Little Governors’ Camp: a wildlife experience like no other

Come to Little Governors’ for a Maasai Mara wildlife experience like no other. The journey to camp is amazing in itself. There’s no vehicle access, so once you land at the Musiara airstrip, you take a short boat ride across the Mara River and are guided through  forest to camp. When you fly in, there might be a lion sleeping under the wing of a plane or a herd of elephants crossing the forest path – from the minute you arrive you’re just immersed in the most spectacular wildlife. Many people tell us their stay has been life-changing and we see a high number of repeat guests who are drawn back to the magic of this wildlife-rich setting.

The camp looks onto a beautiful marsh where elephants come to drink and buffalos wallow; sometimes you don’t even notice them because they’re totally caked in thick, dark mud. A family of warthogs might race past you while you’re having dinner and you’ll wake to see the lawns covered with mongoose grabbing grasshoppers. At night, you can hear hippos munching outside your tent and the Marsh Pride of lions, made famous by the BBC’s Big Cat Diaries, have their core territory nearby. During the Great Migration, you don’t have to go far to see millions of wildebeest crossing the Mara River either.

Little Governors’ is an off-shoot of our flagship camp on the other side of the river and is a small, intimate camp with just 17 tents. I’d call it understated luxury – picture green canvas tents with private verandas looking over the marsh and Oloololo escarpment. There’s a communal mess area with brass lanterns and we’ve continued the original safari traditions of amazing food and evening campfires. We’re also proud to have a gold rating from ECO Tourism Kenya; the entire camp is solar powered and we’ve eliminated all single-use plastics.

The day usually starts with a wake-up call accompanied by fresh Kenyan tea or coffee and biscuits in your tent. You can enjoy a hot air balloon safari followed by a champagne breakfast – the launch site is just behind camp – or a sunrise game drive. It may still be dark and you’ll get a glimpse of nocturnal species like owls and scavenging hyenas. Maybe you’ll bump into a leopard trying to drag its kill into a tree and you’ll be treated to the most phenomenal African sunrise. After breakfast, you can relax at camp, then perhaps take a late-afternoon game drive complete with sundowners under an acacia tree. Evenings are spent around the campfire and enjoying a candlelit dinner accompanied by the sounds of the Mara.

We’ve got a great team of guides at Little Governors’. Many are Maasai and know the landscape, flora and fauna like the back of their hand. They’re some of the best in the Mara and take great pride in showing visitors their home. I’d recommend visiting a nearby Maasai village to get an understanding of local culture and traditions. You can also take part in our community and conservation initiatives, which include game drives with the Mara-Meru Cheetah Project and seedballing from our hot air balloons to replant indigenous trees.

For almost 50 years, Governors’ has been supporting local communities and conservation initiatives in our areas of operation. Guests are encouraged to find out more about our projects and partners such as the Mara Rianda school, medical clinic and the Karen Street Children’s Trust, which provides training and job opportunities for young people in Kenya.