KENYA


Virgin Limited Edition’s Mahali Mzuri has been protecting the Masai Mara’s ecosystem for a decade. Nick Boulos reports


T


he noises started shortly after dinner. Sinister sounds of ravenous grunts, cracking bones and hungry howls of salivating anticipation emanated from the inky darkness. While we polished off our berry pavlovas, word reached us of other diners also tucking into a feast. Lions had made a kill on the helipad. It wasn’t quite what any of us had expected to hear. But then, this was no ordinary safari. Ten years since opening, Mahali Mzuri, the camp owned by Sir Richard Branson in Kenya’s Masai Mara, is celebrating a decade of doing things differently. Despite the late hour, we raced to the Jeeps and sped to the helipad – a journey of just 20 seconds – where the buffalo buffet was in full swing. Using special infrared night lights, we watched it in all its gory glory, as did the glinting eyes of dozens of hyenas gathered en masse beyond.


Located within the Olare Motorogi Conservancy, a private parcel of land that borders the Masai Mara reserve to the south, such encounters are not uncommon >Ì >h>li âÕÀi° wÀÃÌ ÛiÃiÌi` Ìhi V>m« within days of its opening and had remained curious in all the years since as to whether its masterplan – to protect wildlife by supporting communities – had come to fruition. Ten years on, it was time to return.


On the horizon Our journey to the camp had been thrilling too. Excitement rushed through our Cessna aircraft as it dipped low, almost skimming the treetops coming into land after the ÃhoÀÌ yi}hÌ vÀom >iÀoLi°


>ÀilÞ >n hoÕÀ


had passed since we had been looking down on the urban sprawl of the Kenyan capital before the buildings gave way to a patchwork of dusky greens and rugged


ª 54 ASPIRE JANUARY 2024 aspiretravelclub.co.uk


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