I am so close to a lion that I can hear the snap and crunch of bones as it eats its kill. I’ve been told the carcass lying in a muddy puddle in front of me was once a male buffalo, but with little more than a ribcage and spine left, I’ll have to take my guide’s word for it.
Having arrived by light aircraft on the world-famous Maasai Mara only minutes ago, it’s fair to say – as a mainly city person, frankly – that I am astonished to be confronted with the sight of two young lionesses finishing off the gristly remains of a two-day-old kill, as a male with a shaggy, golden mane looks on. With their faces smeared with both mud and blood, the two enjoying their lunch look almost comically gruesome. I can hear their sighs and pants as they gnaw through bone. Nearby, opportunistic jackals are biding their time, waiting for their chance to steal a bite of the buffalo. I should probably be terrified. Instead, as I sit in a jeep only a short distance away from the scene, I am totally transfixed.
It was an encounter that would set the tone for my week-long adventure through Kenya’s most extraordinary wilderness areas, each stop revealing not just wildlife spectacles, but the intricate dance between conservation, community, and tourism.
Breakfast with the hippos at Roca River Camp
Life at Roca River Camp, just a 45-minute flight from Nairobi, flows along with the continual hum of the African bush. Mornings unfold beneath sprawling acacia trees, where hearty al-fresco breakfasts are accompanied by an unusual dawn chorus – the resonant grunting of hippos wallowing in the nearby Mara River. Hosted by Ross and Caro Withey, whose roots in Kenya are life-long, this luxurious retreat offers more than just proximity to one of Africa’s most iconic safari destinations.
From July to October, the camp provides front-row seats for nature’s greatest spectacle: the Great Migration, when millions of wildebeest, zebras, elands and gazelles surge northward from the Tanzanian Serengeti in search of greener pastures. Yet even in November, outside the migration window, the Mara’s drama seems to unfold continuously. And the guests at Roca River camp are witnesses to it thanks to Roca River’s expert guides – such as eagle-eyed local guide Julius Naurori – who seems to have an almost uncanny ability to spot lions from staggering distances.
Perhaps slightly easier to spot were the elephant herds shepherding playful calves through quiet groves, and the giraffes loping gracefully across the horizon. Rarely seen – thankfully – are other visitors. Indeed, perhaps the most precious gift of a November visit is the sense of solitude on the Mara. While peak season can bring a parade of vehicles to each sighting, Ross and his team have perfected their timing, ensuring Roca’s guests are often the first, and frequently only, witnesses to these remarkable wildlife encounters. In the quieter months, the Mara belongs to the animals and the rare few eager enough to seek them out.
Beyond serving as a gateway to wildlife encounters, Roca River Camp stands as a beacon of community engagement. Its relationship with the Anne K. Taylor Fund, which is dedicated to maintaining the delicate balance between conservation and community development within the Maasai Mara ecosystem, exemplifies how tourism can contribute to positive change.
The fund’s initiatives include an innovative project supporting local women in producing reusable sanitary pads – a seemingly simple intervention that ripples outward, addressing broader issues of female empowerment, education retention, and economic independence in Maasai communities. Guests at Roca River Camp can arrange visits to meet these remarkable, pioneering women, and witness at first hand how tourism’s pounds and dollars can flow beyond game drives and sundowners to nurture meaningful community projects.
Transformative travel
Behind all these extraordinary scenes lies the meticulous planning of Explorations Company, whose team has spent over three decades weaving together the threads of wildlife, culture and conservation across Africa, Asia and beyond. The mastermind behind my safari adventure is Kate Pirie, a senior travel specialist who has worked with Explorations Company for more than 20 years and prides herself on having “never done the same trip twice”.
Speaking to Kate, it’s clear that what sets Explorations Company apart is its unwavering commitment to purposeful, transformative travel. That means more than just selecting luxury accommodations – though the camps and lodges they partner with are undeniably exceptional. Instead, it’s about creating connections that touch Kenya’s local communities as well as its wildlife. Each camp and lodge in the portfolio has been carefully vetted not just for comfort and location, but for their tangible contributions to conservation and community development. Otherwise, Kate tells me definitively, they’re off the books.
Midnight theatre in the Shompole Wilderness
A short flight transports guests from the Mara’s expansive plains to the intimate sanctuary of Shompole Wilderness Camp, a gorgeous family affair close to the Great Rift Valley.
The camp’s true distinction lies in its ground-breaking community partnerships, such as the camp’s collaboration with the SORALO ranger program.
Guests here can visit the rangers, and are invited to learn about the important community and wildlife protection work they do. Among these impressive guardians is Sylvia Nashipae, who broke barriers as Shompole’s first female ranger. Today, she is one of 12, their presence challenging traditional gender roles in their communities while strengthening the bonds between wilderness protection and local communities.
But visitors looking to get their wildlife fix need not fear. One of the camp’s most striking features is its hide, about three miles away, which is a haven for wildlife enthusiasts and photographers alike. Cleverly designed and backlit for optimal shots, the hide – complete with comfortable beds, and a well-stocked drinks cooler – brings you astonishingly close to the action.
From this privileged vantage point, nature’s grand theatre plays out in startling proximity: the iridescent flash of superb starlings, a family of warthogs with their comical radio-antennae-like tails, all sharing space with elder bull elephants, whose tusks gleam in the moonlight as mountain peaks loom in the distance.
Even those armed only with a smartphone are capable of capturing remarkable images here – although a professional camera is advised for those wanting to capture the finer details of these incredible animals.
Spotting elusive predators at Lion’s Bluff
My trip ends with an all-too-brief stay at Soroi Lions Bluff Lodge, where 12 luxury suites perch above the rust-red expanse of Tsavo National Park. The lodge maintains strong ties with nearby villages, supporting a digital lab at the local school and fish farming projects that help reduce pressure on wildlife, among other projects.
At Lion’s Bluff we are treated to night drives which reveal a world hidden to safari-goers who explore only in the sun. Our spotlight catches movement in the grass, and we see an African wildcat, one of the continent’s smallest and most elusive predators, freeze mid-hunt. We pass giraffes gently grazing in the dark (others appear to have mastered the trick of sleeping standing up), and later a barn owl emerges, its eyes glowing from within the grasses of the wilderness.
It’s a side of Tsavo that some visitors never get to experience, and a reminder that some of Africa’s most extraordinary moments come to life only after sunset.
In many ways, these nocturnal adventures mirror my time with the Explorations Company, revealing that beyond the well-trodden narratives of safari adventures lies a somewhat more hidden, complex story of communities and wildlife learning that coexist in an ever-changing landscape. And they’re inviting visitors to help pen this next chapter for Kenya’s extraordinary wilderness.
Sorcha Bradley travelled as a guest of Explorations Company. A nine-night itinerary starts from £10,494 per person, including domestic flights, airport transfers and full-board accommodation and activities at all safari lodges.