Neptune Mara Rianta Luxury Camp offers guests a unique experience that often flies under the radar. Here you can get a real understanding not only of the wildlife that inhabits the plains and bush land of the Maasai Mara but also the role of the Maasai people in this unique wildlife region of Kenya.
Mara Rianta, as I will now call the camp, is located in the Mara Northern Conservancy. Here the wildlife live hand in hand with the Maasai people and their cattle, living their traditional lifestyle.
When you fly over the Mara Northern Conservancy you cannot be blamed for being slightly startled when you see large herds of cattle grazing, being gently herded by their Maasai guardian. As you take the journey from the airstrip to Mara Rianta you then get the chance to experience this meeting of worlds from a closer perspective. Not only will you pass cattle grazing but you will also bear witness to the traditional Maasai homestead or manyatta. A traditional way of life for the Maasai that must be protected.
My safari experience and my education into the Maasai ways were conducted by Daniel, a very talented and personable safari guide at Mara Rianta and also a fully-fledged Maasai Warrior. On our journey into the Maasai Mara National Park for our afternoon game drive, our education began.
Daniel explained that most of the greater Mara Ecosystem which includes the national park and several Maasai conservancies is still owned by the Maasai people in individual plots of land of varying sizes. Both private and government investors have taken out lease agreements of generally 35 years with individual Maasai for the rights to use their land for a wildlife (safari) experience. The aim is to ensure that the land remains with the Maasai but that efforts to preserve the wildlife are also maintained. Cattle can still graze on this land, but with strict grazing rotations to avoid over grazing.
And what do the Maasai do with the money that they earn from leasing the land? Daniel smiles at this question – well as nomadic people whose wealth is very much displayed by the number of cattle they have, it is quite simple – they buy more cattle!
As such the delicate balance between the Maasai, their land, the cattle and the wildlife continues.
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