Governors camp, one of the biggest camps, is the main location of a giant camp split into three neighboring sites, consisting of this the main Governors' camp, Little Governors' and Governors' Il Moran camps,
all clustered around the river in the northwest corner of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.The name refers to the site supposedly being favored by the colonial governors of Kenya.'Main Governors’, as it is sometimes known, was the first of the Governors’ group, built in 1972 on the site of an old campsite on the riverbank, and now much extended so that the whole camp covers more than 1.6 hectares (4 acres), ranged around a deep ‘w’ on the Mara.
The camp is unfenced and, happily, they have managed to preserve much of the original forest. Entering the camp from Governors’ own Musiara airstrip, you drive down the entrance track through dense stands of trees and jungle, and into the car park. It’s a busy area, with lots of vehicles, staff milling around and all the paraphernalia you’d expect of a place that regularly looks after more than 70 guests.
This is one of the busiest camps in the Mara and can sometimes feel like a human zoo within the wildlife reserve. Despite being busy, however, Governors has a pleasant, laid-back feel to it and is probably best suited to travellers who are happy being left to themselves, participating in hotel-style mealtimes and joining up with others for the shared game drives.
The key asset here is not the camp itself: it’s the location. Governors has one of the best spots in the Mara and the owners haven’t been in this business for more than 40 years without learning how to make the most of it. Of the 37 tents, 28 face the river, with its hippos, birdlife and even the occasional wildebeest river crossing during the August to October migration (the most likely crossing point in camp is just downstream from the lawns and deck area where guests often have afternoon tea). Nine tents face the plain – eight of them family-sized units – where ambling elephants and the odd roaming lion pride can be spotted from your ‘front door’.
