seclusion. This camp earns its Relais and Châteaux status for service and style, high touch standards and attention to detail.
Mara Nyika is an exclusive camp that now hosts only 14 guests sharing rooms including children from age eight and up. The camp is tucked beside a small stream on the western side of the 50,000-acre Naboisho Conservancy in Kenya. Activities available include morning and night drives and the option of experiencing a hot air balloon ride across the Maasai Mara. Mara Nyika camp also offers guests the chance to learn about the Maasai culture with a visit to the Great Plains Foundation’s female-empowerment initiatives. Take part in creating traditional beaded products, soap-making and meet the women behind the heart-warming project for a truly authentic experience.
Nightly rates at Mara Nyika Camp from $1,300 per night. For more information or to book visit https://greatplainsconservation.com/safari/safari-in-kenya-mara-nyika-camp/
Nightly rates for the Sambuk Suite at Mara Nyika start from $6,240 per suite per night. For more information or to book visit https://greatplainsconservation.com/safari/the-sambuk-suite-at-mara-nyika/
Mara Plains Camp and The Jahazi Suite at Mara Plains * Reopened 24th March 2023 – New wine cellar and Zanzibari door entrances to suites
Mara Plains Camp, another Relais and Châteaux accredited Great Plains camp, reopened on the 24th of March after receiving a soft refurbishment with fresh décor and upgraded guest suite entrances including wooden Zanzibari doors.
The Jahazi Suite at Mara Plains was originally launched in June 2021 at Mara Plains Camp. This has been upgraded and is an exclusive-use villa residence consisting of a two-bedroom suite (which can accommodate up to four adult guests sharing or a family of five comprising of two adults and three children), shared lounge and dining area including the services of a private vehicle and guide. A new plunge pool has since been added so guests can make a splash and cool off during the heat of the day. Activities include day drives and night drives within the Maasai Mara and private Olare Motorogi Conservancy, while hot air ballooning can be arranged at an additional expense. The refreshed new luxury villa is ideal for group travelers and multi-generational travel who want to ‘move in’ and stay longer. The Jahazi Suite at Mara Plains Camp accommodates children aged eight and up.
Mara Plains Camp is a one-of-a-kind luxury Kenyan safari camp located in the private 35,000-acre Olare Motorogi Conservancy, just on the border of the Maasai Mara National Reserve. No other Maasai Mara-based camp offers the extensive traversing area of Mara Plains Camp, with access to a total of nearly 100,000 acres of private conservancy land and the world-renowned Maasai Mara, home to the Great Migration. Through the Building Bridges project, Great Plains has so far built three safe footbridges in the Maasai Mara connecting communities to schools, clinics and markets, with another one planned in the next month. Other Impact Through Education initiatives include Mobile School Eye Clinics, Teachers Sponsorship, School Meals and more.
Nightly rates at Mara Plains Camp start from $1,300. For more information or to book visit https://greatplainsconservation.com/safari/mara-plains-camp-luxury-kenya-safari/
Nightly rates for the Jahazi Suite at Mara Plains start from $6,240 per suite per night based on 4 guests sharing. For more information or to book visit https://greatplainsconservation.com/safari/the-jahazi-suite-at-mara-plains/
ol Donyo Lodge *Reopens 25th May 2023- New in-room spa treatments, fire deck, sunken hide and refreshed suites
Exciting changes have been made to Great Plains’ ol Donyo Lodge, which opens for the 2023 season on the 25th of May. ol Donyo Lodge offers eight Deluxe Suites and a two-bedroom family suite. All the Suites will be similar in terms of interior layout with the removal of the split-level flooring, and addition of pools to all rooms.
A new fire deck under the stars off the main area allows for that stargazing evening moment, outside dining and the warmth of sharing your day with fellow safari adventurers. The new sunken hide is now double the size, allowing guests to remain in there all day, a spacious and comfortable place to relax and photograph the steady parade of wildlife. and conducive to relaxation while watching wildlife. Some guests may want to overnight alongside the waterhole, providing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drift off to the sounds of their four-legged neighbors! The wildlife experience in ol Donyo feels like it too has undergone an upgrade with some of the finest sightings in the group coming from this area, and a new live webcam gives you a snapshot of what be seen.
ol Donyo is also Relais and Château accredited, with its Executive Chef Benjamin Kipkemoi Maritim and team taking care of the exceptional cuisine guests are raving about. It is located on the Maasai-owned Mbirikani Group Ranch, comprising of 275,000 acres of wilderness between Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks and bordering Chyulu Hills National Park. This stunningly beautiful area is incredibly diverse and has spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro. This camp is very remote, offering extreme privacy and a vast amount of activities to choose from – morning and evening game drives, mountain biking, bush breakfast and dinners, guided bushwalks, tracking, conservation and community out-reach programs and sleep-out star-bed experiences. ol Donyo Lodge can accommodate up to 20 guests sharing and children are welcome from age five and up.
Nightly rates at ol Donyo Lodge from $1,090. For more information or to book visit https://greatplainsconservation.com/safari/ol-donyo-lodge-kenya-safari/
Mara Expedition Camp *Reopened May 2023 – new 2-bedroom family suite to be unveiled in early June
On private land adjoining the Olare Motogrogi Conservancy and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve lies Mara Expedition Camp. This expedition-style camp is many people’s favorite, for its clean simplicity but stylish design. Following its opening in 2020, the camp is introducing a new 2-bedroom family tent on the 6th of June 2023, so families of four can be comfortable sleeping on one deck, with linking tents. Here the guests can enjoy one of the most unique swimming pools in the world; on the back of a WWII truck and experience a wonderful evening at the Interactive Kitchen with the talented singing chefs. Mara Expedition camp, like all Great Plains camps specializes in vegan, vegetarian and plant-based food, prepared with ease and joy. It hosts 14 guests, sharing.
Nightly rates at Great Plains Mara Expedition Camp start from $750* per person per night based on 2 guests sharing.
Mara Toto Camp *Reopened April 2023
Located along the banks of the Ntiakitiak River on the border of the Maasai Mara, the ever-popular Explorer-Collection Mara Toto Camp reopened for the season in April. Mara Toto Camp is a hideaway in the forest, designed for total guest privacy. On arrival at camp, guests are often surprised that it even exists. Drives across both the Maasai Mara Game Reserve and the adjacent Mara North Private Conservancy. Accommodating up to eight guests, the intimate Mara Toto Camp is perfectly suited to be hired out exclusively for intimate groups, for couples, and families with children aged six and up.
Mara Toto Camp consists of four canvas tents with spacious brass baths, along with a communal relaxation area, and indoor and outdoor dining options. Mara Toto Camp is an excellent base for budding big cat photographers with leopards, lions and more wildlife frequently passing through camp.
Nightly rates at Mara Toto Camp from $750. For more information or to book visit https://greatplainsconservation.com/safari/mara-toto-camp/
“If you aren’t moving forward, you are moving backwards in this quest to provide beautiful camps and lodges to welcome well-heeled travelers into in this age of high expectation. That high expectation comes from our own internal demands for perfection, for service, quality and experience judged not against the market, but against who we were yesterday and what we can be tomorrow” commented Dereck Joubert.
