Governors' Camp

We have been at the forefront in our industry in developing sustainable eco-tourism, working closely with our local communities to promote the conservation and sustainable management of the magnificent wildlife, and local cultures within the areas in which we operate. At Governors’, our aim is to offer you an unforgettable, traditional safari experience, which will introduce you to the magnificent wildlife, unspoiled scenery and colourful people of Kenya.

Laikipia is among the ten counties in Kenya that are facing serious issues from a prolonged drought. Approximately 183,000 people in Laikipia are facing famine; lack of pasture and food in homes prompts parents to send their children to herd in far away lands to ensure the survival of their livestock.

Governors’ Camp occupies the best wildlife viewing location in the Reserve, nestled in the riverine forest along the winding banks of the Mara River, its waters teeming with bird-life, hippos and crocodiles.

As Governors’ Camp Collection celebrates its 50th year in the safari industry, we are also delighted to share images of our beautiful new mess area at Little Governors’ Camp.

Governors' Camp Collection has sponsored the purchase of 300 bails of hay to help support the work of the Grevy's Zebra Trust in Northern Kenya.

With a qualified medical doctor stationed in the Masai Mara as part of our permanent staff, at Governors’ we are uniquely positioned to organise in-camp PCR Covid-19 testing for our Masai Mara guests.

Emergency support to communities in our areas of Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Laikipia and Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda continued in August. August saw the most number of families helped so far, with 200 families helped in the Masai Mara, 40 in Lake Naivasha, 60 in Laikipia, and the 90 single mothers in Rwanda receiving now 19 weeks of support.

Governors' Camp Collection have facilitated their first community food drive in order to support eighty vulnerable families living in the Mara Rianda area. We distributed basic food supplies and hygiene products including 24kg of maize flour, 3L of cooking oil, 5kg of sugar, 100g of tea leaves, a bar of soap and a face mask to each of the families.

Late last year we were thrilled to introduce the newest member of the Sabyinyo team - our Polaris buggy! This nifty little vehicle was introduced to help with transporting our guests from the Sabyinyo car park to the main building of the lodge, carrying a maximum of 4 guests at a time.

The level of excitement is at an all-time high as we get closer to opening our newest property, Governors' Mugie House. In the lead up we're thrilled to offer a first look at the beautiful new property with our newly released photos! https://www.governorscamp.com/stay/governors-mugie-house/

After a fantastic 2019 helping our guests master their cameras, Will Fortescue is joining us again in 2020 as our in-house photographer. Below are his residency dates for the Masai Mara. He will be on hand to provide advice and tips or in-depth tutorials to our guests on all elements of photography, including editing. Dates that Will is with us:  Jan 1st – Feb 15th, April 16th – May 31st and July 11th – August 31st.

The original and first permanent tented camp in Kenya, Governors' Camp has been a favourite safari lodging for innumerable guests since 1972. Perhaps stemming from a desire of older generations wanting to share their Governors' experience with the newer generations of their family, Governors' Camp has become incredibly popular as a destination for famillies on safari.

Located in the richest wildlife area of the Masai Mara, over the years Governors' has hosted numerous documentary filmmakers - most recently BBC's Dynasties and Animal Planet's Big Cat Tales - as well as countless professional and amateur photographers alike, all seeking to capture on film a truly remarkable natural wonder.

We at Governors’ are thrilled to release two new marketing movies for our Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge in Rwanda. To protect gorillas, you have to look after communities. Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge is a world-class lodge that was conceived and is operated by The Governors’ Camp Collection. In partnership with The African Wildlife Foundation ("AWF") and The International Gorilla Conservation Program ("IGCP"), the idea was to develop a lodge whose revenue streams would improve the lives of local community members and directly support gorilla conservation. Owned by the SACOLA community via a trust, lease fees and a community development levy paid by every guest staying at the lodge are received by SACOLA.

After two months of hard work throughout October and November, Loldia House is looking exceptionally elegant and beautiful. We sought to upgrade and redesign an already wonderful product, but stay true to the rich heritage and settler-style comforts of the house. A new dining room in the main house, with high ceilings and deep green panelled walls, offers a warm and inviting space to enjoy a candlelit dinner. In the area that was previously the dining room, a new snug bar was created with lovely matt mahogany wood and blue-leather bar stools.

We are thrilled to unveil the new and stunning look of our Il Moran Camp! Extensive upgrade work over October and November has catapulted Il Moran Camp into a new league of luxury tented accommodation - it is perfect for those looking for the best accommodation in the best wildlife location in the Masai Mara.

Being situated in the richest wildlife area in the Masai Mara, we at Governors’ want to ensure our guests are offered the opportunity to capture their safari wildlife moments in the best way.From January to March 2019 Governors’ has Will Fortescue as our in-house professionalphotographer. He’ll be on hand to give any of our guests any photography assistance they might require.Will has a first class degree in Marine and Natural History Photography and is in to his 8th month wor…

Governors' enjoys the best location in one of the best wildlife areas in Africa. Our location is the wildlife area of choice for documentary filmmakers, such as the BBC, and professional photographers, as well as many keen and budding wildlife photographers!

We are delighted to let you know that our new website is now live! We are really happy with our new site and hope that you will find the new look fresh and exciting, as well as informative! When you try out the new site, www.governorscamp.com, please remember to clear your cache first as your browser may have already stored and downloaded a version of our old website, which it will attempt to load and you may see a warning message.

Working hand in hand with our community neighbours to support development and conservation efforts has been at the heart of what we do at Governors Camp for over 40 years. We are proud to announce that building of a dormitory for 160 girls at Mara Rianda Primary School is complete, and the 2019 school year will open with the new girl students moving in.

On Saturday Romi and Dominic Grammaticas, co-founder and MD of Governors’ Camp Collection, were present as the SACOLA community unveiled their latest projects funded by revenue from Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge - 4 new houses built for widows of the Genocide and their families, 6 new school classrooms, and new water points making water available within a distance of a kilometre for up to 1000 people.

Happy 40th Birthday to Governors’ Balloon Safaris! For forty years Governors’ Balloon Safaris have been flying hot air balloons, pioneering the enthralling experience of gliding over the Masai Mara’s expansive and game-rich scenery, launching at dawn just as the sun’s golden light starts radiating out over the landscape.

Governors' Camp’s Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge in Rwanda is a uniquely community-owned lodge, with revenue received by the surrounding SACOLA Community. In August, we reached an incredible milestone when revenue earned by the community surpassed $3.25 Million.  On 7th September Rwanda celebrated Kwita Izina, the annual national celebration where new baby gorillas are named in an event attended by heads of state, world conservation figures, and celebrities.

On the 21st July bottles of champagne were popped and happy cheers were shared as we celebrated Sabyinyo’s 10th birthday anniversary.

Governors’ Loldia House and Il Moran Camp are launching into the upcoming busy high season with brand new looks after Phase 1 of a two-step refurbishment process was completed. Over April and May, the two properties received brand new soft furnishings and upgrade work, the results unveiled in early June.

Governors’ Camp’s Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge was built 10 years ago as a uniquely community-owned lodge next to Volcanoes National Park. With our partners African Wildlife Fund (AWF) and International Gorilla Conservation Program (IGCP), the SACOLA Community Trust was created to hold ownership of the lodge. Through lease fees and a Community Levy incorporated into a guest’s stay, US$3.1 Million has been transferred from the Lodge to the SACOLA community in the last 10 years, providing them the means to achieve an incredible list of socio-economic projects.

This year Alex Millar will be at ITB for Governors' Camp. We have LOTS of news to update you on, including big and exciting refurbishment projects that have happened and will happen this year throughout our portfolio in Kenya and Rwanda. For an appointment please contact Alex at [email protected]. See you at ITB!

2017 was a very busy year at Sabyinyo! Throughout the year extensive refurbishment works were going on at the lodge, upgrading both its front and back of house, to make the Sabyinyo guest experience even more exceptional. And now, to kick-off our 10th anniversary year, we are very excited to reveal the fabulous results, with the new look Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge!