All it takes is about an hour of driving in the back of a jeep at Kenya's magnificent Masai Mara National Reserve and visitors are mesmerized by the wealth of wildlife. Mara is Swahili for "dotted hillside" and if you look across the savannah, you'll spot giraffes, elephants, Cape buffaloes, zebras, baboons, lions lounging under tall acacia trees, impalas, and hordes of wildebeests, especially if you travel here during the migration in early summer and fall. After bouncing around the jeep

All it takes is about an hour of driving in the back of a jeep at Kenya's magnificent Masai Mara National Reserve and visitors are mesmerized by the wealth of wildlife. Mara is Swahili for "dotted hillside" and if you look across the savannah, you'll spot giraffes, elephants, Cape buffaloes, zebras, baboons, lions lounging under tall acacia trees, impalas, and hordes of wildebeests, especially if you travel here during the migration in early summer and fall. After bouncing around the jeep all morning, it's nice to head back to a place like Sanctuary Olonana, sit under the shaded pavilion and watch mother hippos teaching their young to swing upstream on the Mara River.

Opened in 1999 by the renowned safari company, Abercrombie & Kent, Sanctuary Olonana calls itself a permanent tented camp. But let's be real. This is no teepee in the woods. Yes, the 14 rooms all have canvas walls. Peer inside, however, and you'll find a queen-sized bed, indoor and outdoor showers, flush toilets, and mosquito netting. A verandah overlooks the river, so in the early morning, you can arrange with the front desk to be awakened with freshly brewed Kenyan coffee and scones while staring in awe at the large hippos that make their way up the river. Sure beats the robins that congregate outside my window.

The resort goes out of the way to adhere to environmental practices. A series of three ponds behind the tents remove toxins from wastewater and return it to the Mara River cleaner than the actual water found there. Solar panels are used at the main lodge and the greens in your salad at the restaurant probably came from the property's organic garden. Guests can also plant a tree on the grounds to be used as much-needed shade in these parts.

Sanctuary Olonana has teamed with a local Maasai village, so guests can see firsthand how these indigenous people live off the land. You'll tour their homes, small mud huts that are now using biofuel (cow dung) to heat their food instead of villagers traveling days to find firewood. Schools have also been improved due to the support of A&K and its clientele. A visit to Sanctuary Olonana is far more than an eye-to-eye encounter with a lion. It's an eye-opening experience to the African way of life.