Safari adventure in Masai Mara, Kenya

The air is so nice and cool first thing in the morning! We follow tracks made by gnu and zebra for a while. A flock of kestrel settle briefly on a nearby acacia before flying off in a flutter of greys and browns.

Then Tonkei, our Maasai guide, cautions us to be quiet, and there just ahead, are a pair of eland – the largest of the antelopes – freezing their gazes on us, their long horns gleaming bronze in the morning sun.

Walking out here on the savannah, on our own, exposed and vulnerable in the “wilds” of Africa, is so intense. I thought I would be more afraid, but now I find it just - well – exhilarating! Tonkei, with great knowledge, finds all sorts of tracks and signs for us, pointing out footprints of lion and warthog in the sand, and claw marks of leopard on the large Balanites tree where we seek shade. He knows his plants too, and shows us what his people use for medicines, for making toothbrushes, what the baboons prefer this time of year, and what he used to snack on as a child. The talk of food gets me thinking of the tasty breakfast just now being prepared back at the camp. Luckily, I see Tonkei heading in the right direction...

Basecamp Masai Mara is a unique meeting place due to close co-operation with the local Maasai, our environmental work on camp and our social cultural commitment to its surrounding community. Here you are more than a guest. The camp has sixteen spacious canvas tents on a lush peninsula embedded by trees and shaded by thatched roofs at the edge of the National Game Reserve. You have your own veranda and ensuite bathroom with a hot shower open to the sky. Watch wildlife from your tent, the fig tree platform, or while lazing over a drink in the open air bar. Our activity range includes classic jeep safaris, cheetah conservation, bird walks, community walks, tree planting and Dorobo bush camp where walking safari is the main attraction.