Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs L from Denver

"Karen Gables was our first stop on our trip. We arrived late at 11pm after two long flights.

The grounds are beautiful, and the staff were so kind and helpful. We were with William, one of the staff for meals (which were excellent). There are many places to sit outside to relax and enjoy the view. Chris' small, cozy and luxurious B&B is a quiet respite to the hustle and bustle of Nairobi. Meeting with Chris during our stay was a pleasure and learned much about the house and surrounding area.

Would definitely recommend and go back again!"

"This was our first experience with a camp we didn't know what to expect. The experience was truly amazing. Our driver and guide, Ian and Pius were very outgoing and made us feel very welcome to their community. They listened to our expectations of a safari (as limited as they were) and shared with us a lot of animal encounters and knowledge. Going on a safari with them was a fun adventure every time.

Robert and Michael and the lodge's staff made you feel like you were going to your favorite uncle's lodge. The dinners were communal and very enjoyable with everyone sharing all of our stories. We thoroughly enjoyed watching all the different animals visiting the water holes on the property near the lodge. Our guides took us closer to the this nearby natural spring fed water hole and explained how the different animals came to drink at various times. We cannot give enough praise about this lodge and their staff as it set the bar very high for the rest of our journey. We were truly sad to leave these people and the lodge. We would highly recommend this lodge and would put it on our list of places to return to next time we visit."

"Elsa's Kopje was one of our favorite accommodations on the trip. So worth visiting!

The staff was amazing to us, and we would love to go back. Allan, the assistant manager, greeted us, showed us to our room, and then got us to the dining room for lunch. Ephantus was our waiter for our stay and was one of the nicest people we met on safari. Jacqueline (the executive chef) came out and explained what she and her staff made at each meal. The food served was five-star caliber gourmet: light, fresh and delicious. For lunch, we were served family style: a starch, a protein and three different types of salads (leafy, vegetable and pasta) described by the chef herself, who comes and explains the meal as it is laid on the table. Dinner was just as grand but was a plated affair. Our only wish was that there was less food served as we could never finish a meal and felt bad at wasting such wonderful food. Chef Francis put out a wonderful spread for our bush breakfast and sundowner later one evening.

We were taken aback by the setting, the architecture - Elsa’s is nestled on top of a hill which provides you with a panoramic view of the park. Our room (cottage number five) was uniquely shaped with curved stones following the contours of the hillside. The room had everything you needed and ours had a spectacular view from the deck of Meru National Park. Our only wish was that the deck had a cover as the sun was hot and staying on the deck could only be enjoyed for a short time.
There are many steps to get to the restaurant and lounge at the top of the hill, where there is also an infinity swimming pool. The pool area is beautiful, that pool is simply stunning. The infinity pool was really nice and a great way to cool off after a game drive. The sun was usually direct and hot, so our time was limited at such a beautiful pool.

We enjoyed having the great guide, Martin, who took us on our safaris. The safari game drives were incredible, and Martin found all the best spots to see hippos, lions, rhino, and giraffes. His wealth of knowledge was astounding as he could spot and name every bird, animal, and flora that we saw. We were always greeted after a drive by Grace (GM) or Allan (Assistant GM) and Joy (who always had a very fragment towel ready for us)."

"Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Anita (Anita – the GM, gave us insight into what to expect during our three-night stay) and Agnes, our housekeeper who showed us to our tent.

Our host is competent and knowledgeable about the lodge. The tented accommodations (called a Sendeyo custom tent) in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy are very nice. The room had everything you needed and ours had a view from the deck of the near empty water hole. The dam holding the water had broken previously and there was very little water left – the impact was noticed and talked about at lunch that much fewer animals visited what was essentially a mud pit now. When our bed was turned down for the evening, we each had hot water bottles warming up the bed as we returned from dinner. Our tent was secluded from neighboring tents with thick bushes.

The hospitality we received from all the staff was fantastic and they couldn’t do enough for us. Our waitress Faith was very responsive to our requests and was very personable (hugs!) Our driver, Simon had a wealth of knowledge that he imparted to us during our drives. We saw lions, buffalo, elephants, and of course, rhinos. We had an amazing bush breakfast at an idyllic location provided by our wonderful guide Simon. Simon was very funny and personable. He also knew our guide very well that we had in Meru (Martin). We visited and were loved on by Najin – one of two of the last northern white rhinos. We also visited and were loved on by the park’s ambassador – Baraka, a blind southern black rhino. Who knew rhinos like to have their ears scratched! We also partook in the dog tracking activity. Naftalie (asst GM) always came to greet us after our safari drives.
Sitting around a campfire with drinks before dinner was a great touch.

This lodge was rated as First-Class accommodation - but for us was more in the Deluxe class especially compared to other lodges we visited. We very much enjoyed the Conservancy with its animals, our guide and the staff that took care of us and fed us such wonderful food. We would return to visit the Conservancy but would not return to the lodge (nor recommend it). Our experience at this lodge wasn't as enjoyable as previous ones. The host seemed to favor the British guests, likely because she was also British. As the only non-British guests, we felt disconnected and unacknowledged."

"Coming from the Olkiombo Airstrip, it was a short drive by Chirchir (our driver) to the Rekero Camp. Upon arrival, the staff and guides sang and danced as they welcomed us to their camp.

First order of business was showing us our tent for our stay. Our tent was next to the lodge, so stopping off and showing us around was easy. We were given a family tent that had two bedrooms connected by the entrance / living room. The tent had everything you needed. Off the ground level patio, we had about a short twenty-foot overlook down to the Talek River. Looking down at the river from the embankment outside our tent, we saw our first neighbor, a five-foot crocodile! A quick unpack and then headed off to the lodge for lunch. There we met Maggie (GM) and Phoebe (Asst GM). The big rule at every lodge is don’t go out at night without an escort.

The dining is communal which is very enjoyable as you meet new people and exchange stories of the day. Lunch food is served buffet style which for us is good because you take what you want instead of having a lot of food brought to you that you won’t be able to finish. Dinner is a plated affair. It was very enjoyable to talk to other guests along with Maggie or Phoebe, and to listen to their stories. The food is excellent!

Livingstone took us on safari drives, that included three migration crossings on the Mara River (two where wildebeests and zebras crossed and one where we watched for a couple of hours, and no one crossed). We thought the crossing might be a violent affair with the twelve foot plus crocodiles looking on, but it was a civilized event where the wildebeests just disappeared, under the water, as they were crossing the river. It was a little surreal to see this happening while there were over a dozen hippos watching the event like a show from down river. On other drives, we saw lions, a leopard, and the only cheetahs we saw on our entire trip.

The lodge overlooks the Talek River, and we saw two migration crossings from the lodge deck. We called these ‘safety crossings’ as the Talek River is not very big at this time of year and cannot support the larger crocodiles, so no animals were injured here. One animal experience did not include a drive. On the first night there in our tent, around midnight, we were woken up by this loud (to us since it was very quiet at night) noise: it sounded like a grunt or a chuff (jokingly we said is sounded like Jabba the Hutt!). It was a hippo right outside the tent off the patio! We heard the grunt, then followed the sound of grass being ripped up and chewed on. We even heard it walking around. Luckily the tent flaps were closed as Maggie had previously said that any light tended to attract animals. We also think it helps not seeing a hippo eating its dinner ten feet from your bed with you in it!

We really enjoyed our time at Rekero and would definitely recommend and return again. The management and staff were wonderful, very accommodating and helpful; the location was amazing, and the facilities themselves were great."

"We got off the plane at Kogatende Airstrip and were met by John from Nomad Lamai. He said it would take about an hour to get to the lodge. We stopped frequently along the way to view the animals along the way. We saw the usual: wildebeests and zebras, but also giraffes and some klipspringers on a boulder right outside the lodge.

John brought us to the lodge where we were met by Lawrence, the GM, and his lodge staff. The lodge sits on top of the Kogakuria Kopje amongst giant boulders. It is interesting that for most of the way, you drive in the savannah and then it turns into giant boulders culminating in the kopje that looks like someone left their giant stones in a pile. Amongst the giant boulders, you disembark the truck and are met by the lodge staff with welcoming smiles and a cool, moist towel. The path to the main lodge is through some boulders and after you enter the lodge, you are met with a spectacular view of the Serengeti plain and the Mara River in the distance. Over the three days here, the views from the deck were stunning: the sunrises, sunsets and view of the Serengeti plains never got tiring.

Our tent – After a quick lunch and lodge overview, we headed to our bungalow (number 8). Quite a hike from the main lodge but very private, with a great deck / balcony overlooking the savannah and river. One night it rained quite a bit and the trail filled with standing water and needed some maintenance the next day. Our bungalow is one of the lower ones down the kopje and closer to a meadow. Approaching the bungalow, it is a low and unassuming structure with light yellow washed walls, a thatched roof, and a split door (Dutch door) for allowing air in, but not let critters have access to your room. The room has solid walls on three sides and insect netting along a long wall facing the Serengeti plains.

Our food was outstanding. We ate bush breakfasts to get out on the trail early and ate at the lodge on our day that we left. Once we ate under a tree (John had to carefully check the tree because he said that leopards also liked hanging out here) and the other time we ate up on a hill watching the wildebeests decide when and where to cross. Lunch was buffet style, which was not only very good, but we also got to choose how much food to eat. Samwel was our steward and performed superbly. Once we ordered a lemonade and Samwel brought a Sprite. He noticed our surprised reaction and asked if that was what we wanted. We explained to him what a lemonade was, and he returned with half a glass of fresh squeezed lime juice and lime wedges. I think Samwel is on to something here! On one occasion we were greeted by a small black face Vervet Monkey. The monkey was a master at deception as he slowly came down from a tree right next to the dining area. He then walked along the wall heading away from the eating area. Then at the last moment, he snuck across an empty table, jumped to our table, swiped a piece of flat bread and was gone in mere seconds. Naughty monkey! We were stunned, so we just watched the event unfold. The staff usually watch out for monkeys, but the monkeys also watch for the staff and plan their mission when the staff isn’t looking. Dinner was an elegant affair with candlelight and plated entrees. On our last night, our table was decorated with small red lava rocks spelling out our names. What a thoughtful touch.

Outside the screen sided room, you walk out onto the deck, and you look around and you get the feeling you are all alone in the meadow with no one in sight around you, it’s that private. You don’t see the endless Serengeti plains because you are placed on one side of the meadow. You turn around and see how the bungalow was thoughtfully tucked in amongst the rocks. The walls are built into the rocks with some of the rocks becoming a feature of the room. Our steward told us that the lodge and its contents are all hand made and locally sourced and designed to blend into and merge with the kopje. We think they accomplished this very well. During our stay we had a solitary giraffe come near us in the meadow a couple of days in a row, so on the second day we named it ‘Jeffrey’. Back in the room, bungalow is well laid out, with lots of storage, seating areas with writing table and layout space. The bathroom is large, with two sinks. Hot water is best sourced for a shower after a morning drive. Once we left a split door in the bathroom open momentarily while we came in from the deck and when we turned around to go back outside, we were greeted by a rock hyrax. We were all surprised and the hyrax turned around and made a hasty exit. They sure are cute though.

The game viewing around Nomad Lamai was amazing. Thanks in large part to our guide, John, we saw many lions (some laying in the sun and some eating their lunch). John was able to find a lioness with her newborn cubs hiding in a secluded boulder strewn area for our evening drive.

We watched one crossing unfold in front of us on the Mara River while on another occasion, we just waited a few hours until we had to leave for lunch. So go the ways of the great migration. On our way to the airstrip, John found a leopard known to hang in the vicinity of the lodge. As soon as he found the leopard, we were joined by my other trucks.

The Serengeti is a very special place for game-viewing, and we recommend and look forward to returning to Nomad Lamai in the future."

"We disembarked from the small 12-seater Cessna and were met by our driver / guide Nurdin. We left the Lake Manyara Airstrip with Nurdin in an enclosed Toyota Landcruiser and headed to the Ngorongoro Crater on the asphalt two-lane road called B144. It’s been six days since we’ve seen a paved road. It’s in pretty good shape too (not that many potholes). Going down the road about thirteen kilometers we passed by Rhotia which is a ward or neighborhood (not a town with typical services) which I guess is a step up from a collection of buildings along the highway. Less than ten kilometers farther down the road we entered the town of Karatu which is the biggest town in the area - so all the small areas including the airstrip are considered a part of Karatu.

We talked to Nurdin about the incomplete houses seen along the way. Nurdin explained that Tanzanians would acquire the land and start building a house based on how much money they have saved up for certain stages and also based on what the owner could do himself. So, several of the unfinished houses were at the roofing stage or window stage as these stages required more resources (specialized labor and money). Sometimes, Nurdin said it took ten years to finish their house. Much different than western built housing.

Another 20 minutes or sixteen kilometers later we arrive at the Lodoare Gate – the entrance to the, Ngorongoro Crater conservation area. We pick up our permit, pay some fees and take some pictures and were off next to the viewpoint. This six-kilometer ascent to the rim should take only fifteen minutes, but the traffic was very heavy requiring everyone to slow down while passing. The road is also very bumpy, and we must close the truck windows every time we pass someone (It is hot out and opening the windows is the only source of fresh air for us). Nurdin showed us all along the road where we drove next to the crater there were holes and scrapes in the hard dirt of the mountain side. Nurdin said it was from the elephants scraping the minerals out that they need for their diet. We pull off the B144 road at the top of the crater rim at the viewpoint parking lot and get out. The view is truly spectacular, offering a panoramic vista of the crater's dry plains, the Lerai Forest, and Lake Magadi. We could make out the opposite rim through the haze and the lake too. We were able to make out a couple of elephants in the distance on the caldera floor. [The Ngorongoro Crater is the world's largest unbroken volcanic caldera. It's nineteen kilometers across and over twenty-six thousand hectares in area (12 miles across and 102 square miles in area)].

We piled back into the Land Cruiser and headed east around the rim on Henry Fosbrooke Road and stopped at the Lemala mini gate traveling about ten kilometers. Boy! is this road is extremely rough and bumpy, Nurdin drove a little faster than the road from the gate due to less traffic. We understood that driving a the little faster actually smoothed out some of the bumps, but we felt a little sorry for the truck’s suspension and our back sides too. Not sure how long it took, but it seemed like a long time (maybe close to 45 minutes). We checked in at the mini gate and then drove about five minutes on Lemala Ascent Descent Road to Lodge, Lemala Ngorongoro. We couldn’t believe how tired we were from the severe jarring ride into the caldera!

We were met at the lodge by the GM (we think) named Praise God (it took us a few tries to understand this). Praise God went over the camp layout and introduced us to our room steward Zumo. Our tent was next to the main lodge. We were in a family tent for only one day, so don’t unpack. ☹ We’ll have to move to another tent the next day. It is a fully tented camp, so the accommodations are actual tents. The camp is considerably more rustic than the other six lodges we’ve been to. The tents are in a nice location tucked under a grove of acacia trees. The first thing that greets you on entering your tent is a coffee table, which forms part of a lounge area including a comfy sofa, and a writing desk complete with a lamp. The sofa backs onto the bed, flanked by a couple of explorer’s chests (with an extra blanket and comforter) functioning as bedside luggage storage or tables. There are rugs on the floor (nice at night on the cold toes, and a gas heater provides some necessary warmth during the chillier night. The crater can be cold at night due to the altitude. We only ran our heater until we were ready for bed, instead relying on the extra comforter and hot water bottles. Each tent’s ensuite washroom comprises flush toilet (taking 5 to 7 minutes to refill – so be forewarned), washbasin with vanity and mirror, and walk-in shower. The shower is a "Talking Shower" meaning your steward obtains heated water and brings it to you while they stand outside your tent to ensure the temperature is warm enough. It can be a little off-putting, but it is certainly an interesting experience. This family tent also had some issues with it being directly in line for the smoke coming from the campfire in the open area. We had to close all the flaps on the tent to try to keep it out and stay comfortable.

The lounge and dining areas are in the main tent, which also has a veranda where you can enjoy great forest views. There are comfortable sofas, armchairs, and campaign chairs around coffee tables and explorer’s chests. There is a campfire, where guides and guests can share stories of their safari day – unfortunately the smoke came right through our tent. At least the fire dies out after dinner. We did bush breakfasts which were very good. The lunch was good, especially the soup of the day. Dinner was ok although one night we had pork chops, and it was more chop than pork. The language barrier was the most severe of the seven lodges we visited on safari. Figuring out who to talk to when there were several staff by you was a bit of a challenge. One time, we ran out of butter and after our attendant conferred with many associates, and then he just took the butter from someone else’s table. On our last day, we asked if we could have a cup of hot chocolate as it was still chilly outside, and this seemed to baffle them. We let it drop as we never figured out if they didn’t have any or knew what it was. Not a big deal, just a little disappointed. We ate bush lunches and for the most part it was good, but we were never sure it the main entrée was a leftover from the previous day or that was all they could serve as we had it two days in a row. Weird.

We left camp and took the very rough road back to the Lodoare Gate in dense fog. It’s so much better zipping down the rough road when you cannot see more than a couple of truck lengths ahead of you. We later learned that there was an opportunity to visit the souvenir shop at the gate, Nurdin didn’t bring it up even though we talked about stopping along the way to the airstrip if we had time. At the gate, Nurdin gave us a locally made woven thatch box. We thought it was a nice gesture as a sendoff gift. The box contained a big handful of loose peanuts (we are big fans of the peanuts from Africa) although we figured out at the airstrip that people from other lodges had the same box, but it contained a nice lunch. Nurdin stopped at The Tanzanite Experience store. It was interesting to learn about tanzanite. There was also a kiosk next to the store that sold nice paintings. This store was solely for tourists as the souvenirs looked like imports and the jewelry and paintings were way out of our price budget.

The reason for staying at Lemala Ngorongoro Tented Camp is its proximity to the gate, and the ease of getting to the crater floor. But due to several issues, although some were minor, and some not, we would not come back to either the crater or the lodge in the future. We enjoyed seeing the animals, but it felt overall that the crater itself has become very commercialized and very crowded, and a lot of the people in the crater were rushing through (trying to see the rhinos), and not really appreciating all the wildlife that was there. The lodge was pleasant but compared to the other camps we had been at; it lacked the warmth and caring attitude we had come to expect."

"After landing at the Kuro airstrip, we met our guide, John. John handed us very nice, insulated water bottles filled with delicious cold water – what a nice break from the previous lodge.

John warned us that the roads are bumpy and to put on our seat belts. By the time we got to the lodge, we told John that the roads were more of a gentle massage compared to the teeth rattling rides we had in Ngorongoro – John laughed. On the way to the lodge, we had an impressive game drive to boot! We saw elephants, giraffes, a leopard in a tree, hippos, reedbucks, and a banded mongoose. We were met by the staff (with a nice cold minty scented towel!), Godfrey the GM and our steward Pascal. Godfrey took us upstairs straight away for lunch as we missed the main serving time. The main lodge is an open two-story log frame and thatched roof building. Wow! What an amazing looking lodge! The lodge is totally open with expansive view of the savannah. We could really get used to a place like this!

Our waiter, Saiatoti (Our first Maasi name to learn), served us an excellent family style lunch prepared by chef Bura. Our only question was, where do you get peaches for the sorbet in the middle of Africa? We’ve never had better sorbet than the peach sorbet. All the meals prepared from chef Bura and his team and served up by Saiatoti were top notch, we were quite pampered and spoiled. Pascal took us to our bungalow after lunch, a fair distance from the main lodge. All the walking paths have a thick layer of sand (brought in from the Tarangire River) and raked each morning so that the staff can see what animals are coming through the camp. On one morning, we saw elephant tracks within five feet of our bungalow. There were always some critter’s tracks on the path each time we walked them. Luckily, we didn’t see any lion tracks, although we heard them each night. The safari tent is covered by a thatched roof with a nice roofed outdoor veranda overlooking the savannah and the Minyonyo pools within the Tarangire River. All the expected amenities are there with special emphasis on the bed facing the veranda. There is both a sitting area and a writing desk to catch up on your journal. All that separates you from the great outdoors in an insect screen. There is an outdoor shower that is partially walled, but also facing the savannah giving you an intimate wilderness feel with the great outdoors.

We ate our breakfasts bush style that John laid out for us. We ate at a small park called Elephant’s Paradise near the Silale swamp with a lot of pretty birds – no elephants. There were a couple animal encounters that stood above all the animal dense park critters. One was an encounter with over twenty elephants walking around the truck. You couldn’t reach out to touch them, but they were all around us and were less than ten feet away. The other amazing encounter was when we were under a large tree with a leopard in it that was having impala for lunch. The leopard came down the tree in front of us, and the noise that all the other impalas made was quite remarkable, they we all barking to the extreme danger at hand. The leopard just walked away. We saw a lioness stalk a reedbuck. The lioness determined the exact time to execute the chase and the race was on. They were both flying through the edge of the swamp when the lioness, leaping and gaining ground jumped into a big puddle and was thrown off her chase just enough to allow the reedbuck to escape. The reedbuck had the after burners on and was gone in a blink of the eye. We continued to follow the lioness as she came upon a single buffalo. The buffalo was unconcerned and ignored her as it munched on some grass. You could tell the lioness was doing the math as she sat there contemplating her next move. Decision made, she walked right past the buffalo and continued down a path. No eating buffalo today.

One our last day we saw two adolescent male elephants sparring during lunch. We always ate in a different area of the camp: next to the pool, up in the second story of the main lodge and the last meal was a secluded area next to a balboa tree where we ate under the stars. Afterwards the entire staff came down to our table and sang their farewell song – Jambo Bwana (or the Hakuna Matata) followed with sparkling fruit juice. Our high teatime before the evening drive was the only communal time spent with other guests and guides. Many stories of everyone’s drive were swapped during that time. Great times!

When we left the lodge for the airstrip, Irene took us with some other guests. She checked us in and waited with us for our plane to arrive. Time was passing and the time that the plane was to arrive saw no plane. Irene worked with Maria (assistant GM back at the lodge) and let Safarilink Aviation know what was happening. We were scheduled to fly with Coastal Airline to Kilimanjaro, switch airlines, go through customs and immigration, board our flight and time was running out. Big thanks to Irene and Maria for getting us to Kilimanjaro and with the help of an airport services agent, we ran through the airport with all that needed to be done and caught our flight in forty-five minutes! Big shout out to all that helped!

This is one of the best places we have ever stayed. The views are spectacular. But most of all the staff are all - without exception - extraordinarily friendly, helpful, attentive, and kind. Everyone went out of their way to be sure we felt special. A wonderful experience!

We would definitely return to Olivers camp and highly recommend staying here. Second that with Tarangire National Park!"

"The Four Points by Sheraton at Nairobi is literally in the airport precinct. It’s a very secure hotel close to the airport. Our driver, Rebecca, brought us over from Wilson Airport. Entering hotel property, we were stopped at a fenced security gate and then the vehicle was searched by an explosive's detection dog. The vehicle was then searched with an under-vehicle mirror. We were helped in getting out of the truck by the hotel porter. When we entered the hotel, our luggage was scanned, and we went through a security screening just as we would at an airport. Our driver Rebecca, escorted us through the hotel lobby to the guest service agent who checked us in.

We went to our room. The room was bright and airy, but our view of the parking garage left us with a desire to keep the curtains closed. The room had everything you would expect - spacious and clean. Small but decent bathrooms with good mirrors and a big comfortable bed. It was nice to know that the hot water of the shower was not of limited quantity as it is at the lodges.

We ate dinner in the hotel restaurant called “The Marketplace”. Our meals were very good with both of us having a salad. We were outside near a patio where a Kenya interest group was meeting. On our way back to the room we stopped by their souvenir shop. There were some interesting items, and all locally produced, but nothing that caught our fancy.

We were initially booked the hotel as a day room, but due to an airline reservation problem, we ended up staying with a day room and an overnight stay. We inquired if we needed a driver for the day, if they could help with that. At the same time, we were trying to contact our outfitter to see if they could arrange another day driver, preferably Rebecca. We couldn’t figure out how to dial out, so we returned to the hotel lobby to talk to the concierge, Sharon. We asked her if she could help us dial London as we seemed incapable of doing that. Sharon made the call, and we were able to get both a driver and Rebecca booked for the next day. Thank you, Sharon!

We got up the next day and went back to the marketplace for breakfast. What a wide selection of items to choose from. Our eyes went overload with the assortment available. We inquired about a ride to the airport and Sharon said one was available usually within five minutes notice.

After spending the day with our driver, we came back to the hotel, to finish packing, and get ready for our flight home. That evening, we hopped into our airport transfer, a small sedan. The drive seemed like a back way cutting through a parking lot and next to some security bollards. Our hotel driver had us stay in the car while he wrestled up a cart for our luggage and helped to get us into the actual airport.

Everyone was very helpful, friendly, and professional. We would definitely recommend this hotel and stay here again next time."