ABOUT US

HOW WE STARTED

The Amazing Mara Camp is the flag-ship camp of Amazing Kenya Camps. The idea came about in October 2020. With covid crippling the tourism industry of Kenya, co-founders Geoff and Suzanne found themselves in a tricky situation. The camp they were running was making cut-backs and staff were being laid off.

The couple arranged to borrow a friends mobile tented camp, rented a site in Tsavo East, on the banks of the Galana River, and, with a small group of just 5 staff, ran the camp from early December 2020 through until the middle of January. Buoyed by this success, and with a former client offering some financial security, the team moved the equipment downstream and ran the camp through until Easter 2021 in the Galana Wildlife Conservancy.

Shortly after Easter, Kenya went back into lockdown and, using this time to properly digest the last few months, Geoff and manager Clinton began looking at new opportunities.

With the great wildebeest migration fast approaching, it was decided that the World-Famous Maasai Mara should be the next target. In late April the pair visited the Maasai Mara, still under lockdown, and visited a number of potential sites. Geoff and Clinton immediately fell in love with one particular location on the banks of the Talek River, and even after a (very) close encounter with a grumpy buffalo, they chose the site that is now our Amazing Mara Camp!

What began as an initial temporary 3 month exercise quickly turned into a semi-permanent camp, and the “famous five” pioneer staff have expanded into a camp of nearly 20 employees!

Our former client who offered so much support from the early stages has now joined the team as our primary investor and the whole project has grown from strength to strength… even surviving the “Great Flood of 2024…”.

OUR BEGINING

MISSION

This project is born out of passion. And that passion directly translates to amazing guest experiences. Every staff member has a passion for tourism and conservation and understands that they are an ambassador for Kenya. And everyone is proud of this. This is reflected in our guests experiences – and every guest who goes away with a positive experience will want to tell all of their friends. Direct referrals are the most powerful endorsement of our camp.

Amazing really does come as standard with us.

VISION

Using our Amazing Mara Camp as a flagship, we have a desire for Amazing Kenya Camps to expand into areas where ethical tourism facilities are in demand, and where our guests and staff can feel like they have a positive impact on the environment and local conservation.

A percentage of our overall revenue goes directly back to the local community in the form of land rental and bednight fees. We also support specific conservation projects, targeting those that are working towards human/ wildlife conflict resolutions. As our company grows, so does our contribution towards conservation.

GREEN ETHOS

One of the biggest appeals of working with the local Muserian family, and choosing our current location, was the beautiful forest in which our camp is built. The family has, for generations, made an effort to preserve this forest. Working with like minded land owners was important to us.

We plant an indigenous tree for every guest who stays in our camp and encourage our guests to donate towards planting more trees if they wish.

We use locally produced organic, environmentally responsible body care products throughout the camp. From the shampoos in your shower, to our massage oil, we strive to only use eco-friendly products.

Our camp encourages reusable water bottles, and, where possible, we do not use single use plastics in camp. (We have aluminium water bottles available for purchase in our camp shop.)

The camp is run exclusively on solar power, and we request guests to switch off lights and sockets when not in use.

Our hot water heaters are powered by ethically sourced firewood, kindly supplied by the healthy elephant population in the area.

Where possible we only use glasses made out of recycled wine and spirit bottles.

COMMUNITY PROJECTS

The Maasai Mara has a rich cultural heritage and we are proud to support the local community in a variety of ways.

We are running a variety of training programs to offer opportunities to the local community to develop careers within tourism – we have already nurtured Evans, from the community, from his beginnings as a watchman, all the way through his guides training, helping him obtain his driving licence, and he is now one of our top guides.

We also employee as many staff as possible from the local community.

Wherever possible we purchase fresh produce from the surrounding farms and our staff receive fresh milk daily from the local cattle herders.

MEET THE TEAM

A camp such as ours is not a one-man band, and we are extremely lucky to have such a fun, hard working and passionate team. No request is too difficult and every member of staff takes great pleasure in hearing guests stories and there is always a warm, welcoming smile at the start and end of every safari.

Many of our staff have been with us since the beginning and it is humbling to share this journey with such an amazing team.