Masai Mara National Reserve

good birding

God's Gardne of Eden in Africa for Man and Beast To Love and Enjoy.

Jambo - the safari was a dream come true. The scenery is something no one can explain until one experience it first hand. The food was great and so was the accommodation. Loved the tenting lodges at Masi Mara Leisure camp and the people - a few of the high lights were going to the Masai Mara Village and being chased by a White Rhino at Lake Nakuru National Park and seeing the Hippo's come to graze at night time at Lake Nivasha Lodge. The two guides Simon and Eratus were the best. Their patients and knowledge of the parks was great and fantastic driving as well. The weather was cool at night and early morning which we never expected, that was great. We went in late April and early May 2014.

The animals are great, but the travel companies could be better.

We had a short safari (2 nights) at Mara Intrepids, Masai Mara National Reserve. We loved the wildlife. Population density is high, and it was not hard to locate the big cats. Leopards, cheetahs, lions, elephants, and giraffes abound. On the first hour of the first day, we came 10m from a leopard! On the other hand, the people were less than stellar. Negotiating with the hotel manager and Wilderness Bookings was difficult, to say the least. Calls were not returned, agreed upon prices changed (and kept changing), extras crept onto our bill, and there was stampede to our wallets which put the wildlife to shame.

Savannah. For real.

Masai Mara is the kenyan reserve to visit if you want to experience the large plains of the savannah. This is the bush, and it has a lot of "bush vibe". It offers a lot of animals, from elephants to cheetas, lions and hippos.
By the border and the river you can get escorted by armed KWS guards to watch hippos and crocodiles whilst out walking. Wonderful experience. Wonderful park.

An experience spoilt in one day.

Our visit to the Masai Mara was spoilt in one day by a visit to Observation Hill. Was a disgusting scene to behold. The area is used a toilet stop except that there are no toilets. Hundreds of people a day use this area as a viewing point and a makeshift toilet. As the only stop for the day, one had no option. I am told the female area was particularly disgusting. The area is a disgrace to the National Park system and to the Kenyan Government. Were does all the money collected as park fees go. One wonders.

Ol Seki in Mara Naboisho
This was the last part of our Safari. The accommodation is very upmarket, in robust tents, embedded in the middle of the wilderness. It is a 10 min drive from the airstrip, and it is located in the heart of the Naboisho conservancy.
Run by a British Manager, this place is spotless, clean, very well looked after and the Manager (Melinda) looks after all guest very well. There are 6 tents, and all guests meet for breakfast, lunch and Dinner, depending on the safari arrangements, but if preferred the meals can be brought to the individual tents. Whilst we were here, all other guests were British and all were on honeymoon. This may alienate guests from other countries. There is electricity all day and decent Wifi to upload images. There is excellent hot shower (with extra boost in the evening).
Wildlife is excellent, we sighted a cheetah with a fresh kill, crocodiles, of course lions, giraffes and elephants and all the wildebeests, impalas, and gazelles. We had a one-day excursion to Masai Mara, which was to watch the large migrations, mainly zebras and wildebeest. David our driver was very experienced, and had lots of stories to tell. He knew the spots for photography and made stops when requested.
Overall this place was best for luxury, great food and service, great for wildlife, but less impressive for scenery than Meru.
Note, the masai mara has much less of a bush vibe than the Naboisho conservancy, where our lodge was. We made a day trip to the actual masai mara, which was full of minibuses, loaded with tourists and there was no feeling of solitude. The three stars for the bush vibe relate to that park, The Naboisho conservancy instead gets four stars for bush vibe!

Beautiful surroundings - we visited the park at the time of the wildebeest migration - an amazing experience. Guides and fellow tourists not particularly knowledgeable or interested regarding birds. However, what I saw/identified led me to believe that this would be a good birding destination. Visited a luxurious lodge in the middle of the Masai Mara - not much bush vibe there!

Amazing!

We shared our visit to Masai Mara with some friends, who had never done Safari before. We enjoyed their enthousiasm :-). In the park you find no traces of any human waste, the wildlife was abundant. The one thing we missed, were the big groups of wildebeest, but this time of the year, most of them are in the Serengeti.
In 4 days, we have seen Lions, cheeta, zebras, wildebeest, hartebeest, maraboe, mangoest, impala, topi, hyena, buffalo, gazelle, vultures, crocodile, hippo, eagles ....
We hope to visit the park again.

June may not be the best time to visit

June, being the time of the year just before the Migration, was not the best time to visit. The grass was very high and smaller big cats like Cheetahs and Leopards were impossible to spot in the grass growth.

Still the bigger wildlife like Wildebeests, Buffaloes, Elephants and Giraffes were almost common without compromising on the 'wild' feel. Lions were quite easy to spot but the Male lions were quite elusive.

Stunningly impressive

Everything was superb. The only downside: poor Internet connection at the hotel. OK, it was a time to relax and savor the habitat.