Bordering the Olare Orok Conservancy and the Masai Mara National Game Reserve in Kenya, this secluded 3-bedroom farmhouse offers ring-side seats to the Masai Mara Migration (between July and October annually) with malaria-free Big 5 game viewing all year round. Situated within a small thorn tree forest, Topi House affords you awe-inspiring views of the game-rich reserve and conservancy beyond. Find a comfortable place to spend your afternoon watching giraffe and elephant wandering by, or stretch out on the rolling lawns with a book under the shade of an acacia tree. Lounge on the verandah right outside your room or chat to one of your convivial hosts about the intriguing Maasai culture.
Managing your own schedule means that while at Topi House you will not be rushed to dinner or woken up for an early-morning game drive if you would rather sleep in. Once you decide it is time to venture a little further from home, hop into your specially-adapted 4×4 for an exciting Mara game-viewing experience. With exclusive-use to a local Maasai wildlife guide, game drives are a personalised, educational and soul-enriching experience.
The Masai Mara is renowned for big cats such as lions, leopards and cheetahs but expect to find all members of the Big 5 during your stay. The dominant inhabitants of the reserve are wildebeest and on the A-list of any African wildlife experience is the annual wildebeest migration when approximately 1.5 million wildebeest, as well as Thomson’s gazelle and zebra, migrate north from the Serengeti plains. Alongside the reserve you will be perfectly positioned to make the very most of this unique wildlife spectacle when visiting between July and October. Twitchers will be delighted with nearly 500 bird species – many of which are migrants – inhabiting the reserve, including vultures, storks, hornbills, eagles, falcons and the national bird of Kenya, the iconic lilac-breasted roller.
Private farmhouse in game-rich south-western Kenya
Front-row seats to Masai Mara’s annual Wildebeest Migration route
Personal chef, private wildlife guide and house manager
Tailor-made schedules for dining, game drives and cultural activities – you decide
Mara-inspired East African cuisine
Visit the Koiyaki Guiding School by arrangement to learn more about bushcraft
Your personalised farmhouse experience includes the exclusive use of a chef, wildlife guide and house manager who will ensure that each and every one of your needs is met. Swap your private 4×4 for an intimate and educational walking safari with your experienced Maasai guide. Visit the nearby Koiyaki Guiding School where young Maasai men and women are taught to be ambassadors for the local Mara wildlife.
The Wi-Fi can be activated on request but due to Topi House’s remote location, the signal may be intermittent. It is great fun to challenge the family to old-fashioned board games in front of the blazing log fire as a break from the Internet.
