Porini Mara Camp

Set under yellow-barked acacia trees along the banks of the Laetoli river, Porini Mara Camp keeps to six tents and one family unit, each with an ensuite bathroom, a verandah, and canvas walls that let in the sounds of the bush at night. Ol Kinyei Conservancy runs to 18,700 acres and was Kenya's first community conservancy, founded in 2005. Every tent here pays to secure 700 acres of land, and vehicles are capped at one per 1,400 acres, so game drives rarely cross paths with another vehicle. More than twenty lions hold territory across the conservancy, alongside leopards, cheetah, giraffe, buffalo and elephant, spotted often on the morning and evening drives. Night drives go out after dark, when hyena calls carry across the plains and the stars are close overhead. Maasai warriors lead guided walks by day, tracking the smaller signs of the bush on foot. Rates cover meals, drinks and all activities, including sundowners at scenic points and escorted bush walks; a hot air balloon safari can be added separately. The camp sits roughly an hour's flight from Nairobi. From January, an earlier wildebeest migration moves in from the Loita Plains, with calving through February and March drawing heavy predator activity across the conservancy's open ground.