Reviews of Hemingways Ol Seki
Wildlife sightings and reviews
4 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Hemingways Ol Seki and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"It's all about the wildlife"
The food was OK but there is no choice, although i understand you can pre-order vegetarian or pescatarian options.The lunches were the best meal, tending towards lighter salads. Dinner was a four-course affair with starter, soup, main course (mostly consisting of some sort of meat in gravy with potatoes and veg) plus pudding. It felt like nothing had changed in fifty years from a culinary point of view! The closest comparison i can imagine is a skiing chalet holiday. There was no choice of alcohol and no ability to pay extra to upgrade so it was basic white or red wine or beer.
Service was pleasant and fairly friendly and David, the manager, was very visible and helpful.
The game drives were very good, the jeeps are quite new and comfortable and Patrick, our guide, was excellent. There is so much game here. We had numerous close sightings of lions, cheetahs, leopards, herds of elephants, giraffes, hyenas, jackals, warthogs etc.
What I felt was missing were the little extras which we have usually enjoyed on safari although, to be fair, this might be down to COVID as there were only 4 or 5 of us in camp so they must be struggling financially. Bush breakfasts and dinners cost extra, as did the bush walk we enjoyed and there was no tea and coffee on the morning game drives and in the evening drive there was little choice and only crisps and Bombay mix on offer. However, this was also our first Kenyan safari so maybe things are different here.
Bottom line, a safari is all about the animals and Ol Seki delivers this in spades." See all these reviews: 4n in Kenya
"Africa Specialist"
Buffalo
3 sightings
Cheetah
2 sightings
Eland
10 sightings
Elephant
6 sightings
Giraffe
8 sightings
Hippo
8 sightings
Leopard
2 sightings
Lion
5 sightings
Spotted Hyena
3 sightings
Wildebeest
10 sightings
Zebra
10 sightings
"Amazing wildlife sightings"
I would highly recommend the day trip to the Masai Mara, Richard recommended this and included it in our trip, and it was phenomenal. Yes it does mean quite a lot of driving, but what a shame to miss out on lunch by the river, close to hippos, crocodiles, elephants and buffalo for the sake of a couple more hours in the car. We saw the five cheetah brothers hunting warthog babies (a bit sad as the babies were so cute!), as well as a prolonged leopard sighting. The sheer scale of the reserve is amazing, at one point we drove for two hours without seeing anyone else. Having said that, at the leopard sighting, we were soon joined by about 30 other jeeps, which made us appreciate our stay in the conservancy even more.
Ol Seki offers night drives for free, and we did two. Don't miss these, we saw nocturnal species, and a leopard on a hunt.
The tents are comfortable and large, and there is a view of the watering hole from the deck. the camp is not the most luxurious, but the staff are very friendly and the sightings were amazing.
Would also recommend the trip to the village, our guide took us to his village, so we got to meet his beautiful wife and daughters (who we had heard lots about already). It was really interested to learn about the Masai culture and compare it to the village we visited in Samburu. Take money for local crafts, they were very reasonably priced." See all these reviews: 6n in Kenya
Buffalo
5 sightings
Cheetah
3 sightings
Elephant
8 sightings
Giraffe
10 sightings
Hippo
6 sightings
Leopard
3 sightings
Lion
10 sightings
Spotted Hyena
7 sightings
Wildebeest
10 sightings
Zebra
10 sightings
"Fantastic safari at Hemingway Ol Seki"
What we did experience was simply fantastic in every respect .
We arrived on a small plane from Wilson which gave us the first views of the country and animals below . As we landed there were giraffes at the end of the runway, a really special start for the next four days that just got better.
Out tent was as spacious and well positioned looking out over the plain that we could have hoped for .The room was well equipped and comfortable . The shower was fine and toilet facilities as good as home .
We were made very welcome by Debbie and her staff on arrival and the standard of service, attention for our comfort and experience was paramount at all times .
Debbie explained how she is introducing further changes to customer care , and whilst we were more than satisfied , this will only make the whole experience better .
The atmosphere around the camp was relaxed and we enjoyed the small groups and meeting other people .
Our safari guides Raffi and Issac were exceptional in their knowledge of the country ,animals , local ways etc .They were very patient in tracking the animals and obviously knew the best time of day to seek out the best sightings.
What surprised us was the large number of animals on the plains and shrub areas , so every trip out we were delighted by new animals , chases,kills .we were lucky to see leopards in the conversancy and in the national park .
We had some heavy rain at night which caused some of the river crossings to be partially washed away ,as what was a quiet small river/ stream one day was a torrent the next .
Meal times were a great time for us all to catch up what we had seen that morning or evening .One of the staff would welcome us and would announce the menu .The food was very good , varied ,with sensible portions .In the evenings we would be escorted by one of the warriors to and frm the dining tent .The sundowners out on safari then pre dinner drinks was always a pleasure as a large gin and tonic was certainly that !" See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya
"Hemingways is luxury in the Mara"
The guide was superb, Rafi Rotokin, so knowledgable and so thoughtful as well as an exceptional spotter.
The food and atmosphere at the camp was outstanding. The shared dinning and lounge area made for great connections and great stories.
This really is the place to stay - look no further." See all these reviews: 11n in Kenya
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