Reviews of Kicheche Mara
(98%) From 39 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Excellent comfortable camp
This was our first visit to the Kicheche Mara camp although we had previously been to other camps owned by Kicheche. The same level of service which we enjoyed at both Bush and Laikipia is immediately apparent on arrival at the camp.
The friendly welcome by Carys and the rest of the staff made us feel immediately at home. The accommodation was excellent and the hot and cold running water was an added bonus. No bucket showers here!! As expected the standard of the food was very impressive, watched over with a careful eye by Wellington, the chef.
Our guide, Saruni was impressive in his ability to locate the most elusive predators, finding a leopard on our first day at camp. The rest of the four night stay was equally impressive in terms of animal sightings. Given that the weather had been somewhat unusual in the weeks leading up to our arrival, Saruni coped extremely well considering the state of the "road" conditions. The long grass proved excellent cover for the cats and made sightings that more difficult but Saruni proved himself on more than one occasion in hunting them down.
Dinner in the evenings after the late afternoon game drive were communal affairs which we much prefer and Carys proved to be an excellent and attentive host.
One of the lovely things about the camp was the number of returning guests which in itself speak volumes for the style and manner in which Kicheche run their camps and for the staff on the ground who manage them.
Kicheche Mara camp - beautiful as ever
We love this camp as it is in a beautiful setting. The camp and the staff were as lovely as usual but the safari drives were a bit difficult due to the large amount of rain which meant access to some areas of the conservancy was not possible. However, we still had fantastic wildlife viewing as in this conservancy the wildlife is abundant.
Our only issue was with the wifi which remains slow.
Kicheche Mara review
This was our second stay at Kicheche Mara, and we’d happily return for subsequent visits.
The rains created quite a challenge for the guides and staff. The river at the entrance of the camp was flooded when we arrived, and we were given Wellington boots to help us navigate the considerable mud in camp. We were not able to cross back over the river for game drives for several days, but there was plenty to see on the camp-side, so we did not feel particularly constricted.
We saw a lot of interesting leopard and lion behavior, and Mara North is an excellent place for those interested in birds. The tents had been plumbed since our last visit 2 years ago, so no more bucket showers, which I kind of missed, but a hot shower on demand is also much appreciated. Kicheche’s emphasis on longer game drives and time in the bush makes me a loyal and returning customer.
A perfect partnership with Laikipia
This was the second camp we stayed at. Three days at Laikipia and 4 days here. We were concerned that it would simply be more of the same. However, although there was, inevitably, substantial overlap in the animals and birds seen, everything was fresh and different. There were animals we hadn't seen at Laikipia (Topi, Wildebeest, Leopard and more), but even the ones we had seen we saw in a new light. The country was different, the behaviour was different and we came to appreciate that EVERY sighting of an animal seen before brought new insight. The Mara is very different to Laikipia and just amazing in its variety. A drive of a few minutes will transform the landscape from vast flat plains to rolling scub-covered hills, to hidden magical valleys with rock strewn rivers. One plain will be completely empty of mammals, the next teeming.
Our guide, Soit, was as informed and incredibly knowledgeable as Josphat had been at Laikipia. He was Masai and we had fascinating conversations with him about the Masai way of life and culture. A lovely man.
Kicheche Mara
I had a great experience at the Kicheche Mara camp..All the staff were very friendly and helpful. The wildlife was plentiful and the game drives were all very interesting.
The area had experienced a lot of rainfall in the weeks prior to my arrival so the roads and paths were quite muddy and challenging to navigate in many locations. On the day I arrived the river that flows through the camp had overflowed it's banks and we were not able cross the river to get to the camp. Before the end of the day, the camp management arranged to have a small helicopter carry myself and two other guests across the river to the camp.
Mara Camp
Mara Camp was a great place to begin our adventure!
The tents were lovely -- we saw lots of wildlife "just outside" our doors, from buffalo to monkeys, dik diks and bushbucks, and one wandering hippo! Our hosts Caris and Bonny were great! We so enjoyed every moment!
Our guides were David and George and they were really terrific! We enjoyed meeting other guests and sharing stories of sighting at dinner. :)!
Excellent Camp
Kicheche Mara has a beautiful setting along a small river. The tents are very well designed and well spread out. The camp is extremely well managed and run and Cerys is an excellent host. The whole staff team appeared to be very well trained and professional; they gave the impression that they genuinely wanted their guests to have a good experience.
Although the camp is very comfortable, the central focus remains on wildlife viewing; we really enjoyed having a bush breakfast each day, for example, rather than having to return to camp as with some other operators. The guiding was excellent and our guide (Saruni) was also very good at anticipating an animal's behaviour and so getting us in a position where the animal was walking towards us (rather than us chasing along behind, getting pictures of bottoms). He also understood the best angles for photography including the importance of light. The wildlife viewing was excellent.
The food was excellent and they were exceptional in how they coped with our complex dietary requirements. It became apparent that their team had discussed how they might do this in advance of our arrival. The chef at Kicheche Mara even phoned the chef at our next camp (Kicheche Valley) to advise him. All of this was very much appreciated.
We loved our stay at Kicheche Mara.
Kicheche Mara review
Very good camp and an excellent guide.
My room could have done with a separate table and chair and it was quite small.
Kicheche Mara review
This camp is in a most lovely setting. It has a great atmosphere and the staff are very well-integrated, friendly and most welcoming. The relief manager, Peter Cadot, was really excellent. He was extremely knowledgeable, about birds in particular, and came with us on one game drive.
The food - picnic breakfasts on game drives, very varied salad-type lunches and 3 course dinners - was delicious, beautifully presented and always interesting.
Our game drives with Richard were fantastic. We were lucky to have him to ourselves for the whole time. He was very patient, had a great sense of humour, and we learnt a lot from him. Every day we had exciting and varied wildlife sightings.
