Travel reviews by Mr H from Johannesburg

"A real hidden gem, could have spent a full day here easily.

The owners were very friendly, quality of accomodation was fantastic and food was also excellent"

"A fantastic lodge, with a very 'different' feel from the Mara. A much more laidback place with barely any vehicles and much fewer people.

The property itself was lovely and the addition of the pool is a great idea as it creates a natural place to relax other than your room. The style of the property is pretty unique and Murray was a very good host. The pool area is finished to a high standard and there are some nice shady areas under tree's. It's a bit cold in winter time like now but I am sure it will be nice and warm in summer.

Food and staff were excellent. Game drives were good in terms of animals but not comparable with the Mara. I saw a single cheetah when I was at the property over the four days, no lions. I think opening up other tracks within the property which I know Murray is working on may help in this regard. I would say that this place is more about the lovely people and sweeping views with some nice concentration of elephants and other animals rather than lots of cats or the Big five. If you are coming to Africa for safari though I would suggest it needs to be balanced with the Mara which is much more touristy but you see more animals. When you do see a cat at El Karama its a lot more special I would suggest as it feels more 'private.'

Overall a really fantastic stay and would definitely recommend. The mara trip and El Karama work really well together.."

"A simply brilliant place. When I arrived it was once of the busiest weeks for them in the year but they coped very well and it did not feel over crowded.

The guides on the property were absolutely fantastic and new where to avoid the crowds and we saw absolutely all of the animals you could want to see. I saw a very rare sighting of two leopards (male and female) out in the open which the guide was very patient to find (we were the only care there for 5 minutes at least in the Mara) and we saw all of the Big 5 in a single day. Colin also managed to organise a second trip into the Mara when I didn't see a crossing the first day which I greatly appreciated as I managed to see one the next day.

The tents were really fantastic and the hot water bottle in the rooms each nice was a nice touch. Food and drink were also fantastic and the local conservancy was nice and quiet with not too many vehicles and the guides really new where to look for the animals.

Overall again I would highly recommend."