Kenya: Maasai Mara

We landed in Nairobi, our travel agent had arranged priority customs clearance and we breezed through the diplomatic line somehow, again nice perk when you’ve come off a long flight. Picked up our bags and headed to Oli Serini hotel. Awoke next day and spotted some zebras while having breakfast, exciting for those not really ready for what was awaiting us on safari. Was a safe, clean hotel with a good breakfast and convenient to the airport. Next day off to Wilson airport, checked in, finding out that they didn’t weigh our hand baggage (including my large camera + heavy 100-400 lens) nor us. So I’m not sure why I had to pay for an extra seat (SafariLink), may challenge this a bit more next time. Certainly, combined our average weight was well under the weight restrictions and these are not tiny planes seemed like a bit of a money grab, I spoke with one of the managers at kitcheche who agreed.

We landed at the airstrip and we picked up by the staff at Rekkero camp. On the short game drive transfer we immediately saw a giraffe, followed by several elephants and tones of zebras/wildebeest. Was quite awe inspiring my spouse was somewhat in shock. Upon checking in to the beautiful lodge there was a small zebra crossing on the river in front of us, was difficulty to concentrate on briefing and get our passport information down. Walked to our tented room, also with a bit of a view over the river. Headed back to the lodge only to cross paths with a huge hippo, thankfully he was heading away from the water but really got the heart pounding early on. We had 4 great game drives with an excellent guide (who ironically used to work at Kichechie). Highlight was another zebra/wildebeest crossing that we witnessed alone and saw a crocodile take down a zebra, and just seeing all the game in the open plains on the reserve, although we missed peak migration (which sounds like it was somewhat disjointed this year) there were still hundreds - thousands of wildebeest and zebras within our field of view.

We then headed to Kichechie valley camp via game transfer. This is in the nebosco conservancy. Right away you can sense the more relaxed and less busy pace of the conservancy. Really enjoyed seeing the giraffes, as well as some beautiful early morning lion sightings. After two nights, 4 game drives, we started our hike to the fly camp. It was pleasant, very peaceful and totally different from the game drives. It was really nice to ge the exercise, I don’t think the trip would have been complete without it. Very comfortable fireside dinning and accommodations at the flycamp. On towards Bush camp in Olare conservancy the next day. Near the end a beautiful landscape over the mara plains. Had a somewhat close call with a cape buffalo which are guide was a bit nervous about. Checked into Bush camp, had some further exciting game drives here. Again stayed on the conservancy. We skipped the balloon ride which we didn’t regret. Saw fig, the famous leopard there along with her cub. Saw some cheetahs on the hunt, unfortunately foiled by the lack of skills in her cubs, but seeing her breakout a bit of a run was really fun. We then flew back to Nairobi, had a nice lunch at Hemingway’s (my first ostrich burger), went to the bead factory (good cause, great for small gifts), and flew off to Entebbe.

At this point the consensus between the two of us was “why have we been travelling anywhere else?”

I don’t have nearly enough experience to give too much advice about how to plan a safari but will give a few tips.  Spend some time in the conservancies.  Bring a long lens for east Africa. Do think about booking a stopover in Europe if coming from another time continent, saw lots of people snoozing through whole game drives, not the best way to spend your safari budget. Don’t try and book things yourself, agency commissions seemed mostly baked into rates anyway but good to get a few quotes. Journeys By Design worked out well for us. They respected my budget even though many of their clients are going to be much wealthier, and the agencies they worked with on the ground provided great service without costing much more than some of the other agencies I got quotes from. ATR seems to have a good website. and travel forums can be helpful for getting a second opinion.

Kichechie  (or similar) was the sweet spot for us in terms of value.  You get a small very comfortable tented camp with good food and small groups for the game drives with great guides. You can spend double/triple easily, but I doubt you’ll remember the differences too much unless you are really craving Swarovski binoculars, outdoor bathtubs, or other travellers name dropping their company’s  NYSE stock symbol.