subject: ENTIM MARA CAMP, MAASAI MARA GAME RESERVE [print this page] ENTIM MARA CAMP, MAASAI MARA GAME RESERVE
ENTIM MARA CAMP, MAASAI MARA GAME RESERVE
Situated in the heart of Kenya's legendary Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Entim camp is right in the middle of the very best game-viewing areas. While many other visitors to the Mara will be staying in camps in the surrounding areas and conservancies, at Entim you don't have to drive for hours to get to the wildlife action because you are right there in the middle of it. Nor do you have to be hurried out of the Reserve before gates close at 6.30 pm: at Entim you can continue to witness the wild's most important and dramatic events, which often take place at dusk and dawn. There's actually no obligation to go out on game drives because you can sit in camp and watch the animals passing by right in front of you.
There's never a dull moment as you watch the daily events of the wild unfold before your eyes. The spectacular views from camp and your experiences while you enjoy our hospitality will be gently absorbed into your memory to take home with you.
Entim meaning "forest" in Maasai is discreetly tucked away in the riverine woodlands. From the shaded seclusion of this attractively-designed camp, guests can relax in luxury and admire unforgettable views over the Mara River and across expansive plains, with the distant backdrops of undulating escarpments and volcanically-sculpted hills. From the veranda of each tent it is even possible to witness the breathtaking sight of thousands of Wildebeest crossing the river during their annual migration through this vast wilderness area.
We have kept the camp eco-friendly and small, with only seven, tastefully but differently furnished, well-equipped tents. Our decor aims to enhance the surrounding environment. All tents are well-placed, and en-suite with flush-toilets and hot showers. There is a cosy lounge area with a small library, separate bar and dining area, which is open-fronted allowing guests the unmatched experience of eating meals while watching the animals move to and from the river to drink and forage for their food. We are a semi-permanent camp, designed to give guests the feel that we are part of the landscape, although we offer real luxury, unlike many mobile camps in the Mara. We don't have a swimming pool or paved paths because the experience at Entim is not your average hotel or lodge experience: it's about being right in the hub of one of the most famous wildlife reserves in the world.
Your entertainment is provided, almost constantly, by the Mara's wild inhabitants. Entim is smaller than most camps. We believe that if there are too many people, you lose the interaction with the wild. At Entim you can hear the birds and animals, and perhaps a background rustle of wind. Thus you truly relax into the stillness of the wild.
Your experience
Your Safari is designed to fit with your individual requirements
The Maasai Mara is home to some of the most abundant wildlife populations in the world. Sightings of the "big 5" on game drives are almost guaranteed, while from camp the horizons are always busy with plains game. There are several prides of lion in the area, and it is even possible to see the more elusive leopard, who have established their territories around the camp. Our Maasai driver-guides are professional with excellent local knowledge, which they always enjoy sharing with our guests. Picnic lunches can be taken on longer game drives and enjoyed al fresco, while out exploring this vast and diverse area. Early evenings can be enjoyed over sundowner drinks in discreetly selected spots away from camp; or after a game drive and hot shower, around the campfire. The dining area offers a more intimate setting for our delicious home-cooked meals. We have a selection of house wines from the famous wineries of South Africa. Bread, cakes and pastries are all baked in camp, while fresh produce is flown in regularly. We aim to produce healthy, balanced and enticing menus, and are happy to cater to your individual requirements. If you wish you can dine privately on your own verandah, whilst enjoying the personal service of our helpful, well-trained staff.
Game drives in 4-wheel-drive vehicles: Ideally these are at dawn and dusk, before and after the heat and stillness which prevails around the middle of the day when the animals (and most people) take a rest. You will be with our knowledgeable Maasai driver-guides. We carry bean bags for photographers and the camp is emerging as a leading base for professional photographers.
Bush meals: We can arrange for you to have breakfast or lunch al fresco, so you can feel the warm wind and hear hippo grunting in the background, while bright-coloured birds hop daringly close in search of crumbs, and a passing herd of Impala pauses to take a long look at you. Dining beneath the stars offers a completely different African experience that can be as romantic, peaceful, or sociable as you wish. Our staff are friendly but unobtrusive, while the food is of a high standard.
Picnic lunches: Our camp kitchen prepares imaginative and tasty picnics which can be enjoyed out in the bush during a longer day of game viewing. Game drives with picnic lunches should be arranged in advance.
Sundowners: Experience glorious sunset skies and bird's eye views with the drink of your choice in hand. Watch the colours fade as the first stars come out, while you listen to the sounds of the African night fill the gathering darkness.
Further activities are available at an extra cost, which can be arranged by us with advance notice:
Exclusive Game Drives: You can book your own exclusive vehicle for an extra fee of $250 per day. Please give us advance notice. This gives you total flexibility, which is essential for any amateur or serious photographer.
Guided bush walks: It is not permitted to walk from the camp in the reserve, but with prior notice we can arrange for you to walk with an armed ranger and local Masai warriors (known as moran) in the Conservancy area.
Traditional Maasai cultural visits: These are arranged by our Maasai guides and offer guests a glimpse into a totally different culture, as well as a chance to meet some of the local villagers, many of whom still live in traditional cow-dung houses, a few still managing to adhere to their old nomadic lifestyle, moving with their livestock in search of grazing and water. Your contribution towards the visit will assist them to buy various necessities, including medicines and school books for the children.
Hot Air Balloon Ride: Rise above the wakening plains and forests at dawn and experience the thrill of watching the animals from above. A champagne bush breakfast is served when you come back to earth!
Location
Our location is central and our position offers some of the Mara's best game-viewing, right from your own tent! We overlook the Mara River, and are only a short drive away from where the Talek and Mara rivers converge. The camp is positioned between major wildebeest crossings, which during the migration are spectacular. Our favourite spot to take you for sundowner drinks is on a hill 15 minutes drive away, where you can enjoy ice-cold drinks while viewing the panoramic 360 degree view. And because our camp is so conveniently situated there's no hurry to finish your drink before the spectacular sunset display is over. This also applies in the morning when we are in the best game area before other vehicles arrive, offering the best light for photography, and soaking up what feels like our own private wilderness.
Ol Kiombo airstrip is 25 minutes away from the camp and we will meet you on arrival.
Air Kenya scheduled flights to the Masai Mara:
Twice daily departing Nairobi at 10.00 & 15.00
Once daily departing Nanyuki at 10.00
Once daily departing Samburu at 09.15
Safari Link scheduled flights to the Masai Mara:
Twice daily departing Nairobi at 10.00 & 15.00
Once daily departing Nanyuki at 09.45
Once daily departing Samburu at 09.30
FLY540 scheduled flight to the Masai Mara:
Once daily departing Nairobi JKIA at 11.15
Private Charters from anywhere can land at Ol Kiombo airstrip.
THE MASAI MARA
The area:
This evocatively beautiful expanse of open plains mottled with woodlands prompted the local Maasai to give the area its name. Mara means "mottled." Situated in the Great Rift Valley the Masan Mara is Kenya's largest national reserve with an area of 320 square km, although it is actually the northern most part of a larger ecosystem encompassing Kenya's Lomita plains and Tanzania's Serengeti, which make up an area of 25,000 square km. The largest river, the Mara River, runs north to south through the reserve, heading towards Lake Victoria through Tanzania.
Flora and fauna:
Wildlife is abundant in the area and game-viewing is good any time of year, peaking during the annual wildebeest migration from July to October. As well as large numbers of other plains game including zebra, different species of antelopes, giraffe and warthog, there are many prides of lions, which follow the migrating herds, but some are resident in the area all the year round. The Mara is a perfect kingdom for these lions, the most powerful of hunters, who dominate the grasslands. Cheetahs, spotted and striped hyena and smaller predators including all three types of jackal also roam the Mara area. Leopard tend to be solitary, but territorial and thus our guides know where to find them. To complete the "big five" list, elephant, buffalo and the shyer rhino can also usually be found. Hippo and crocodiles abound in the Mara and Talek rivers. The dense riverine forest which fringes the banks is home to many bird species, and refuge to many mammals including monkeys and leopards. There is also a wealth of bird-life: Over 550 species have been recorded, including the migrant species who visit during the European winter. Raptors are abundant including some large and magnificent eagles. The scavengers clean up after the big cats, and flocks of several species of vultures are a common sight on a kill. Meanwhile a colourful profusion of smaller birds continue to delight amateur ornithologists, while rarer species impress the experts. Butterflies, many species of insects and arachnids, including the Golden Orb spider are also interesting, even to the amateur entomologist. There are also many species of trees, shrubs and grasses, many of which are used medicinally by the local Maasai. After the rains the wildflowers dot the plains and forests with colour, many of them rare species.
Background:
Several hundred years before the coming of the first Europeans in the late 1800's the Maasai had migrated into Kenya down the Nile valley. It wasn't until 1948 that the Mara area was designated as a National Game Reserve. Today the Maasai Mara and the surrounding Conservancy areas are under control of the local Narok County Council, the Mara and Olare Orok Conservancies and local community Group Ranches.
The Maasai:
Karen Blixen, writer of Out of Africa, wrote home to Denmark early last century full of admiration for "the tall handsome Masai." Another early white settler, writer Elspeth Huxley described them as "the tribe that shared these enormous, sun-drenched plains with the wild animals." The Maasai have remained dominant in the Mara area, while increasingly being encouraged to protect the ecosystem and wildlife. Your visit to the Mara will re-enforce and promote the necessity for this. The Maasai, who have a reputation for being fierce warriors, have largely remained very independent people, many of whom still adhere to their traditional values and lifestyle. The Maasai never hunted, but lived peacefully alongside the wildlife in harmony. This continued co-existence makes the Maasai Mara one of the world's most interesting and unique wilderness regions.
Migration:
The Maasai Mara remains most famous for its annual migration: Undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary natural events on the planet the Great Migration involves a mass movement of ungulates, most notably the wildebeest. Towards the beginning of every July vast numbers of these curious looking creatures move en masse from the southern plains of the Serengeti in Tanzania to cross the Mara River and head north in search of the green flush of grasses watered by Kenya's long rains of April and early May. It is estimated that more than half a million wildebeest enter the reserve each year, followed by large numbers of zebras - and of course the opportunistic predators. Those who haven't drowned in the river, been torn apart by crocodiles, or brought down by the big cats will dutifully return south around October to the now-greener pastures of Tanzania, leaving the Mara's dusty plains to recover with the onset of the short rains in November.
As millions of hooves annually trample a circular route around the Mara Ecosystem in search of greener pastures and water, this powerful migratory instinct overrides any fear of the dangers of crossing the Mara River. During the migrations the river banks witness daily dramas as the wildebeest wrestle rapids and currents. Even more probable than drowning is ending their journey in the cruel jaws of the crocodiles, who lurk beneath the mud-brown surface of the churning waters, awaiting their chance.
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