Masai Mara Horse-riding Safari

Your scenic short-haul flight will take you from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport to the Naboisho airstrip in the Mara North. You will fly over the fertile Kikuyu Highlands and the crater-studded floor of the Great Rift Valley. After touching down, your guide will drive you to your first stop-over, Olare Lamun Mobile Camp. This camp is set on the banks of the Mara River, overlooking a lively pool of resident hippos. After lunch and a little downtime, you will set off on your first sunset ride. You will also have the option to go on a game drive to spot herds of wildebeest, zebra, and if you are in luck, elephant, buffalo and lion.

Leave camp with a picnic lunch in your saddlebags and ride south along the park’s boundary until you meet up again with the Mara River. You will traverse the river (if not in full flood) at one of the renowned wildebeest crossing points under the curious gazes of hippos and crocodiles. Continue riding across the Mara Triangle, stopping along the way for a welcoming picnic lunch. After ascending the Soit Ololol Escarpment and walking through an enchanting forest, you will reach camp Soit Ololol in a tranquil glade. Dismount and drink in the jaw-droppingly beautiful views of the Masai Mara landscape.

After breakfast, you will journey along the top of the escarpment and wonder at the awe-inspiring views over the Masai Mara’s landscape. You should see plenty of plains game down below and, if you are in luck, you might get a glimpse of the solitary Schalow’s or Mrs Ross’s turaco – colourful, fruit-eating birds.

Descend the escarpment on foot, following a rocky cattle track before breaking under the shady canopy of some acacia trees to enjoy lunch.

Enjoy a scenic ride along the foot of the Mara Triangle and ascend back up the escarpment via a game trail featuring large herds of bachelor buffalo. Make your way back to camp Soit Ololol, freshen up and savour a delicious dinner followed by a tipple of your choice beside a cosy campfire.

Today you will descend the escarpment once again and ride back across the same wildebeest crossing spot as on Day 2. You will head west and descend into the gorgeous Olare Orok Valley and dismount for a picnic beside a serene streamlet. Arrive at camp Olare Orok just in time for afternoon tea, followed by an evening game drive. Olare Orok offers comfortable sleeping tents equipped with torches, gas lanterns and hurricane lamps. Each tent features a bathroom tent with authentic safari hot bucket-showers. Be lulled to sleep for the next two nights by the distant calls of lion and hyena.

Go on morning and evening horse rides from camp and enjoy exploring Kenya’s flagship conservation area on a game drive. You will revel in up-close photographic opportunities while spotting big game like lion, elephant and buffalo – and maybe cheetah and leopard if you are lucky.

Break camp early as today you will ride a distance of almost 50 kilometres or 31 miles through big game country. Gallop among herds of wildebeest, zebra, giraffe and gazelle, stopping en route for a picnic breakfast and lunch. Resting beside a tranquil streamlet on the southern edge of the Loita Plains and nestled within a gorgeous grove of acacia trees, you will find camp Olare Lamun (meaning ‘the rhino salt lick’). This will be your refuge for the next two nights.

Go on game drives, horseback rides or guided walks to discover this remote area of the Masai Mara. The Mara’s superb year-round game viewing means that you can enjoy incredible sightings of lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, hyena, zebra, giraffe, and of course, the astonishing number of wildebeest that arrive from about July to November.

After breakfast, you will be driven to Nairobi with treasured impressions of Africa that will stay with you for the rest of your life.