Mara Toto Camp
- Masai Mara, KenyaMara Toto is a magical revisiting of the past, drawing from Africa’s original explorers’ designs and designed for those who search for East Africa’s romantic safari era.
touch the soul of africa
Ol Malo is a privately-owned game sanctuary on the banks of the Uaso Nyiro River in Kenya's wild and beautiful North Eastern Province - 5000 acres of spectacular bush country overlooked by Mount Kenya and teeming with the elusive antelope from which the land takes its name. In this majestic setting - on a rock escarpment on the edge of the Laikipia Plateau,bordering the tribal heartlands of the nomadic Samburu people – the Francombe family and their Samburu neighbours have created a home for themselves and a dream destination for the privileged few who seek a glimpse into the true heart of Africa.They are pleased to be able to share their vision, their experience and their way of life with guests from around the world, either in the hospitality of the family home or in a large self-contained house in the grounds of one of the most stunning properties in east Africa.
To stay at Ol Malo is to live by a different rhythm – measure the day by the timeworn patterns of nature. Wake up to see the awe inspiring sunrise, framing the snow-capped peaks of Mt. Kenya. Celebrate the new day with a dawn ride into the wilderness to view the animals as they awake. Feel the night’s chill burn off with the rising of the great equatorial sun while enjoying a bush breakfast. Keep the tempo of the world by the roll of the camel’s stride. Visit the colorful Samburu nomads of the North and sink with the dying sun into the waters of the pool. At night luxuriate in the peace and comfort of Ol Malo and tune into the magical sounds of wild Africa while dining under an ancient starscape.
If you are here for long enough there are options for sleeping out: Spend a romantic night in the tree house under a blanket of stars (dependent on the weather), or sleep in the leopard hide and see what comes in to the waterhole. With enough notice we can organise for one to fly camp on the river.
Ol Malo is a working family ranch and tries to be as self sufficient as possible. Learn about livestock caring, grazing and husbandry in this harsh environment. Play with the lambs, collect freshly laid eggs for your breakfast and lend a hand at milking the cows.
Day trip by helicopter from Ol Malo over the Suguta valley sand dunes to the Jade Sea, and return back to Ol Malo. A total of 5 hours flying with a picnic lunch.
Elephant, buffalo, Eland, Beisa Oryx, Grant gazelle, Impala, common and grey Zebra, reticulated Giraffe, Lelwels Hartebeeste, Gerenuk, Greater Kudu, Water Buck, Klipspringer, Steenbok, Gunthers Dik Dik, Warthog, Wild dog, Leopard, Cheetah, Lion, spotted and striped Hyena: where else on earth can you go out for a drive in an open vehicle – with a Samburu guide and driver – and be virtually certain to see such a wide-ranging selection of elusive, wild game?
Go horse or camel riding on the plains – a wonderful way to see the game, which won’t flee from horses and camels: you get very close to the action indeed. For the more adventurous – go horse riding down towards the river.
An experienced Samburu guides will take you on a nature walk to show you the Little Five – ant lion, leopard tortoise, elephant shrew, rhino beetle, buffalo weaver. Or you can choose to learn about the plants the Samburu use for medicine and food. Or stand in amazement at the sight of the 330 named species of birds found at Ol Malo.
Pay a welcome visit to our neighbours, the Samburu people. Visit their nursery school. Visitthe Ol Malo workshop to see the women beading or the children painting. Visit the local school.
Enjoy Al Fresco dining
Ol Malo is 5000 acres of game sanctuary where free roaming wildlife is protected. The area is patrolled by rangers and the grazing and water managed, so that wildlife can survive throughout the dry season. Employing community security teams on the Eastern boundary protects an important elephant migration and feeding area. Conservancy fees paid by guests assist in the funding of the security teams and conservation efforts in neighboring areas. Ol Malo works alongside the Samburu Trust whose wildlife team covers over 1 million acres of community range lands bordering Ol Malo and further afield. The community livestock and elephant historically share similar migration routes and so this community conservation model works.
Ol Malo’s helicopters and aircraft provide air support for collaring and anti-poaching efforts, working alongside Kenya Wildlife Service, The Samburu Trust, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Save the Elephants, Space for Giants and in the past provided all the GPS data collection for the Wild Dog branch of the Laikipia Predator Project during its set up stage.
Ol Malo supports The Samburu Trust which is an amalgamation of several initiatives that were set up in response to the great hardships caused by the drought that ravaged Kenya between 1999-2001 – one of the country’s worst in living memory. Whole regions were devastated by the disaster, but none more so than the dry heartland of the Samburu community, where the Samburu lost the majority of their cattle and therefore the major part of their livelihood. With a desire to help, Julia Francombe initially provided drought relief for the neighbouring communities from her own resources and those of the family, but soon came to acknowledge that a more robust and longer term approach was needed.
