Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs J from Stockholm

"This quiet and cosy hideaway with a purely British colonial vibe felt very homely, with it´s stylish interiors, fireplaces and a lush garden full of cheeky vervet monkeys. We loved the staff, of whom we especially remember Peter, Jane, Dorcas and Paul. The food is good and the service outstanding.

We stayed there in the beginning and at the end of our stay in Kenya, first in room no. 3 and then in room no. 6. Both rooms were very spacious, with one double and one single bed and a great modern bathroom. There was plenty of room for your luggage.

We really enjoyed staying there, particularly in room no. 6. Our only complaint is that both mattresses in room no. 3 were obviously outdated and uncomfortable. As we stayed only one night on that occasion, we never told the staff about it."

"After the first shock as to the location just off the noisy and polluted Langata road, we got used to it quickly and actually feel the place has a lot of advantages going for it, like comfortable beds, good showers with a lot of hot water and a good restaurant with the most delicious chocolate ice cream!

We ended up really liking this place and would stay there again."

"Even if this is quite a big camp with its 8 tents, these are placed unusually far apart which gives each party a lot of privacy. The tents are huge, very cosy and nicely decorated and sleep up to four people. Maybe that´s why this camp was visited by many families during our stay.

Everything at this camp was run smoothly and super efficiently by the Italian managers Manuela and Andrea. They were the most sympathetic and relaxed managers we ever met. We cannot praise them highly enough. As we had problems as to where to hang our washing, they really listened and already the next day, they had introduced a discretely placed new washing line at all tents. A washing line for the laundry that the staff cannot wash, is something that we had missed at all camps we visited so far.

Food is excellent here and no effort was spared as to fulfil my dietary needs. The cook, who even came in person to our table, baked the most delicious special rice bread just for me. All the staff was great.

The highlights of our stay were the game drives with our outstanding guide David, who has a lovely personality. It was a pleasure to spend our days in his company. He was very responsive to our interests and every day made suggestions for us to choose from. Mara North was teeming with wildlife and among many memorable sightings, we witnessed the unfolding drama of two jackals chasing and killing an impala fawn, through outsmarting the impala mother and the whole herd. Next thing, the carcass got stolen by a passing hyena.

We spent the lion's share of an afternoon with the Offbeat lion pride, watching the older cubs stalking each other, jumping high into the air while playing rough, three of them even went up a tree, all of them together. We also had several heartwarming encounters with elephant mothers and their young, who were calmly surrounding us at close range. Their obvious trust was deeply moving.

Most of our time each day we spent watching and photographing a cheetah mother, probably Amani, with her two cubs. Mostly we were the only vehicle there, except for a film team."

"Tents are big and quite average standard but all that you need is there. The tents are also, due to the huge "windows", see through, so that everyone passing by could see exactly what´s going on inside. Luckily, we were in the tent the furthest away from the messtent, so had enough privacy.

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."

"We returned to Macushla House after our safari and it felt great to be back, again diving into the warm and homely atmosphere, where the staff make you feel part of the family.

A quiet and cosy place with a great vibe, well hidden in the greenery of Karen and only 15 minutes by foot from the Giraffe Center.

It is also very conveniently situated if you want to visit the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage."