Little Naibor was built for one family or a small group, two suites and four bedrooms in riverine woodland on the south bank of the Talek River, inside Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve. A resident pod of hippos works the pool below the verandas, audible after dark long before it is visible at dawn. Each suite has its own guide and vehicle, so the day runs to a family’s hours.
A resident pod of hippos works the pool below the verandas.
From July into October the plains around camp fill with wildebeest and zebra, and the Mara River’s crossing points lie a short drive away, not a long transit in from a conservancy outside the reserve. Most camps on this stretch keep to the Talek’s north bank, which leaves mornings on the south side quieter than the reserve usually is.
Each suite pairs a king bedroom with a twin, both en suite, joined by a private lounge and a veranda that runs the length of the tent. Persian rugs lie over polished wood floors and a carved fig-wood sofa takes up one wall. Brass basins and hot safari showers sit behind the canvas, and an extra bed can be added for a fifth guest.
A fire is lit on the riverbank below the verandas.
Meals come to the suite, an early supper for the children, breakfast whenever the morning drive allows. A fire is lit on the riverbank below the verandas. Dinner follows there once they are asleep. Maasai askari walk guests after dark between the suites and the main lounge, close enough to reach easily but far enough to keep a rhythm of its own. Children of eight and above are suggested, younger by arrangement.
Naibor was founded in 2005 and given its look by Anthony Russell, who worked in pale canvas, high ceilings and light indigenous timber, a departure from the darker, heavier furnishings once common in Maasai Mara camps. It remains independently owned, by Nigel Archer, Satyan Patel and William and Lisa Sykes, and the same team runs all three camps in this stretch of woodland. Archer, a third-generation Kenyan safari operator, trains the guiding team himself, so the guides who take each suite out in the morning have been taught in house.
The camp sits in a grove of croton and greenheart trees. Main Naibor holds seven tents around a communal mess, where dinner is candlelit and shared and a private vehicle is offered when the season allows. A short walk through the woodland leads to a simpler three-tent camp, taken on an exclusive-use basis with its own crew and mess, for small groups who want a self-contained stay. Little Naibor is closer to the main camp’s lounge and facilities than the exclusive-use camp, but with a private vehicle and guide included as standard, not on request.
Lions call across the water at night, with hyenas and wildebeest filling in the gaps.
Leopards work the riverine woodland and cheetahs the open plains beyond it, and elephants move through the fringe of trees in the late afternoon. Lions call across the water at night, with hyenas and wildebeest filling in the gaps. Game drives run in open-sided 4WDs, half day or full day, with bush breakfasts on the plains and sundowners on higher ground. Bird walks go out around camp and along the river, and longer walking safaris with an armed ranger take place on Maasai community land outside the reserve, where the game is thinner but the pace changes.
Ol Kiombo is the nearest airstrip, roughly half an hour’s drive from camp and a short scheduled flight from Nairobi. Balloon flights over the plains can be arranged with notice, and a therapist works from the camp’s spa tent between drives. Lunch is usually set out on platforms cut into the riverbank, quiches and homemade pizza under the trees while the hippos carry on below. Visits to Maasai homesteads outside the reserve are straightforward to arrange, as are beading sessions for children who would rather stay in camp.
accommodation
Two suites, four bedrooms in total. Each suite has a king room and a twin, each with its own bathroom, brass basin, flush loo and hot safari shower, linked by a private lounge and a veranda running the tent's full length. Inside, a carved fig-wood sofa and rugs over polished wood floors, with an extra bed on request for a fifth guest.
activities
Game drives in open-sided 4WDs with a private guide and vehicle for each suite, half day or full day. Bird walks around camp; walking safaris with an armed ranger on community land outside the reserve. Balloon flights with advance notice, bush breakfasts, sundowners, riverbank lunches. Night drives are not permitted inside the reserve.
conservation
Guides here include Florence Moriaso, who trained at Nashulai Conservancy. Most staff are drawn from Maasai communities near the reserve, and that local hiring is deliberate. Village visits contribute directly to the communities that host them. The camp runs on solar power, with waste managed carefully on site.
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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It is built for one. Little Naibor is two family suites on the Talek, taken by a single party, so there is no need to keep small voices down for other guests at breakfast or to work around anybody else's plans for the day. Children of eight and over are welcome and younger children are taken on request, with the camp asking that parents understand it stands unfenced inside the reserve, with nothing between the suites and the wildlife, so an adult stays with a child at all times.
Safari walks are not open to children under twelve, which is about being on foot in big game country rather than about the camp. Early dinners for children are routine and child minding can be arranged in advance. Tell us the ages when you enquire and we will shape the days to suit them.
By air, in almost every case. Scheduled flights leave Nairobi's Wilson airport for Ol Kiombo, the airstrip serving the Talek River, about forty five minutes in the air, and camp is a short drive from there along the river. Shuttle services sometimes stop at another Mara strip on the way, which adds time rather than difficulty. A private charter, usually a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12, flies direct and to your own timing, which is worth having with young children in tow.
The light aircraft take soft bags only, fifteen kilograms a head including hand luggage and camera gear, so pack duffels rather than hard cases.
Yes, and it is the question most parents ask first. The UK's official travel health service, TravelHealthPro, and the American CDC both treat every part of Kenya below 2,500 metres as a malaria area, game reserves included, and the Mara sits at roughly 1,500 to 1,900 metres. TravelHealthPro rates the country high risk and recommends antimalarial tablets for it, and the CDC records transmission across all areas under that altitude. Only central Nairobi and the highlands above 2,500 metres are set apart. The advice is reviewed periodically, so check the current wording rather than what applied on an earlier trip.
We do not make medical recommendations. That is a conversation between you and your own doctor or a travel clinic, who know your history and can weigh it properly. We are travel planners, not medical professionals, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise.
Warm days, genuinely cold mornings. The middle twenties by afternoon, around eleven or twelve degrees overnight, and colder again in an open vehicle before the sun is up, which catches families out more than anything else. The long rains fall from about March to May with April the wettest, and the short rains come in November and December, usually as a hard afternoon shower rather than a washed out day.
Pack layers for everyone, children included: a base layer, a fleece, a windproof jacket, long trousers, hats and sunglasses. Keep to the fifteen kilogram soft bag limit on the light aircraft, which is easier with children than it sounds because laundry is done daily in camp.
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.
