The Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya Safari
Acacia House is a small private safari house, which stands at the foot of Kipileo Hill in the Olchorro Losit Valley, a community conservation area just north of the Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya. Simply constructed but spacious, this small safari hotel overlooks the Rekero waterhole and stands in extensive gardens, which also feature a swimming pool.
Ideal for a Kenya safari, the safari house offers two spacious bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and a third attic bedroom which is ideal for children. There is a large sitting and dining room with fireplace and a small office with TV and DVD player.
The house has its own dedicated chef who is proficient in a wide range of dishes and uses primarily locally sourced produce. Also included are the services of a dedicated safari driver guide. African Safari
Acacia House Location - Masai Mara
The Masai Mara is 270 miles from Nairobi (five hours by road). There is an air strip (45 minutes from the house) with scheduled flights from Nairobi (one hour); there is also a private airstrip adjacent to the African safari house.
The Background
The Masai Mara National Reserve
When it comes to game viewing, there is nowhere in Africa richer in wildlife or more eventful in encounters than the Masai Mara. A pristine wilderness of haunting beauty, it promises its visitors on an African safari a profusion of wildlife, prolific bird life and the unprecedented opportunity of catching up with all the members of the ‘Big Five' in one morning.
World renowned for the breathtaking spectacle of ‘the greatest wildlife show on earth', the awe inspiring annual migration of the wildebeest, the Masai Mara is Kenya's most visited protected area. Technically an extension of Tanzania's renowned Serengeti National Park, the Mara constitutes only 4% of the entire Serengeti ecosystem but its rolling grasslands, meandering rivers and towering escarpments offer one of the world's most rewarding and evocative wildlife arenas, making for an excellent Kenya safari.
As to scenery, the 1,800 sq kilometres of this veteran reserve offer the classic mix of African imagery; miles of lion-gold grasslands, shoals of lilac-misted hills, a meandering river, acres of thorn-bush and mile upon mile of undulating wilderness.
The Mara makes the ideal African safari destination, hosting a wide range of Kenya safari hotels. Visitors can choose from an array of national park accommodation which include: traditional safari lodges, safari hotel, bush camp, luxury lodge, safari tented camp or bush lodge. Numerous other luxury lodge and luxury camp options exist on the park boundaries, in the private wildlife conservancies.
The Miracle of the Migration of the Wildebeest
Between July and October, over one and a half million wildebeest accompanied by half again as many zebras and gazelles, migrate from the short-grass plains of the Serengeti to fresh pasture in the grasslands of the Mara; thus creating one of nature's grandest spectacles. Moving in groups of up to 20,000 at a time they thunder across the plateau hesitating only briefly to cross the Mara River, where many fall prey to the waiting crocodiles. Towards the end of October they begin crossing back into Tanzania. The actual timing of the migration, however, is dictated by the weather and does not always ‘run to schedule'.
Acacia House Accommodation
The house offers two spacious bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and a third attic bedroom which is ideal for children.
Dining and bars at Acacia House
The house has its own dining room and a dedicated chef who is proficient in producing a wide range of meals using primarily locally sourced fresh produce. Meals can also be taken on the verandah, in the grounds or in the bush.
Wildlife highlights
Offering an abundance of herbivores, a Masai Mara safari makes the ideal hunting ground for Kenya's famous ‘big cats' and hosts her largest population of lions. It also offers the best chance of spotting a leopard in the wild. Other predators include cheetah and spotted hyena. Historically teaming with wildlife, the Mara is famous for the large herds of elephant and buffalo that meander its plains; also for the fat pods of hippo that wallow in its mud-brown rivers. Other stars include the distinctive Masai giraffe, plum-coloured topi, Coke's hartebeest, Grant's and Thomson's gazelle, zebra, impala, Kirk's dik-dik, bushbuck, waterbuck and red duiker. The Reserve also boasts plentiful Nile crocodile, monitor lizard, baboon, vervet, blue and red-tailed monkeys, nocturnal bush babies, and tree hyrax. There are over 550 resident and migratory species of birds on an African safari to the Mara.
Child-friendly
The house makes the ideal retreat for a family safari.
What to see and do while at Acacia House
African Safari Activities:
• Safari game drives in 4x4 vehicles with knowledgeable guides, both during the day and night
• Visits to one of the local Maasai villages, schools and trading centres can be arranged
• Picnics in the bush and sundowners
• Guests interested in Community Conservation are welcome to participate in the Rekero Trust projects.
• Swimming
Acacia House – Masai Mara
Kenya Safari Accommodation: Lodges, Tented Camps, Hotels & Resorts