Last week, Great Plains Conservation Owner and CEO Dereck Joubert sent a note to his teams about how the camps in Kenya’s Maasai Mara are all built above the flood lines and safe from flooding, although they were within inches of the water as it rushed in and broke the banks of swollen rivers. 

“Kenya’s floods are on all the major news channels, and I believe that the death toll will be thousands. Then I woke up one night and thought how selfish I was being, asking staff to host guests while their families and communities were under threat. As a result, I immediately closed camps so everyone could go off and take care of families and their homes. We have positioned our new helicopter for relief and rescue efforts where needed,” Joubert said.

Mara Expedition Camp remains open and manned by volunteers from its staff to accommodate any guest in its Great Plains Mara camps that may be closed. 

ol Donyo Lodge will open in late May following a rebuild, and its other camps will open at the end of the month as well.

Another concern in all this is how wildlife in the area are coping. “Where do they go when their territories get washed away?” Joubert asked.

“A few years ago, a baby hippo washed into our dining area and hid behind the bar (we returned him to his family). But there may be thousands of animals displaced, so we are starting surveys to understand what that looks like, and we will bring that news to you when we have it.

“Ultimately, animals don't build camps or villages along rivers, so the majority of the loss will end up being to our friends in the tourism industry and the communities living nearby, and our thoughts are with them,” Joubert said.

In recognition of this, Great Plains Conservation has released a video recording of good rains, how they start, what happens, and the rainbows once they pass.