Soroi Mara Bush Camp

Soroi Mara Bush Camp is an unfenced 12-tent camp in Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve, with every tent facing the Olare Orok River.

The tents stand on raised wooden decks under thick riverine forest, with lanterns hung at the entrance. From a veranda, the river shows through the trees below. Tables for outdoor meals are set out under the trees, and the lounge is an open-sided tent with a bar built from stacked logs.

The tents

Ten river-facing safari tents each have a king-size bed and a single, an en-suite bathroom with hot and cold water around the clock, organic bath products, a writing desk, a wardrobe and a private veranda. Two family tents have a king-size bed and two singles, sharing one en-suite bathroom. A separate bush wing has four more tents, each with a queen-size bed and a single, a large veranda with deck chairs, and mosquito netting. Power is solar, day and night, and there's Wi-Fi throughout.

Where it is

The camp is inside the Maasai Mara National Reserve, on the Olare Orok River. Ol Kiombo Airstrip is 10 minutes from camp, and the drive from Nairobi takes five to six hours.

In camp

There's a bar, dining indoors and out, and a fireplace near the river. Massages are given in your tent. The photo lounge is set up for photography workshops and has a small shop of soapstone, Maasai beadwork and clothing, and guests can use Soroi's photography studio and rent cameras. For children, the Mara Bush School covers Maasai beadwork, African stories, board games, wildlife quizzes and photography.

Out in the Mara

Game drives go out in custom-built 4x4s, shared or private, and usually last up to two hours. The camp can book a one-hour balloon flight, with pickup as early as 5:00 am and breakfast where you land. Guided bush walks of two to three hours, with an armed ranger, cross outside the reserve. There are visits to a Maasai village, where most of the fee goes to the community, and to the Ol Malaika Home in Sekenani, a refuge for girls under 12. Sundowners and bush breakfasts are set up out on the plains, and dinner for two can be laid away from the main dining tent, by lantern light.

Soroi's other camps in the Mara

Soroi Luxury Migration Camp has eight river-facing tents and two two-bedroom family units. Soroi Private Wing has 12 tents facing the river or the forest, and a bar beside a hippo pool.

Worth knowing

The camp isn't fenced, and there's no swimming pool. Each family tent has a single shared bathroom. Laundry costs extra. Children under 8, or shorter than 1.25 m, can't fly in the balloon, and bush walks are for adults only.