Maji moto means "hot water" in Swahili. It is the name of a village in the Loita Hills, and of the spring below the hill whose water fills the showers at Maji Moto Eco Camp — ten tents on a hilltop above the Loita plains, about an hour from the Masai Mara.
A camp that began in a Maasai home
Neva Lepenik and Roman Biondic came to Kenya from Slovenia and lived for a year in a Maasai homestead in the Mara, where they were given Maasai names. They went on to found Eyes on Africa Safaris, which still runs the camp's game drives and safari packages.
The camp itself was built Maasai-style, from branches, grass, mud, cow dung and stone. Every member of staff comes from Maji Moto village below the hill — the guides, the cook and the hosts around the fire.
Off-grid on purpose
There is no generator. After dark the camp runs on candles, lanterns and solar lights, with solar panels for charging cameras and phones. Firewood comes only from fallen wood in the camp's own 60-acre forest. Guests sleep in igloo-style tents, each with its own spot outside to sit and look over the plains.
Days on foot
Most of the activities happen on foot with Maasai guides: short walks from camp every day, or one to three nights trekking deeper into the Loita Hills with a mobile camp. A family in the village shows guests their homestead; the crew teach tracking, spear throwing and fire making; and there is beading, a visit to the school and the hot spring itself. For a day in the reserve, a Land Cruiser leaves at 6:30 with a picnic lunch, and guests are back on the hill for dinner.
Part of every stay goes to school
Part of the camp's profit, along with guests' donations, goes to local primary schools — new classrooms, water tanks and school lunches. Evenings end at the campfire on the hilltop, where the crew tell the stories passed down to them, and sing when the moment is right.
