Maji Moto Cultural Camp with Kids

Celine and I had been to many “cultural experiences” in Africa before, and they were always disappointing, non-authentic tourist traps. When we were planning our family safari trip to Kenya, we wanted to mix in some culture for our kids to break up the game drives, but we wanted to avoid the awful fake stuff put on for tourists. When we heard about the Maji Moto Cultural Camp, we knew we had found the right place.

We arrived in Maji Moto with low expectations, but we were blown away by the family-friendly experience. I’ll guarantee you our two days at Maji Moto Cultural Camp was our kids favorite part of our Kenyan family vacation.

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Read on to see all the amazing things we enjoyed during our two day stay at Maji Moto Cultural camp with kids.

Day 1 at Maji Moto Cultural Camp

We were very excited to arrive at the Maji Moto Cultural Camp to see many colorfully dressed Maasai warriors waiting to greet us. They were all smiles and offered warm welcomes to their camp. Upon arrival, we were each given a shúkà – a traditional Maasai blanket. They tied them around our necks in the traditional style. As a bonus, we got to keep them as souvenirs of our stay!

A few moments after we arrived the Maasai warriors began their welcome dance. We were very excited to watch and listen, but before long we were invited to participate. Our kids loved getting to jump with the Maasai warriors! What an incredible welcome!

Our Mud Hut

After the warm welcome to the Maji Moto Cultural Camp, we were walked to our accommodation – a traditional mud hut. Our hut was made in the traditional style out of mud, straw and cow dung. We were lucky to get the hut with four single beds, so we could all share the same one.

Main Building

After freshening up in our fun mud hut, we made our way to the main building. We went to the upper floor where we could play the board and card games they have on hand.

Lunch

For our first lunch at the Maji Moto Cultural Camp we had a small buffet lunch in a beautiful outdoor setting. Lunch consisted of pasta, beans, potato, salad and an avocado & tomato salad.

Maasai Cultural Activities

After lunch, we began the cultural activities the Maji Moto Cultural Camp is known for. This is not a staged Maasai experience, but rather the chance to stay near a real Maasai village and see how they live their daily lives.

Maasai Warrior Training

Our cultural activities started out with a bang – Maasai warrior training!! One of our Maasai guides was carrying a long spear and he showed us the proper technique for throwing it. He was able to hit our target (a tree) with authority each time.

They had a smaller, lighter spear for the kids, so we all had a ton of fun trying to hit the tree with the spear. At first, none of us got close, but with a little practice we all got better. This was a super fun activity, especially for our 8 year old son, who loves stuff like this.

Hot Spring

Next we walked to the nearby natural hot spring. Here, locals gather to collect nearly boiling water to do laundry in a nearby field. In the evenings, many will come down to do some bathing in the very hot water.

The locals doing their laundry had all of their colorful clothes and shúkàs hanging from the huge trees in a nearby field. Such a fun, colorful sight!

Women’s Village

The family who owns the Maji Moto Cultural Camp established a women’s village on their property to help support widows and other women in need. Here, the women raise cows, sheep and even tend a bee hive.

The women residents sang us a welcome song and invited the other women to join in. Afterwards, we got to go inside one of their mud huts to see how they live. The structure of the hut was very similar to the one we are staying in.

Evening Sunset Walk

Before dinner, we followed our guides for a small walk into the surrounding hills. Along the way, they shared some knowledge with us about some important medicinal plants growing there.

Near the top of the hill, we climbed up a big rock pile. This vantage point was perfect for admiring the beautiful Kenyan countryside and for watching the sunset.

Campfire

After watching the sunset, we made our way back to the main building at Maji Moto Cultural Camp. Here, the Maasai warriors showed us how they make fire without matches. They do it the classic way with a long stick that they rub into a plank of red cedar.

We all got to try making fire the traditional way, but it’s a lot of work. None of us were able to do it.

After the Maasai warriors created fire, we all enjoyed a campfire, compete with traditional songs as we waited to be invited for dinner.

Dinner

It was dark by the time we got called for dinner. We followed our guides down a dark pathway, beautifully lit by flowing, golden lanterns. It was a magical sight. Our table was in a beautiful outdoor setting, lit only by lanterns.

We enjoyed butternut squash soup for an appetizer, before digging into their self-serve buffet. For dinner, we enjoyed daal and goat stew on white rice, with chapati on the side. It was a delicious meal in a truly beautiful setting.

Evening Campfire

After dinner, a campfire was waiting for us to enjoy. We all gathered around, sitting on the tree trunk chairs which circled the firepit.

Sitting there, listening to Maasai warriors singing their beautiful songs is a moment we won’t soon forget. The sky was clear and in this remote location, we could clearly see the Milky Way. Amazing!

Breakfast

After our morning goat milking was complete, we made our way to our outdoor breakfast. On the menu today were pancakes, fried potatoes, fresh fruit, avocado and eggs made to order. Another delicious meal!

Morning Walk

Our main activity for our morning at Maji Moto Cultural Camp was a walk up the nearby hills with two Maasai warriors and ‘Neybor’, the friendly Maji Moto dog. The hills here are amazing as they are made almost entirely of rose coloured quartz.

Along the way up, our Maasai friends stopped to teach us more about the medicinal qualities of the plants which grow here. We really enjoyed the many aromas from the leaves here.

The Maasai warriors were having fun with our kids, helping them practice their spear throwing as well as pointing out large rocks which look like things. There were rocks which looked like a rhino, a crocodile, a hippo, etc.

Close to the top of the hill, we saw a herd of zebra, but they made themselves scarce when they saw Neybor!

As we neared the top of the hill, we enjoyed many different viewpoints of the area. Much of it was forest and flat plains. It’s exciting to know this land is home to elephants, leopards, etc.

Our kids had a great time on this family hike. Our son got to carry a spear the entire time, so he was loving life!

Lunch

After our 5 km family hike in the surrounding hills, we had earned a good lunch. On the menu today was a satisfying selection of Spanish rice, peas, carrots and an apple cabbage salad.

Soccer Game with Local Kids

After lunch the staff at Maji Moto Cultural Camp arranged a fun soccer (football) game between some local kids and our kids and some other kids staying here. It was a lot of fun for everyone and helped create strong bonds between cultures.

Our daughter left the soccer game early to try some beading. She had bought some beautiful beaded earrings at the women’s village the day before and was excited to make her own bracelet.

Bush Camp

We’ve had an amazing time at Maji Moto Cultural Camp so far, but the activity we were most excited about was still yet to come – sleeping under the stars in a Maasai bush camp.

At 5 PM we followed our guides into the hills for a 40 minute walk through the bush to our campsite. Our campsite was set up in a clearing surrounded by trees on all sides. In the middle of the clearing were our traditional beds, made from the leafy branches of nearby trees.

The Maasai warriors prepared a campfire for us as we waited for dinner. We listened as they sang songs about their history.

Soon Chief Salaton joined us and we sat down for dinner. With the sound of the campfire and the forest all around, it was a special meal for our family.

After dinner, we all gathered around the campfire as it was starting to get dark. The Maasai kept throwing log after log on the fire until soon it was a roaring bonfire. Our kids were very excited.

We sat by the campfire for hours, listening to traditional songs and stories about their culture. We had such a good time.

After such a busy and amazing day, our son was the first to crash. To be honest, we didn’t last much longer than him.

You can’t believe how relaxing it was. Lying on our comfy natural beds in our sleeping bags listening to the sounds of the forest and the crackle of the fire.

At dawn, the sky is a gentle pink and the sounds of the forest have changed to birdsong. After keeping us warm all night, the fire had finally dwindled. The perfect way to wake up in Kenya.

Our bush camp experience was a truly special night for our family. It’s a memory from our Kenyan family vacation we won’t soon forget.