andBeyond BATELEUR CAMP Scenes from Out of Africa were filmed on the escarpment directly above andBeyond Bateleur Camp, and the association fits. Set in the private Kichwa Tembo concession on the western edge of Kenya's Maasai Mara, beneath the Oloololo Escarpment at the rim of the Great Rift Valley, the camp recalls the golden age of East African exploration, all canvas and hardwood under enormous skies.

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Romance aside, the location delivers. The concession, leased from Maasai landowners, sits directly in the path of the Great Migration; between July and October more than a million wildebeest, together with hundreds of thousands of zebra, move between the Serengeti and the Mara in search of fresh grazing, with the reserve's big cats and crocodiles in close attendance. Outside those months the game viewing barely slackens, since the Mara holds one of the densest wildlife concentrations in Africa and Big Five sightings are routine.

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The camp itself divides into two sections, North and South, each with just nine tented suites and its own infinity pool. Polished hardwood floors, antique furnishings, artefacts by local artisans and copper bathtubs set the register, while butlers keep the silver service running. The nostalgia is deliberate; the comforts are entirely current. Spacious decks face the plains, where elephants and giraffe wander past at coffee hour.

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Game drives cover ground that few other vehicles reach, and this is the only corner of the Mara where night drives are permitted. At sunrise, hot-air balloons lift off for the long view over the waking plains. Meals move around the property, breakfast beside the Mara River and lunch in the shade of an acacia. After dark, dinner is candlelit under a heavy spread of stars. Many of the staff come from neighbouring Maasai communities, and their presence gives the cultural dimension of a stay real depth.

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andBeyond Bateleur Camp reopened in 2018 after a redesign that came two decades into its life, one that enlarged the suites and sharpened the finishes without touching the camp's character. What guests remember, though, is rarely the fittings: it is the first coffee on the deck at dawn, taken slowly, while a line of elephants crosses the grass below the escarpment.