On the northern edge of the Maasai Mara, Kicheche Bush Camp shares the 35,000 acres of the Olare Motorogi Conservancy with some of the highest densities of lions, leopards and cheetahs anywhere in the region. Six tents are spread wide through acacia woodland above open plains. Each faces a stretch of savannah where zebra, giraffe and buffalo pass at close range, and where the big cats move through camp after dark.
Six tents are spread wide through acacia woodland above open plains
The conservancy caps vehicle numbers at every sighting and permits off-road driving, so a leopard in the grass or a cheetah on a kill is watched by a handful of vehicles rather than a queue of them. The game viewing begins from the tents themselves. With the plains laid out from the veranda, there is no need to drive anywhere to find something worth watching.
Greg Monson and Paul Goldstein started the Kicheche camps in 2000, taking over a small camp in a dry river valley with five staff. Twenty-five years on, four camps operate across Kenya’s private conservancies. Monson now chairs the Olare Motorogi Conservancy. Goldstein, a wildlife photographer, built the guiding style and the custom vehicles around one thing: getting the shot.
Monson now chairs the Olare Motorogi Conservancy
That partnership sets the tone. The vehicles carry beanbags and open sides, and the guides read the light before the cats move. What money there is goes into guiding, wildlife access and community work rather than pools or spa treatments, because what happens beyond the canvas matters more here than what furnishes it.
The six tents divide into five standard tents, configured double or twin, and one family suite of two en-suite bedrooms joined by a central lounge, sleeping up to five with the exclusive use of a vehicle. The canvas walls are made to move, rolling up through the day for an open feel and closing at night for warmth. Inside, Egyptian cotton linen dresses Podocarpus wood beds among luggage racks and rugs, and a private veranda faces the plains. The bathrooms keep the plumbing deliberately simple, with a flush toilet and a traditional safari bucket shower.
Days follow the light. A dawn game drive precedes bush breakfast in the open, then the middle hours pass quietly in the lounge or on a veranda, and the afternoon drive runs into sundowners and a candlelit dinner. Meals draw on the camp’s own kitchen gardens, served communally at a long table or under the stars, and on longer drives a bush picnic is carried out into the plains, where the guides read the shifting light as closely as they read the cats.
Back in Olare Motorogi, with vehicles capped at each sighting and off-road driving allowed
Within the conservancy, guides lead game drives, walking safaris with an armed ranger, and overnight fly-camping for guests who want to sleep out in the bush. Drives can extend into the Maasai Mara National Reserve for the wildebeest migration, which passes through the northern Mara between July and October, though reserve rules mean more vehicles and no off-road access. Back in Olare Motorogi, with vehicles capped at each sighting and off-road driving allowed, a leopard is watched by a handful of cars rather than a queue, and at sunrise hot-air balloon flights launch over the reserve.
The wildlife holds because of the conservancy beneath it. Formed from Koiyaki Group Ranch land, Olare Motorogi pays lease income to Maasai landowners in return for keeping the land open for game rather than livestock or cultivation. The Kicheche Community Trust funds predator-proof bomas, the Aitong Primary Academy and the Aitong clinic. A short drive from camp, a visit to the Maa Trust introduces the Maasai women running its beadwork and leather enterprise, work the camp backs directly through the trust.
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accommodation
Six tents: five standard, configured double or twin, and one family suite of two en-suite bedrooms with a central lounge, sleeping up to five with a private vehicle. Canvas walls roll up by day. Egyptian cotton linen on Podocarpus wood beds, a private veranda, and en-suite bathrooms with a flush toilet and safari bucket shower.
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activities
Game drives in open, photography-fitted 4x4s, guided walking safaris with an armed ranger, and overnight fly-camping run within the Olare Motorogi Conservancy, which allows off-road driving and limits vehicles per sighting. Drives extend into the Maasai Mara National Reserve for the migration. Sunrise balloon flights and a Maa Trust visit are available.
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conservation
Olare Motorogi pays lease income to Maasai landowners from Koiyaki Group Ranch land. The Kicheche Community Trust supports predator-proof bomas, Aitong Primary Academy and the Aitong clinic. The camp backs the Maa Trust, which works with Maasai women producing beadwork and leather goods.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
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You fly from Nairobi's Wilson airport to an airstrip in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy, roughly forty-five minutes to an hour by light aircraft, and the camp collects you for the short drive in. We arrange the flights as part of your trip, and for your own timings we can arrange a private charter instead, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, flown direct to the conservancy.
The bush planes take soft bags of about fifteen kilograms per person including hand luggage, so a duffel is best. Nairobi is five to six hours away by road if you would rather drive.
The Maasai Mara sits at around 1,500 to 1,800 metres, below the altitude at which malaria risk falls away, so both the CDC and TravelHealthPro treat it as a malaria area and antimalarial tablets are usually advised. The risk is lower than on the hot, humid coast but it is real, and it rises after the rains.
Because this is a health matter and guidance is reviewed regularly, please confirm the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, and take the usual care against bites once the sun is down.
Days are warm and the mornings and evenings cool, so open-vehicle game drives at dawn can feel cold. The long rains fall roughly March to May and shorter rains around November, greening the plains; the dry months in between are clear and dusty.
Pack neutral colours, a warm fleece and a windproof layer for early drives, sun protection and a hat for the day, and a light waterproof in the green season. Closed shoes for any walking, and binoculars are worth bringing.
July to October is the migration window and the busiest at the crossings, while the green months around November and from March to May bring lush plains, calving herds and far fewer vehicles. In the Olare Motorogi Conservancy the big cats are strong all year.
For photographers in particular, the green season light and the low vehicle numbers make it a fine time, so the choice is less about a best month than about migration spectacle versus quiet, uncrowded sightings.
The migration reaches the wider Mara from July to October, peaking at the river crossings in August. Those crossings are in the national reserve, so from Olare Motorogi the camp runs drives into the reserve for them while keeping you based in the quieter conservancy.
Olare Motorogi holds some of the highest densities of lion, leopard and cheetah anywhere in the region, so even outside the migration months the predator viewing is excellent, and the conservancy caps vehicles at every sighting.
It is one of the better ones in the Mara for it. The camp was set up by a wildlife photographer, the vehicles are open-sided and carry beanbags to steady a long lens, and the guides are trained to work the light rather than just find the sighting.
The conservancy helps as much as the kit. Off-road driving is allowed and vehicle numbers are capped at each sighting, so you can stay quietly with a leopard or a cheetah at close range without a queue behind you. If photography is your main aim, tell us and we will make sure your guide and vehicle are set up for it.
rated five stars by our clients
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our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
