Topi House

Topi House is a private house for guests, consisting of a lounge, dining area, 3 ensuite bedrooms and a spacious verandah area. The house is quaint and unassuming but also deeply authentic and cosy. The lounge area is spacious and bright, full of squidgy red sofas which are placed around a feature stone fireplace for those colder evenings. Patterned rugs cover the floor, and a large wooden coffee table covered in books and magazines offers some great light reading of the area.

In the dining area there is a large wooden dining table, surrounded by director style dining chairs. Dinner can be eaten here with the whole family or group, while staring out the window at the rolling savannah. Throughout the house are cream walls, stone floors, exposed beams and vaulted ceilings all which add a quirky character to the house.

The 3 bedrooms are all filled with natural light from wide windows, and come complete with comfortable beds covered in crisp bed linen, all of which are draped in mosquito netting for a peaceful sleep free of bugs. Ensuite bathrooms include a feature wooden sink, flush toilet and a large walk-in shower.

The spacious verandah outside the house offers the perfect place to unwind after a long day, gazing over the endless horizons and at the beautiful tree spotted Savannah. Dinner can be enjoyed here if guests so wish or guests can relax on the comfortable chairs and simply take in their remarkable surroundings.

Your own chef will prepare delicious and creative dishes which can be tailored to your wishes, and guests can even help with the preparation if they wish. Flavourful dishes can be enjoyed in the dining room, on the verandah, or al-fresco, on the lawn in front of the house by a crackling fire pit.

For a traditional safari experience go on a game drive through the conservancy. With your own private vehicle and guide, you can travel around the conservancy, keeping an eye out for prides of lions or herds of elephants. Keep one eye trained to the sky and treetops to catch a glimpse of some of the colourful birds who call the park their home.

With your friendly and knowledgeable guide, immerse yourself in the conservancy, enjoying a more intimate exploration on foot. Your guide will be able to point out the smaller workings and micro-ecosystems of the surrounding area and will be able to enlighten you on the history of the conservancy.

Become a part of nature and trot through the conservancy on horseback. This is a unique and exciting way to see the surrounding wilds of Kenya.

For a once-in-a-lifetime experience, arrange a hot air balloon ride. Take to the skies and gently soar high above the treetops. Enjoy uninterrupted views from all angles and a birds-eye view of herds of elephants, and the diverse topography of Olare Motorogi Conservancy.

Asilia understands that nature and humans are inseparable partners. They endeavour to support local areas, projects and communities through revenue and awareness created through tourism. Every year Asilia releases a report on the Positive Impact projects to show how these efforts have come to fruition and made real changes. Over 2018 and 2019, Positive Impact made contributions to:

• Offsetting 1,505 tonnes of CO2
• 44 scholarships
• Chimpanzee Habitation protection
• Community and Conservation projects
• Training local staff
• Developing economies

Asilia works closely with the Maa Trust, an organisation that aims to increase the benefits of conservation for Maasai families and empower local people, and especially local women, by promoting small business start-ups.

They share the belief that education is the key to the success of conservancies in the Mara and the greater ecosystem. Asilia supports two of their main projects – Maa Beadwork and Maa Honey. The Maa Beadwork project generates the most income for women and ‘currently employs 579 women who craft beautiful beadwork that is sold at camps within the Mara Conservancies’.

This income allows these women to become financially stable and independent, and provide for their families and communities. The Maa Honey project combines the need to support African bee populations with the need for sustainable incomes. Honey from the hives owned by local women is gathered and sold to different camps across the Mara.

Asilia also contributes to animal protection initiatives including the Mara Elephant Project, the Rhino Ark and the Mara Predator Conservation Programme. These initiatives work to protect animal species and their habitats to ensure their populations can be sustained safely. Revenue from Asilia goes towards things like equipment, training and resources that are all vital to keeping the wildlife safe.

• Mara Elephant Project – the MEP was established in 2011 to protect elephant populations in the Maasai Mara region who have been threatened by human expansion, deforestation and poaching. In collaboration with their partners, the MEP carries out their three-step approach of ‘monitor, evaluate, and protect’.
• Rhino Ark – the Rhino Ark was set up in 1998 to help save the black rhinos of Kenya. They are committed to creating harmony between the human and natural worlds where neither has a damaging impact on the other. Their initial project was setting up an electric fence along sections of the Aberdare National Park to prevent wildlife crossing into farmland and damaging crops as well as to hinder poaching and other threats to the animals.
• Mara Predator Conservation Programme – The MPC is committed to protecting predator populations, with focus on lions and cheetahs. Their 3 central goals are to educate people in the importance of predators in the ecosystem, to make sure that stakeholders collect and pass on sound information to conservation projects, and to support stable and healthy predator populations in the Greater Mara ecosystem.