Game drives

Karen Blixen Camp invites our guests for game drives within the Mara North Conservancy for the outmost exclusive and private safari experience. Visit the Leopard Gorge, a vital nursery area for lions, cheetahs and leopards, made famous by BBC’s Big Cat Diary

Guests of Karen Blixen Camp are able to enjoy early morning game drives, afternoon game drives, full day game drives and thrilling night game drives within the Mara North Conservancy. We encourage you to explore the northern corridor of our conservancy area with the majestic Lemek Hills; a highly important wildlife refuge particular to a pack of threatened African wild dogs.

During the migration season (or on request) guests are offered the opportunity to go for a full day game drive to the Masai Mara National Reserve or to the Mara Triangle to have a chance to see the thousands of wildebeests and zebras crossing the Mara River.

For the ultimate safari experience Karen Blixen Camp is using open Toyota Land Cruisers as our preferred safari vehicles. Game drives are undertaken with a driver guide and a spotter guide. While the driver guide has his attention solely on driving and tracking interesting wildlife sightings, the spotter guide is committed to guiding and explaining guests about wild animal behavior and the complexity of the Mara Ecosystem. The combination of two highly knowledgeable safari guides makes game driving at Karen Blixen Camp an outstanding safari experience. No more than six guests in each game vehicle assure the most comfortable experience with attention given to every visitor’s wildlife interest.
 

Morning game drives

The early morning game drives start just before sunrise, where one is woken up by a cup of steaming hot Kenyan highland coffee. As the sun rises, we are out on the savannah, taking in the fresh smell of the moist grasses and observing the scenic nature and its amazing wildlife.

Home in camp you enjoy the lavishly set breakfast. Relax at your private verandah with a good book or simply take pleasure in the plentiful wildlife that comes to drink at the Mara River; just opposite the restaurant.
 

Afternoon game drives

Enjoy a delicious lunch and spend the afternoon lazing at the poolside.  Afternoon game drives usually starts in the late afternoon and one returns to camp just before the darkness fall upon Mara.
 

Full day game drives

The full day game drives start just after you have enjoyed your breakfast and continues until the late afternoon. We provide you with a delicious picnic lunch basket with chilled drinks and hot Kenyan tea and coffee.
 

Night game drives

Karen Blixen Camp offers night game drives. The feeling and the smells of the savannah are completely different. Stronger. More quiet. With all plain game alert and watchful. One truly feels the dangers of the night as the big cat predators prepare themselves for the nightly hunts. We leave in the late afternoon and return to camp no later than 9pm for a late night dinner.

Stars in Masai Mara are amazingly bright and the night has this velvety blue darkness. Perfect for a gin & tonic at the outdoor fireplace; exchanging stories of the adventures of the day.
 

Responsible game driving

Karen Blixen Camp is committed to responsible game driving. All our safari guides are bronze or silver rated and receive extensive training by the international recognized South African company EcoTraining. Guests are oblige to follow the game drive etiquette set by the Mara North Conservancy.