There is a version of safari that existed before the lodges, before the pools, before the Wi-Fi. Basecamp Wilderness is a tribute to that era: a nostalgic, unhurried return to the way it was always meant to feel.

Tucked deep inside the Saddle Valley in the heart of Mara Naboisho Conservancy, the camp sits in a privacy that is increasingly rare. Eight tents, seven doubles and one family tent, are set around the rim of the valley, looking out over the savannah with nothing to interrupt the view and nothing to distract from the quiet. Sunrises arrive without an alarm, and grazing antelope wander through camp on their own schedule.

The conservancy limits the number of vehicles at any one time, so game drives feel like your own. The area is known for its lion sightings, and night drives reveal a very different Mara after dark. With no light pollution in the valley, the night sky is something to see in itself.

The dining tent carries the atmosphere of a different time: comfortable leather chairs, carefully chosen reading material, and a vintage gramophone that sets the tone for evenings that stretch long and unhurried. Meals are served there, or al fresco under shady trees by day and the stars by night. There is nothing staged here, just you, the Maasai, the wildlife and the stars. Everything else falls away.