MARA SIANA CONSERVANCY, The wildlife and land on the Siana Group Ranch were not doing well, just like on other privately owned land around the Masai Mara… The Maasai people who lived there were not either. Its fall was caused by overgrazing and other bad land use. But after seeing how well Kenya’s growing conservancy movement worked in 2015, the 1,200 landowners and six safari camps worked together to make the new conservancy.This was great for both Mara Siana and Kenya’s wildlife. There are more than 70 percent of the country’s animals that don’t live in national parks. The conservation movement is also protecting these groups more and more.

The 35,000-acre reserve lets its few guests go on safari without the crowds that usually happen in the national park next door. But, just like in the Masai Mara Reserve, there will be a lot of big cats, elephants, giraffes, gazelles, topis, elands, hartebeests, and dik-diks for guests to see.

A lot of wildebeests as well.

In most places of the Mara, you can only see wildebeests during the Great Migration, which runs from June to October. During this time, tens of thousands of them cross the Mara River with uncountable numbers of zebra and gazelle.

But in January and February, safari-goers may also see herds of wildebeests giving birth by the thousands in the Loita Hills area of the conservancy. This is a moving show of life’s never-ending cycles.

Maasai from the area

One of the great things about living in a conservancy is that you can do a lot of things that you can’t do in a national park. Among the different kinds of safaris you can go on are bush breakfasts, night safaris, and guided walking walks through the land.

Maasai people who were born and raised on these lands will often be your guides on these trips. They know a lot about the plants and animals in the area and have an uncanny knack for finding and following animals that are close.

Many of these partners in the Maasai reserve work for the nearby camps as well. Their neighborhood and way of life have gotten a lot better since they started owning land and working for the conservancy. They now make a lot more money each year. Now that prices have gone down, many Maasai families can send their kids to school for the first time.

Highlights of the Mara Siana Conservancy

The Elephants: The reserve is right through the middle of an elephant migration route. In some of the groups, there are over 200 animals in a single family.

Fly camping: If you want to feel like you’re really there, camp in the bush with your Maasai guide. You can track elephants with his help and then relax at your campsite while cooking dinner over an open fire. Then go back to your tent and let the sounds of nature put you to sleep.

Night Drives—The Mara is a different place at night, when the night stalkers come out to play. You will go on an adventure through the pitch-black night, moving among the people who are sleeping. You will be woken up by the sound of rustling leaves and the reflection of steely eyes in your Jeep’s headlights. An experience I will never forget.

The Maasai People – In the reserve, you can really meet people from the local community. Their towns aren’t visited by tourists, so you can meet them and learn about their traditions, like medicine, beadwork, dances, and even how to throw a Maasai spear!

You can also plan trips to elementary schools and markets in the area.