Travel reviews by Mr K from Bucks

"Whilst it might seem odd that I rated the Mara Intrepid as excellent yet half of the items below as only ''Good'' to put this into context -- the tents were a wonderful experience and you really felt close to nature (animal noises during the night and the rain on the roof ) and they were comfortable and all the facilities were spot on. The small down side was that they were spread out to give each a feeling of privacy which meant that some were quite a walk from the bar and restaurant.

The food was good but we are in Kenya and you are not going to get the quality of say a top Ritz Carlton. None of my group ever said they were disappointed with anything they ate and we had no doggy tummies whilst at the camp.The omelettes were as good as I have had anywhere and there was lots of variety at both the breakfast and lunch buffets. The bar was well laid out and in a great location overlooking the river --we all watched a hyena stalking a wildebeest on the other side in the floodlights one evening.The pool was not heated and the water was very cold --only our youngsters went in--but they were happy with it.Not sure how effective the electric fence was. My son in law said he saw a hyena on their terrace --their tent was the furthest away from the river and main buildings.

Now for the things that made this Camp so special. Location not only was it 1 minute from the airstrip but no matter in which direction we went out on a drive within minutes something exciting was happening. In other words it seemed to be in the perfect location. The service was tremendous --everyone was charming . helpful and attentive from the GM Kevin who came around to talk to us every night to the security guards who walked you to the tents. Our party built up such a rapport with the staff that we had a game of football with lots of their children on the pitch just by the landing strip!!. If you mean by Activities the game rides then these were beyond expectation> Later in the trip we had to control our ''Safari Superiority Syndrome'' because most other people we talked to hadn't experienced anything remotely as diverse and exciting.

I havn't got time to even attempt to detail all the incredible acts of nature we witnessed but the highlight was watching a cheetah slowly go to take a drink and then start stalking and finally give chase and catch and choke an impala right in front of us. And by right in front of us I mean that the 3 trucks our party of 21 were in along with one other the only ones out of probably a dozen following this drama unfold that were in the right position to see this final act. This was completely down to the quality of the guides.

I can not emphasise enough how important a top guide is to having a successful safari. If it was possible I would bring in a another question in your survey just on this topic. We had 4 guides over the 4 days of these Jacob was the most knowledgeable about the animals and gave a constant running commentary , Dixon the most experienced and it was him who got us into the position with the cheetah and Ruben who had the knack of finding and getting right up close to the action. They also worked as team constantly talking to each other on the radios and on their phones to drivers from other companies. These guys made this camp beyond excellent"

"Here again we were all delighted with the overall experience --and the sum of the parts was much bigger than the individual parts scored. Bit of a bumpy ride down an unmade road and quite a way from the little town could mean to some an ''excellent' rating. The beach here is mile after mile of perfect white sand but our party tended to congregate around the well laid out pool and adjacent bar and gym. The rooms were large and had a lovely African Art feel to them, the taps/shower were a bit dated and the layout of the hotel meant that only a very few had sea views. The service from the beach bar was sometimes a bit slow but Moses at the pool bar was a true professional .

All the waiters were superb and all the staff were always smiling and happy to greet you. The GM Pamela was outstanding and had a great sense of humour. She also takes any left over suntan cream to an orphanage for Albinos --but that is just part of what she does to help these stigmatised children.

The New Years Eve buffet on the beach was probably the best spread I have seen. Unlimited enormous king prawns, lobster and countless other fish and every meat on the grill including crocodile. The evening buffets in the main restraint were excellent by Kenyan standards but we all agreed the best thing was the chips served from both the beach and pool bar --they were tasty beyond--irresistible !!

Activities --There was a well organised volley ball game in the afternoons and few other things like a dart completion. Plenty to do but at a price --kite surfing scuba deep sea fishing (we caught a dozen smallish tuna and a dorado which they cooked for lunch for us) camel riding and glass bottomed boat and snorkelling.

Gym was adequate and spa tucked away a bit"

"We arrived quite late ate went to bed and were away by 645 but only 15 mins from the airport and very modern and clean"