New Réserve-Collection opens treetop safari camp in Kenya’s Maasai Mara

Great Plains, the iconic eco-tourism company founded by National Geographic explorer-filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert, has launched Mara Toto Tree Camp. The newest offering from Great Plains forms part of its exclusive Réserve-Collection safari camps.

One of Great Plains’ most astonishing camps to date, Mara Toto Tree Camp is located within a forest canopy and accommodates up to eight adults in four luxurious tented suites. Enjoying a stunning and secluded location overlooking the Ntiakitiak River within the 150,000-hectare Maasai Mara National Reserve with private access to the 26,000-hectare Mara North Conservancy, the romantic safari era-inspired camp provides the ultimate base for those looking to discover this region and its bountiful pristine wildlife in style.

Commenting on the grand opening of the new camp, Great Plains’ CEO and Founder Dereck Joubert said: “It is a delight to share the new Mara Toto Tree Camp – one of the most ambitious and unique camps in our portfolio – with our fellow explorers. Tarzan meets Robinson Crusoe in this treetop camp that ensures the safari experience doesn’t end when our guests return to camp.

“Every care has been taken to create a design that brings the outside in, catching the cool breezes enjoyed by our fellow tree-dwellers without harming or disturbing the natural beauty of their habitat. Set right along the river’s edge and tucked into the canopy of some of the area’s most spectacular ebony trees, the result is an awe-inspiring safari experience that feels like a movie set, with rare melanistic bushbabies living at the same elevation and in total acceptance of us being at their level. Wildlife spotting opportunities abound from this unrivalled vantage point, where leopards are often seen, and lions are heard almost every night. Mara Toto Tree Camp is the ultimate Kenyan safari choice for families, or small parties, explorers, adventurers and photographers who want to experience Africa the way we have for many years, just better – and now at treetop level!”

Mara Toto Tree Camp offers guests a choice of four light and airy, spacious canvas tree canopy tented suites, each with en-suite bathrooms complete with double vanity basins, ceramic baths with brushed steel and huge safari showers. A central lounge and dining room offers ample space to unwind and enjoy fine dining following a day spent on the plains, while an outdoor seated fire area is just the spot for enjoying a sundowner and swapping stories from the day’s adventure.

The camp’s stunning interior design and interiors were done by Dereck and Beverly Joubert themselves, with extreme care to create a space that reflects, compliments and respects the beauty of its environs. A soft scheme of airy greys and touches of teal seen across the soft furnishings balances perfectly with the natural light wood reflecting the ‘in the trees’ theme. The majority of fabrics have been sourced locally and a statement sculpture of leaves shimmers over the dining table, amongst hanging seedpod lights made from the Baobab trees of Kilifi, on Kenya’s coast.

Touches of life in the trees are seen in every detail throughout the camp, from the woodpecker doorknobs for those early morning wake-up calls and lightbulb-grasping monkey statement lamps, to the hanging weaver nest chairs on each suite deck. Elevated walkways between the main areas and suites wind between tree trunks and are bursting with wildlife, providing endless opportunities to spot species long after the day’s safari drive is over.

As with all Great Plains camps, meticulous thought has been given to sustainability, with much of the furniture and structure crafted bespoke for Mara Toto Tree Camp using recycled wood, including from old sailing dhows off the Kenyan coast. Owing to a directive from the founders that no tree be cut or harmed in the creation of the camp, a truly creative design sees bathrooms built around ebony trees – providing totally unique guest accommodations – and a main decking area that wraps around the branches of another.

Wildlife and Activities
Located firmly in East Africa’s big cat territory, guests of Mara Toto Tree Camp are spoilt for choice when it comes to wildlife spotting opportunities. All safari drives seat up to four guests in a vehicle with a private guide taking place on Mara Toto Tree Camp’s three specially designed Land Cruisers. Totally open-sided – a rarity in the Mara – the 300-degree view provides ideal circumstances for photography. Guests can find high-quality binoculars and a full professional Canon camera set in their suite, with all photos taken during their adventure downloaded onto a keepsake memory stick upon departure. Photography lessons – using either the camp cameras or guests’ own – can also be arranged in advance.Explorers can take advantage of two migrations in the Maasai Mara – the famous annual southern migration of over one million animals from the Serengeti, typically in July and August, and the green season migration from Loita Plains in the Spring, where over a hundred thousand zebras and wildebeest arrive from the northwest. For those in search of a true bucket-list-in-the-bush experience, there is even the chance to book a hot air balloon ride over the Mara – a truly stunning way to experience the landscape and an unforgettable sunrise.

Just a few kilometres from Great Plains sister camps are Mara Plains Camp and Mara Expedition Camp. The new Mara Toto Tree Camp pairs perfectly with the Mara Nyika Camp in the private Naboisho Conservancy, as well as ol Donyo Lodge in the Chyulu Hills for a complete Kenyan safari experience with Great Plains.