Background

We have used our knowledge and contacts to put together a fantastic opportunity for people to do something very special. Two different tribal groups, the Olare and Loita Maasai, have given us permission to walk across their homeland and camp close to remote villages. This is not only a once in a lifetime chance to walk and live in close contact with Africa’s big game, it is also a chance to learn how the Maasai way of life has remained largely unchanged for centuries. You will learn about their society, their lives and how they utilise the natural resources around them.

The walks pass through a vast tract of land that includes Kenya’s premier safari destination. Many of the animals that you can see on a traditional game-viewing safari to the Maasai Mara will be around you while you are walking and you will see plenty of signs of their presence and encounter species such as giraffe, wildebeest, zebra and a variety of antelope.

John Blissett and two Maasai guides, Nickson Merku and Moses Ole Letoluo, with whom John has worked for a number of years, have spent many days and many miles travelling through the country, fording rivers, examining potential campsites and meeting village elders before establishing a number of walking routes through Maasai Land.

They have put together a series of walks (1 to 5 days) to suit all abilities that provide interest and variety over open plains, through light thorn-bush and rocky hill slopes. The walks have also been designed to provide close encounters with a wide range of Kenya’s big game and a more intimate interaction with the birds, insects, reptiles and plant-life than is normally the case on a more conventional, motorised safari.

Most of the walks start just south of the Maasai township of Narok and cross the dry, open plains to the village of Maji Moto and our first campsite at the foot of the Loita Hills, next to Nickson’s home village. In the evening it is normally possible to visit the hot springs that give Maji Moto its name. The springs, as well as providing water for drinking, are used for communal bathing. Two areas, close to the source, are set aside for washing: one for men, the other for women.

From Maji Moto the walk skirts the fringes of the Loita Hills to camp at our own campsite close by the village of Lebentera, on the edge of the Siana Plains. The surrounding woodland and adjacent plains are rich in wildlife with elephant, buffalo and big cats, including lion, leopard and cheetah all occurring.

We have two unusual activities available at both Maji Moto and Lebentera. The local communities have given us permission to conduct Night Game Drives in both areas, something that is not normally possible in Kenya’s National Parks and Reserves. We can also arrange village visits where you can meet our guides’ families and learn more about the life of the people. These are traditional villages, not ones set up for tourist visits, and provide a fascinating insight into a way of life that is fast disappearing.

Our third walking location is in a very remote area at the southern end of the Loita Hills where the community around Olorte has established a small eco-camp and well-trained guides are available to lead walks of a few hours to ones that last a full day and involve sleeping out overnight. This area is very remote and receives very few overseas visitors. Down here there is far more chance of seeing elephant and buffalo as well as a pack of highly endangered African Wild Dogs.