Elephant Pepper Camp is tucked away in the shade of a natural forest overlooking the Mara plains. Elephant Pepper Camp (originally Mara Bush Camp) offers a comfortable environment and due to its location is named after the Warburgia Ugandense tree, which is commonly known as the Elephant Pepper tree. Each of the camp’s eight tents provides spectacular views across the plains, meaning guests can look on in awe as the annual wildebeest migration thunders past seeking new grazing in the lush savannahs of the Masai Mara.
Situated right on the northern edge of the Masai Mara reserve in the Maasai-owned Koiyaki Community Ranch, Elephant Pepper is a very comfortable and homely camp aiming to provide clients with a unique and authentic safari experience. The camp is seasonal with no permanent structures, no generator, no traffic, just the sights and sounds of the African bush. The eight large light canvas tents include en-suite dressing rooms, safari showers filled with hot water on request and flush toilets. Animals are able to roam freely through the camp, making the night time guard escort especially reassuring.
Being situated just out of the National Reserve ensures the camp can provide a more flexible range of game viewing including night game drives in their open-sided vehicles, guided bush walks which explore easily ignored and less obvious wildlife flora and fauna. Guests are assigned a personal guide for the duration of their stay providing a personal service. Also available are bush breakfasts and bush sundowners, which invariably provide you with spectacular backdrops to your drinks and meals.
The staff are friendly and welcoming, making camp arrivals something of a homecoming. The appetising food is prepared by chefs trained by the owners’ family using traditional North Italian recipes mixed with international and local favourites. The chef uses local produce where possible, though in the middle of the African bush this is not always possible. Barbecues by the campfire, dinner in the mess tent, or a bush breakfast on the open plains all make meal times a memorable event. Meal times are generally dinner party style with guests sharing their adventures and experiences although more private dining can be accommodated.
Fair Trade / Responsible Tourism:
Elephant Pepper is an original bush camp, which places emphasis on being eco-friendly and being committed to finding a way of life that does not harm the wilderness. Additionally revenue from the camp goes back to the local community to aid local projects while 80 percent of camp staff are from the local community.