Elephant Pepper Camp: Our View

Elephant Pepper Camp is part of the Elewana Collection, which is in our opinion one of the best value luxury accommodation operators in East Africa. This tented camp combines an elegant, understated luxury with excellent service, game viewing, and guiding. Located in a secluded bush setting, Elephant Pepper Camp offers a truly authentic safari experience in the exclusive Mara North Private Conservancy. One of the advantages of the Mara North Private Conservancy is that it tends not to experience the crowds that can be an issue in the main Masai Mara Reserve.

With only 10 rooms, Elephant Pepper Camp is very intimate and the location, nestled in a grove of elephant pepper trees and looking out over grassy plains, really is wonderful. You are surrounded by wildlife here, and as the camp is unfenced, animals can be roaming through at any time!

Elephant Pepper Camp is one our favourite camps in the Mara’s more exclusive private conservancies. We love the fact that this camp is quite luxurious whilst still being deep in the bush in a wild and natural location. Compared to other similar quality camps, Elephant Pepper Camp is also very good value. Elewana’s extensive network of camps in East Africa is also an advantage for clients who want to do longer trips combining different areas in Kenya, as Elewana also have camps in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Laikipia, Amboseli and Meru. This makes it possible for guests to enjoy multi night stays in Elewana camps and enjoy special offers and discounts, making their camps even better value.

Elephant Pepper Camp: Quick Facts

• 10 luxurious tented rooms
• en suite bathrooms with indoor showers
• 2 family/honeymoon rooms
• Superb bush location
• Day & night game drives
• Walking safaris
• Hot air balloon trips (additional cost)
• Camp is unfenced with wildlife free to roam
• Children of all ages welcome (better suited for families with older children)
• Wi-Fi available in lounge area
• Perfect for honeymoons and special occasions
• Access is usually by scheduled flight into Mara North airstrip

Elephant Pepper Camp: The Details

The tented rooms are on low raised wooden decks and are spacious with an elegant, luxurious feel. They are furnished with Indian Raj Campaign style furniture, mixing dark wood and brass fittings, giving them an authentic vintage safari ambience. Each tented room has a twin, or double beds, a small desk, and woven floor coverings. Large mesh windows ensure that the rooms feel light and airy. Each room has a private veranda which is a lovely place to relax whilst enjoying the superb views of the surroundinggrassy plains and abundant wildlife. Separated by a canvas flap from the bedroom, eachen suite bathroom has a flush toilet, indoor shower, and brass wash basin. Eighttents are twin/double tents, and twotents are larger honeymoon/family tents. The latter are even more spacious and have a separate ‘lounge’ area with sofa which can be converted into a bed – which would be ideal for children!

The main communal area consists of twolarge tents. The lounge tent has a similar luxurious décor tothe rooms, with a mix of dark wood and leather sofas, armchairs, and Persian rugs. There is a lot of space to relax here and, weather permitting, the lounge tent is usually left fully open at the sides to allow the breeze to flow through. There are also plenty of outdoor seating options as well, including a swing chair. The dining tent has one large table, and meals are normally communal with guests seated together with the guides. Private dining is also possible though, for special occasions. There is also a small library/chill out tent where Wi-Fi is available.

We love the fact that at Elephant Pepper Camp guests enjoy a 24 hour safari experience. Its location deep in the bush means that even in the camp, wildlife can be seen. At night around the campfire, guests can enjoy the sounds of the bush, including lions and hyenas calling. The game viewing beyond the camp is superb at any time of the year. The Mara North Private Conservancy is famous for its abundant wildlife and the vast open grass plains that the Mara region is renowned for. Like the main Masai Mara Reserve, big cat sightings here are outstanding. During the migration season the herds spread out into the conservancy. So clients can enjoy the same fantastic safari as in the main reserve, but with much more exclusivity.

Only the small number of camps in the Mara North are permitted to operate here. Consequently, the area is much less crowded and there are strict rules as to the number of vehicles permitted at each sighting. Like all the other private conservancies the only thing Elephant Pepper Camp lacks is migration river crossing points. But they do offer full day trips into the national reserve. This would definitely be worth doing in migration season to try and see a river crossing. The main activities offered at Elephant Pepper Camp are game drives in open game vehicles with very knowledgeable local Maasai guides. As this is a private conservancy, they can go ‘off road’ to get very close to the wildlife, as well as do night game drives. In addition, walking safaris are also offered here and cultural/village visits can be arranged too. Guests can book hot air balloon trips at additional cost.