Reviews of Kicheche Bush Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
104 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Kicheche Bush Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Kicheche Bush Camp"
Emma and Darren were so helpful and welcoming. What made this lodge the best of the 3 we stayed in was the excellent location - there are wonderful hills around, which makes for great viewing and marvellous game drives.
Our guide, Charles, was truly excellent and we much enjoyed the Bush Walk with him. This is a quiet area. Even over New Year there were very few other cars and being in a conservancy they have a very strict rule on numbers able to enter the conservancy. So very often you could be alone looking at game." See all these reviews: 9n in Kenya
"Excellent safari"
"Kicheche Bush Camp is the cat's whiskers!"
Darren and Emma are the best camp managers we have ever come across and going back to Kicheche Bush Camp is like visiting old friends. As would be expected in a well-managed camp, all of the staff are friendly, helpful and diligent.
Wildlife viewing is very dependant on the quality of your guide but as all Kicheche guides are silver-badged and know the best angle for viewing and photographing the animals a good experience is assured.
But the stars of the show are the big cats and you will see plenty of their whiskers thanks to the expert guiding. There aren't many places where you can almost guarantee regular and good sitings of leopard and cheetah but this is one of them." See all these reviews: 16n in Kenya
"We hope to return!"
We enjoyed a warm welcome from managers Darren and Emma and their exuberant new puppy Frankie. Their presence in camp, including joining us at meals, made us feel a part of the bush camp family. The camp offers some of the best food we have ever had on our four safaris. It was fresh, varied, and absolutely delicious -- especially the variety of breads that they offered at each meal. They offered an updated take on safari meals, including made-to-order pizza for lunch one day and the Kenyan tradition of Indian curry for Sunday supper.
Our wonderful guide Nelson consistently found amazing things for us to view on our game drives. We watched lots of lions, lion cubs, leopards, cheetah, and hundreds of thousands of wildebeest who were staying in the area because the rains brought ample green grass. He even spotted an aardwolf twice in the daytime, and a caracal (which unfortunately hid in the grass to avoid being photographed.) A special memory was an afternoon drive to a hyena den to watch the young ones play. What an unexpected delight to discover that hyenas can actually be adorable! We chose not to spend a day driving to the Maasai Mara Reserve because the wildlife was so abundant in the conservancy. Nelson was always very skilled at positioning our vehicle for optimal photography, including some amazing sunset opportunities.
The only negative thing that we found was that because of the presence of several other camps in the conservancy, there were times when the game viewing felt a bit crowded. That occurred primarily when finding leopards with their kills, so it was easy to understand why everyone wanted to be there. But we could often find other animals on the hunt with no one else around, so it definitely did not spoil our experience there.
Overall, this is one of the best camps we have ever visited and we recommend it highly." See all these reviews: 14n in Kenya
"The hosts at Kicheche Bush Camp are the best!"
The fire side drinks before dinner is also a great way to connect with other travelers at camp. The camp pays tremendous attention to detail. The hot water bottle they gave us for the morning game drive is an excellent example." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 3n in Kenya
"Great camp that lived up to all the hype"
- Incredibly action packed game drives. On a single drive, we saw cheetahs, baby hyenas, numerous lions, 2 mating lions, and a lion/wilderbeest kill!
- Great guiding. All silver level. Our guide was very knowledgeable about photography and had great tips for the best shots.
- Beautiful luxurious rooms.
- Truly gourmet food worthy of Michelin stars. Don't know how they do it. If you have time, visit the kitchen and the chef!
- Ability to go for a walk with a great walking guide (Patrick).
- Great jeep mates." See all these reviews: 8n in Kenya
"Kicheche Bush Camp review"
Nothing is too much trouble.The food and wine are first class. The guides all hold silver qualifications under the Kenya Professional Guide scheme. All of them regularly accompany professional photographers and as a result they instinctively put guests in the best position to view animals and to take photographs. They explain what animals have been sighted in the conservancy over the last few days and which are with cubs. They will then plan game drives which suit what the guest wants to view. You have the option to have packed breakfasts or lunches depending on what you want to see." See all these reviews: 8n in Kenya
"Mixed feelings at Bush"
Food was good. The kitchen staff did their outmost to meet my dietary needs. They also met our wish to serve our dinner at 19 30, even though the other guests had theirs short before 21 00. Thanks to this flexibility, we could go to sleep early enough not to be completely exhausted the next morning.
We loved Aki, the relief manager, who made everyone feel welcome and was most accommodating to our every wish. All the other staff were very nice and service was excellent.
The high points of our stay were to watch the interactions within two of the lion prides. One lioness had two 1 month old cubs and kept carrying around the female cub in her mouth. The male cub, however, protested wildly and didn't want her to do it, which was great fun to watch. One of the two huge and handsome males patiently tried to convince a young lioness to mate with him, spending hours gently resting at her side.
We also watched lionesses from another pride stalking two wart hogs, but these cleverly escaped. We loved to meet the huge male Romeo II, who had recently been badly injured in a fight, and to see how relatively well he had recovered. Another highlight was to watch leopardess Fig hunt and almost catch a Thomson gazelle.
However, we were disappointed that our guide with emphasis talked us out of going down to the Mara River to see a main crossing. He actually didn't inform us in advance, that the Talek River crossing he instead took us to, was a minor crossing, with an almost dry river bed and no crocodiles. We didn't find out about the difference until it was too late and we suspect he misled us, because he didn't want to do the "very long" drive. This casts a shadow on our stay at Bush and left us with a feeling of disappointment." See all these reviews: 12n in Kenya
"East Africa Manager"
"Super cats at Kicheche Bush Camp"
Food was innovative and excellent, lunch al fresco and dinner in the mess tent - all meals were very enjoyable and with interesting company.
Emma and Darren and all the staff made us very welcome and we wished we could have stayed longer." See all these reviews: 12n in Kenya
"Kicheche Bush Camp review"
Flexibility to focus on wildlife viewing was appreciated. Very good bush breakfast every day allowed long morning drives. Vehicles were excellent with good support and bean bags for photographers. Guiding was excellent. Wildlife viewing was very good. Very enjoyable." See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya
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Mara Plains Camp
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Basecamp Eagle View
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Porini Mara Camp
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Basecamp Leopard Hill
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Mahali Mzuri
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Entumoto
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