Review: Mara Nyika, Kenya

Mara Nyika as the fourth Great Plains camp in the Maasai Mara—right in the middle of 2019.  Ah, what a time to launch a safari camp, filled with optimism and dreams of the endless flood of tourists that 2020 would surely bring. Oh, the glory days! But once people actually managed to make it there, Nyika promised to deliver on its aim: to drop you straight into the heart of one of the planet’s greatest wildlife spectacles. Situated on a private concession, it offers the exclusivity of Naboisho Conservancy with bonus access to the more famous Maasai Mara Reserve. This was my third time to the Mara, and Mara Nyika formed the start of this adventure as I tried all the “Reserve Collection” camps, which represents the top-tier of Great Plains’ offerings.

Getting there

You have two options to get to Mara Nyika: take a scheduled flight from Wilson Airport, or do what I did and opt for a private charter. The private charter is far more convenient because it departs from Nairobi’s domestic terminal, which is just a five-minute walk from arrivals. Wilson, on the other hand, is nearly a 30-minute drive away—if you’re lucky with traffic, which you should never assume in Nairobi. With the private charter, there’s almost no waiting around. I landed at 7 a.m. for an 8 a.m. flight, but since we were both ready earlier, I was on board by 7:40. The flight itself takes around 45 minutes.

From the airstrip, you’re looking at about a 45-minute game drive transfer to camp. It’s no ordinary airport transfer though; this is basically a safari before the safari.  This is where your guide picks you up, and who you’ll spend most of your time with in the coming days.

They had set up a charming little tea and coffee station —complete with a handwritten welcome note and some snacks, including some seriously addictive flapjacks. It’s the kind of touch that most camps don’t think about but should. After all, getting here is no small feat, and by this point, you’re more than ready for a little pick-me-up.  And, because they know you’ve likely been traveling for hours, they’ve even got a bathroom conveniently set up at the airstrip.

Setting

Mara Nyika sits within the Naboisho Conservancy, part of the larger Maasai Mara ecosystem in Kenya.  The conservancy’s low density of vehicles ensures that game drives are more private and immersive compared to the batshit crazy Maasai Mara National Reserve.  It sits in a private concession, which means a couple of things: yes, you get to do night drives, which is basically the safari version of VIP access, and walking is technically possible—though they don’t offer it yet.  That’s a large technicality.

While you’re in the Naboisho Conservancy, this area is shared with other lodges, including Asilia’s properties.  You’ll see other vehicles, though they limit it to five per sighting to keep things civilized.

Along with the usual predators like lions, leopards, hyaenas, cheetahs, there are a lot of cows. Maasai cattle herds share the land – it’s a reminder that the conservancy is a balancing act between wildlife and community. So yes, you might be watching a leopard one minute, dodging a cow the next and eating steak for dinner the next. It’s all part of the experience.

Facilities

Mara Nyika’s facilities are quintessentially Great Plains—minimalist, traditional, colonial, and rustic, all packed into a small, intimate space. As you enter the lodge, you’re greeted by a covered lounge area that flows into an open-air dining space. It’s a cosy setup with a dining table, three sofas, two chairs, and a large selection of alcohol for those evening sundowners. Outside, there’s the traditional boma with chairs circled around it for chilly nights, and a separate area serving as another living room. Next to this is the wine room, featuring a dining table and a boutique for any last-minute safari wardrobe upgrades.

Wi-Fi is available in the rooms only (or if you’re the world’s greatest puzzle solver, you can guess the password and get on it in the main area), it’s passable but surprisingly usable—I even managed to jump on a conference call with a client. That said, it’s better suited for quick check-ins rather than heavy digital work. There’s no pool, gym, or formal spa.  Spa treatments can be arranged in your tent.

There was something underwhelming in the design, particularly as my last Great Plains experience was at their newly opened Sitatunga Private Island, which really showed a much more luxurious experience.  It’s not that the facilities are lacking in any way compared to their other camps, it’s the design.  I found it hard to find anything to photography, as everything is so understated it ends up being unspecialised.  There’s blending into the environment and then there’s being plain and forgetful.

Room

Mara Nyika has six rooms: four standard, two family rooms, with one The Sambuk Suite their signature suite with a private swimming pool. All are tented canvas setups, and all seem to have hired my grandma as their interior designer. The rooms are divided into three sections, separated by curtains, with dark wood floors and a small outdoor patio area. On the patio, there’s that infamous exercise bike—the so-called gym—but it’s covered for good reason; in the sun, you’d melt right off it. There are just two chairs outside, and thankfully they too are in the shade.

The rooms don’t feel particularly spacious. The ceilings are pitched a few meters high in the middle but slope down to about two meters at the sides, giving the room a slightly more cramped feel than you’d expect.

When you enter the room, you step into a living area that can be opened up to the outdoors, giving you a view through the mesh. One thing I appreciate about Great Plains properties is that every room includes camera gear which is already set up and ready for use. I don’t use it, as I bring my own, but it’s handy if you don’t wanna lug around 30kg of equipment with you.

The living area has a sofa facing outwards and two comfy leather chairs, one by a small desk. There’s a tablet for calling management, a minibar, and a tea/coffee station, but don’t expect the indulgent alcohol stash like at Duba Plains. What the room really needs, though, is a fan. By midday, it’s absolutely sweltering.  The bedroom is simple but functional, with red and black carpets, an overhead fan, and another fan trying its best in the corner. The tent opens up to a view, but let’s not get too excited—it’s mostly bushes and short grass. There are plug switches conveniently beside the bed and luggage racks hidden behind it.  The bathroom is a highlight: spacious, with a wooden-framed toilet, double vanities, a striking copper bathtub, and a large wooden shower plonked right in the middle of the room.

I gave Lucie a FaceTime tour of the room and she said “It’s very Great Plainsy” and I said “that’s exactly what I said” and that’s why I married her – we talk the same language.

The power went out on the first morning—not just a quick flicker, either. It went out multiple times over the next couple of days, though it usually came back quickly. By noon, the room really started feeling the heat. By night, that completely transforms.  Thankfully, they provide a hot water bottle to keep you warm at night – and you know what?  It did the trick nicely.  Just as long as you don’t need to get up to pee like this old man, where the freezing floorboards will send you back to the ice age.  I could also hear other guests from your room at night, as the proximity to the main lodge is a little too close for comfort.

Food

The food at Mara Nyika is more about quality than quantity. Breakfast is packed and taken with you for longer game drives, which is ideal for maximizing your time out in the bush. The picnic breakfast is a lovely spread with sausage, bacon, potatoes, yoghurt, fruit, and granola, along with your choice of drinks. The bush breakfast deluxe version is much the same, but a chef showing up to cook you eggs (you can choose the ingredients), potatoes and freshly cooking the meats.

For lunch, they claim it’s served family-style, like at Duba Plains, but in reality, it all comes together on a single plate as one main course. At Duba, there’s a huge selection of salads, but here, I was presented with what felt like three lettuce leaves. While I’m often the first to grumble about the excessive portions on safari, this lunch left me wanting more. There was a small dessert to follow, but it was nothing extravagant.

Dinner is more of a structured affair with a choice of three mains. It’s not a massive spread, but again, the quality is good.  There’s not about huge portions here, but rather small, carefully crafted meals that get the job done without overwhelming you.

Before the afternoon game drive, there’s a little tea selection—some scones with optional cream and granola biscuits to tide you over. The wake-up routine also includes a warm drink delivered straight to your room, which is a nice way to ease into the day.

During my first lunch, I found myself sitting in one corner of the restaurant while another guest dined by herself in another, making it feel more like we were in the middle of a marital spat.

Activities

There are seven camps on this concession, and it was surprisingly busier than expected—especially compared to Mara Plains, which, with its five camps, felt like a ghost town. Here, there’s a standard queuing system with five vehicles allowed per sighting, which led to me missing a leopard and a lion because, by the time my turn came, they’d moved on. Frustrating as that was, the sightings at Mara Nyika were still nothing short of incredible.

One thing that sets Great Plains apart is their commitment to giving guests a private driver whenever possible—at no extra charge, unlike almost every other lodge. I had a private guide at every camp I stayed at, and the vehicles were super comfortable. My four-seater was all mine, though they also offer six-seaters. The fridge in the back and a handy storage bag for your gear are thoughtful touches. It was just me and the driver—absolutely perfect. And the guiding? Top-notch. My guide was not only well-read and well-educated but also a generally cool dude.

I never expected to queue up on a private concession to see a cheetah, especially in late September. But we did catch some cheetahs giving the most half-arsed chase ever against a topi. But later on those topi (different ones) rewarded me.   Patience truly paid off when I witnessed a topi give birth. Another vehicle pulled up, and I overheard them say, “Oh, this is going to take a while,” before driving off. Ten minutes later, I watched the birth unfold. Patience, people, patience.

Now, I know I reference Jurassic Park more than I actually talk about luxury travel, but watching a pride of 30 lions devouring their prey, hidden from view, was straight out of the velociraptor scene. A couple of days earlier, the same pride had taken down a giraffe, leaving behind nothing but a skeleton and a lone hyena gnawing on the remains. Surprisingly, during that big lion sighting, no other vehicles were around, but the next morning felt like rush hour.

One afternoon, I witnessed hyenas take down a warthog, with eagles swooping in to join the feast, all happening right by camp in the middle of the day. That’s the beauty of staying out longer on a game drive—you catch those moments others miss.

Other places to consider

Mara Plains

Maasai Mara, Kenya

4/5

Singita Sasakwa

Grumeti, Tanzania

5/5

Mara Toto Camp

Maasai Mara, Kenya

3.5/5

The Good

• Food
• Service
• Guide
• Exclusivity

The Bad

• The design feels dated and needs modernising

The Luxurious

• It’s the Mara, baby.  The wildlife sightings are spectacular.

Conclusion

When you pull into Mara Nyika and are greeted by the sight of a rather uninspiring and muted lodge, with tents neatly lined up next to each other, you know you’re not coming to a Singita. The simplicity goes too far towards unmemorable.  No one’s ever leaving a place like Arijiju and saying, “I liked it, but I wish the facilities were more like Great Plains.”  Still, the Mara does what it always does—it delivers on the wildlife front in ways that make you forget everything else. And with their quality service, food and guides, Great Plains knows how to deliver a quality safari experience.  While Mara Nyika offers everything you need, it’s hard not to wish it had the elevated style of Mara Toto. With that level of luxury paired with the experience here, it would be an absolute no-brainer. As it stands, Nyika may not dazzle, but the Mara itself more than makes up for it.