Travel reviews by Pat R from North Carolina

"clean, quiet, very nice staff. seemed convenient . room was well maintained. our experience was small ; we got in late at night, discovered that chips means french fries (which lead to a confusing but delicious plate of masala chips), went to bed, had breakfast (quite nice buffet) and left. exactly what it was supposed to be."

"El Nino and climate change lead to continuous rains instead of the November rains dissappearing. so it was very muddy and the bush was very very tall. this interfered with animal sightings, and meant the weather was quite hot and humid, and this is certainly not a complaint about the camp, b/c they didn't cause the unusual weather pattern, but it was unpleasant

the tents were more basic than we've experienced before and that was fine. it was our first experience with bucket showers and that went well. the hyenas going by outside the tent was definitely a feature not a bug.

food was good, not great., but also absolutely fine; the host is a young and extremely affable man who knew a lot about the area and being a manager.

we had a really good time with our guide, although we didn't see as much as we'd have hoped, and that was fine. our guide was terrific in the mud, as we skid around, and over a bit of time, his wisdom and his humor shone."

"so here, it was very very hot. like being in Arizona in the summer, and a few weeks earlier than it is usually that hot. the place was extremely elegant and beautiful and lovely design, and the staff very pleasant and friendly the manager is very new to his job, and I believe that shows some. I was left with a small sense of 'trying too hard to have us believe that he liked us and everything was great.' also we were there for New Year's Eve, and there was a lovely dinner with a glass of champagne, but it wasn't really any difference than any of the other meals. slightly more would have been nice.

the thing that was actually very negative for us, and it was one of the things that i was very clear that we did NOT want was to spend a lot (or any) time in a crowded park in a line of cars. There are some activities up by the lodge, but the heat meant it was extra hot up at the camp, and somewhat less hot down in the park, we spent almost ALL of our time down there, and there were many times of extremely crowded animal sightings or looking for animals, including spending over an hour circling a particular set of bushes where someone had seen a leopard. this was exactly the experience that I had set our entire trip up to avoid, and that's what it was !!

also, we know that everyone has some off days but our guide didn't seem to be having a very good few days sighting animals, as everything we saw was something that someone else called him about, and we missed things that everyone else at the camp saw (like the elephants mating).

Now the elephant sightings were generally amazing, with lots of lovely terrific time spent down by the river amidst herds and there were some times where we were NOT amongst a bunch of other people. That was amazing."

"read the notes about this place carefully -- if it's what you'd like to experience, then it is an amazing amazing place. we had a great time here, even though it rained a bunch and we were not able to do a number of things that were normally offered. Martin and the crew are amazing; this is a place where we experienced, more than anywhere else, a sense of the community and a sense that the guy running the lodge actually believe that the place belongs to the people. we loved it here. so many places are described as unique, but this one really is, i'd return in a heartbeat.

there are not the intense animal sightings you will have elsewhere in Kenya, and for us, due to the rain, we were not able to go as far as we might have to look. Our guides were lovely friendly people ( our main guide was Isaiah). showing patience and interest. Nothing but kindness and knowledge. the food was terrific, and we ate in the dining area, up on the roof, out in a meadow; we were going to have a surprise breakfast out in the bush, but the surprise was that it poured

Martin was there while we were there, and he is an amazing individual - with many many abilities and accomplishments. A few of them are his passion for the place, for helping/changing things for the people (as they want them changed), for the flora and fauna, and especially for raptors, and he is a captivating story teller and a great listener.

although the weather prevented or interrupted a number of the usual activities, we had a great time, and still did lovely things - dinner in a meadow, or on top of the main lodge area, Masai Olympics, the hyrax in and out of our room. All the elephants, the rain coming sideways thru the window openings. And, oh yes, you should definitely have a massage from Lucy, not at all expensive and very well done - she's had good training, is deeply caring and a lot of fun. The food, designed by Antonia, and prepared by Geoffrey the chef, was terrific, better than anywhere else we were (all of which was good).

All the places we stayed were very good; this is the place that touches your soul."

"The camp is beautifully maintained, with luxurious tents in the bush, really good food, great guides and the camp managers are great at their jobs -- Helen and I were pleasantly competing for "she who tells the funniest stories" - I believe that Helen won; she and Roelof are both very knowledgeable; we enjoyed walking with Roelof in the bush and learning from him as we were immersed (up to our hips in grass!), his strong understanding about conservation and the issues faced was powerful

We loved our tent and its extraordinary nightlife, along with the askaris (guards)' close attention. Our guide, Daniel, and our spotter, Rakita, were terrific. We had Daniel the whole time, and he is an aware, awesome guide, very attentive. I will treasure our last sundowner, singing back and forth with the two of them -- just a wonderful, unplanned connection. Even with the tall grass, we had excellent game viewing.

I'm not sure if my favorite was the first drive with quick spotting of some of the lions and then Daniel saying 'oh, there's the leopard,' so that we saw both within the first few minutes of the first drive. Or maybe it was the day we spent an hour with the 4 cheetahs, watching the youngsters playing, just us and the cheetahs - this is why we travel so far.

Thank you, all the Naboisho people."