Reviews of Kicheche Mara
Wildlife sightings and reviews
94 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Kicheche Mara and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Kicheche Mara review"
We enjoyed all the meals, especially the picnic breakfasts and curry night. Pre dinner drinks around the fire with Charles entertaining us with Maasai stories and proverbs were good fun.
We couldn't have had a better guide than Jimmy, especially as we were lucky enough to have the vehicle to ourselves. He and my husband quickly discovered a mutual love of photography and birds in particular, and we had some amazing sightings, and chances to takes photos of often overlooked but beautiful little birds.
Jimmy persuaded us to set off at 5.45am on a couple of mornings to catch the sun coming up an and even managed to 'arrange' for a group of eland to parade along the horizon at exactly the right moment!" See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya
"Kicheche Mara review"
"Kicheche Mara review"
"Kicheche Mara review"
The camp staff were friendly, they looked after us well and all of the food was high quality and delicious. This was a more formal camp than the previous camp we stayed at, with the management being less visable.
Our guide Dixon was excellent, extremely knowledge of both mammels and birds and knew how to position the vehicle to us to view the behaviour of the wildlife. We managed to see a cheetah take down a thompson gazelle, he also spotted lions hunting a baby giraffe for us and we saw leopards mating. We saw the big 5 for this area (they don't have rhino), we were extremely lucky with our sightings and we didn't think each day would be better than the previous day but some how it was.
We had an experience of a lifetime here, it was fabulous!" See all these reviews: 13n in Kenya
"Kicheche Mara review"
"Kicheche Mara review"
We saw the big 5 (except rhino) and two cheetahs over the course of three days. A highlight was packed breakfasts set in the conservancy and overlooking the Mara River or sweeping views.
The food at the camp was truly excellent with the chef providing going above and beyond to serve innovative meals. The service was very good, but now and then things had to be asked for twice. A minor quibble in an otherwise excellent stay." See all these reviews: 8n in Kenya
"Kicheche Mara review"
Staff was impeccable, food amazing, game drives awesome! We saw so many animals: Elephants, Lion, Giraffe, Wildebeest, Cheetah, Leopard, Hippos, Zebra. So many! We even saw a Mama Elie and baby, plus some Giraffe, from our tent.
Watched a Lioness hunt and kill a Thompson Gazelle. The Gazelle was laying in the tall grass. All we could see were the tops of its horns. The Gazelle never even saw the Lioness coming. Took her about 15 minutes to sneak up on it.
The first male Lion we saw had no tail. He apparently has 2 brothers. They tell them apart as such: one is missing his tail, one is missing an eye, and one is missing a testicle.
Also saw a Leopard protecting her kill, another Thompson Gazelle. She had dragged it up a tree. She had cubs hidden away near the kill site, but we didn't see them.
Days were hot, early mornings and nights were cool. When our tent steward came to do turn down and close all the window flaps, he put hot water bottles in our bed. The bedding was light but kept us warm during the night.
Laundry service was quick. How they do it when washing by hand and line drying, I don't know, but they return your clothes dry and folded by evening. Because of this efficiency, pack very light! You don't need a lot. And truthfully, no one pays attention if you wear the same thing 2 days in a row. Really! They don't do "womens smalls" but there is powder and an indoor line to dry on.
The meals were incredible. Not sure what else to say. The food was so good.
Kicheche Mara would def be on our list were we to do another safari.
***Please note: when grading the aspects of the camp, I gave activities an average rating as there aren't a lot of activities per se." See all these reviews: 13n in Kenya
"Kicheche Mara review"
Every meal was a delight.
I was overwhelmed by the sheer abundance of wildlife and the beauty of the plains, and loved that the camp was tucked in the valley." See all these reviews: 13n in Kenya
"Another winner "
The tents are huge and very comfortable and the staff at camp is always friendly and impeccable. The meals are very tasty and the bush breakfasts are heavenly.
Our guide, Paul was outstanding. He always managed to position the car in the best spots for wildlife viewing and photography : in the middle of a herd of elephants or surrounded by a pride of lions." See all these reviews: 8n in Kenya
"Magical memories in the Mara Conservancies"
The tents are huge and very comfortable and the staff at camp is always friendly and impeccable. The meals are very tasty and the bush breakfasts are heavenly.
Our guide, Paul was outstanding. He always managed to position the car in the best spots for wildlife viewing and photography : in the middle of a herd of elephants or surrounded by a pride of lions.
With Paul, we also went fly camping. It is by far the best experience we had in any safari in Africa . The fly camping is located in the Naibosho Conservancy, so we got to visit that area too. We started with a bush walk accompanied by Paul and Peter ( an armed ranger) . While walking , you are totally attuned to your surroundings and to the wildlife that is curiously looking at you. We arrived at the camp that had been set up by the staff of Kicheche Valley and were hosted by Esther, Keke and Julius(?) .
We had a dome tent with comfortable and warm cot beds. Washroom facilities consist of washbasins, bucket shower tent and drop loo tent. A campfire is lit up and sundowners and dinner were served : soup, stew, ugali and baked potato. Delicious! During the night , lions were active in the vicinity of the camp but we enjoyed the thrill of it. The next morning we went on a morning drive before breakfast in the Naibosho Conservancy .
Fly camping is really a not to be missed experience. It is comfortable in its simplicity, totally authentic and far from anybody else." See all these reviews: 8n in Kenya
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