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Offbeat Mara
Offbeat Mara
Offbeat Mara
Offbeat Mara
Offbeat Mara
Offbeat Mara
Offbeat Mara
Offbeat Mara
Offbeat Mara

Reviews of Offbeat Mara

Wildlife sightings and reviews

41 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Offbeat Mara and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Dec-2018, 17 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Offbeat Mara.
Lion

100% success

Leopard

75% success

Cheetah

100% success

Wild dog

29% success

Buffalo

100% success

Eland

100% success

Elephant

100% success

Giraffe

100% success

Hippo

100% success

Wildebeest

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Spotted Hyena

94% success

Striped Hyena

31% success

Aardvark

8% success

Black Rhino

7% success

Pangolin

0% success

Showing 11-20 of 41
Duration
Arrival date
Jayce
NJ, USA

"Offbeat Mara review"

4 nights Arrived 4 Oct 2021
"It was my first time staying at rustic bush camp and I was initially worried that we would not have running water and wifi in the tents. Turns out, I don't really need them. The tent was spacious and comfy and this was one vacation that I really had more than enough comfortable sleep. The bucket shower was quite interesting and by the second day, ive been an expert already with its use.

The friendly, courteous, professional and thoughtful staff members are the stars of this property. They call their guests by name. And with them being so accomodating, i think I've memorized all their names as well. Did i mention the food? It was like dining in a Michelin restaurant every time.

The wake up call (with coffee and cookies) really added a warm personal touch to their service and accomodation.

Kudos to Bob, Carol, Elizabeth, Nicholas, Kevin anfd Wilson. Shout out to the chef who really was very talented.

I would love to stay at this property again." See all these reviews: 5n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Cheetah

8 sightings

Eland

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

4 sightings

Lion

6 sightings

Spotted Hyena

10 sightings

Striped Hyena

4 sightings

Wild dog

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Ms E.
New York

"Spectacular"

4 nights Arrived 7 Nov 2020
"Offbeat Mara was the highlight of the trip.

I was blown away by the game viewing, 4 kills, lions every day, lion cubs and a cheetah baby, a hippo fight, everything you could possibly want to see. Lots of drama and excitement.

My wonderful Maasai guide was by far the best-dressed of anyone all trip, and I even did yoga with the (only again!) other guest and a staffer. The other guest had an app we used.

I found out the results of the U.S. election while there and Jen, the camp manager was a joy to share that with and celebrate with. She was nearly as invested in the results as I was." See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Cheetah

Multiple sightings

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mr M
Cambridge

"Offbeat Mara totally on the ball"

4 nights Arrived 19 Oct 2020
"We stayed 4 nights at Offbeat and had a thoroughly wonderful experience.

The staff are all enormously welcoming and helpful, relaxed but excellent service. Jennifer the manager is a force of nature and personality: a brilliant hostess and organiser.
Geoffrey kept glasses topped up and plates brimming. The food was simple but varied in style, and excellent in taste and quantity.

Offbeat is a place for safari enthusiasts - everything is laid on for game drives, walks and even Mara-thon jogging. Nothing was too much trouble for our excellent Maasai guide and spotter, Muli and Simo, who were outstanding as both hosts and companions.

Make sure to spend some time at the Mara river - not for migration but just for the magic of the location and to see what appears." See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

4 sightings

Cheetah

4 sightings

Eland

4 sightings

Elephant

4 sightings

Giraffe

4 sightings

Hippo

2 sightings

Lion

4 sightings

Spotted Hyena

4 sightings

Wildebeest

8 sightings

Zebra

8 sightings

Mr & Mrs C
Bristol

"Offbeat Mara Review Feb '20"

4 nights Arrived 25 Feb 2020
"As a tented and ecologically friendly camp, Offbeat Mara has some interesting quirks, like the bucket showers, pitchers of warm water provided for washing and solar powered lighting. However, we found the overall level of comfort to still be excellent – glamping in grand style! The food was also of exceptional quality, accommodating our dietary requirements. On our first night we were taken out to enjoy a bush dinner, complete with camp fire.

We did not have any breakfasts in the camp as the opportunity was offered to take a picnic as part of the morning activity. This meant that we were out from 6:30am until lunch time, with no pressure to rush back. On one morning we broke our drive to meet a ranger and then continue on foot to the breakfast stop; on two other mornings we drove further afield and were thus able to have sightings of a leopard, and some lions which had killed a warthog. Not being constrained to a strict schedule was a definite bonus.

This included extending the evening game drive beyond sunset, which gave us the opportunity to observe the nocturnal behaviour of some of the more familiar daytime species and also to see a spring hare, nightjars and white tailed mongooses.

Our Masai guide, Joseph, was experienced and knowledgable, not only about the wildlife and birds but also about the workings of the Mara North Conservancy. As community-owned land, cattle are allowed to graze but under a managed system of zones, and this seems to be working well. There was an abundance of herbivores enjoying the shorter fresh grass, courtesy of the cows, and we had good sightings of carnivores, too.

My wife celebrated a birthday during our safari holiday and we very much appreciated the surprise that Jennifer arranged – thank you!" See all these reviews: 7n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

7 sightings

Cheetah

1 sighting

Eland

8 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

9 sightings

Hippo

3 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

7 sightings

Spotted Hyena

9 sightings

Wildebeest

8 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Two Travellers
UK

"Offbeat Mara review"

3 nights Arrived 2 Feb 2020
"We had a great stay at Offbeat, and really enjoyed the rustic yet comfortable and relaxed, friendly style of the camp.

Much of this was down to the wonderful manager Jennifer, who was always cheerful and unflustered, notwithstanding what must have been some tricky behind the scenes juggling caused by the difficulty for jeeps and supply vehicles getting about in the extremely wet and muddy conditions. The food was delicious and hot and cold water for showering and washing was always on hand (although the shower itself was perhaps slightly on the feeble side, even allowing for the idiosyncrasies of bucket showers).

Most importantly, we managed good cat and other sightings (including birds) with our excellent guide Stanley, and very much enjoyed seeing large numbers of topi and other grazers tucking in to the lush grass in the open landscape of Mara North - which we found quite a contrast to the other, more densely thicketed, conservancies we have visited. It was also very nice to have a vehicle to ourselves during the course of our stay." See all these reviews: 7n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Mr &Mrs W
Bamford

"Offbeat Mara review"

3 nights Arrived 25 Dec 2019
"Jennifer the wonderfully friendly camp manager created a Christmas feast with transitional Masai singing and dancing, gifts and crackers. Incredible staff food and organisation." See all these reviews: 8n in Kenya; 6n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Cheetah

5 sightings

Eland

4 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

8 sightings

Hippo

4 sightings

Leopard

2 sightings

Lion

5 sightings

Striped Hyena

3 sightings

Wildebeest

8 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr & Mrs B
Hampton

"A truly wonderful safari"

4 nights Arrived 4 Oct 2019
"We had a wonderful stay at Offbeat.

The in house staff were so friendly and helpful and the guides knowledgeable. We saw much more wildlife than we expected including cheetah, lions and leopard!

We had delicious food and ended our stay with sundowners out under a tree watching the sun go down and then dinner under the stars and a Masai celebratory dance.

A huge thank you to everyone there." See all these reviews: 5n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Cheetah

10 sightings

Eland

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

8 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

10 sightings

Spotted Hyena

10 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Pandc
Evesham

"Wonderful welcome!"

2 nights Arrived 27 Aug 2019
"Landing at Mara north was a bit disconcerting as there were a lot of vehicles picking up guests. We were relieved when 2 Maasai stepped forward for us- Joseph ,our guide and Kimani, our spotter. We had our own Safari vehicle for our stay, which was great. The Mara didn’t disappoint and almost immediately we were away from any other vehicles looking at all the amazing game including 2 sleeping cheetahs.

We were met at the camp by Jennifer the camp manager and a group of staff. The tent was very comfortable and the bush shower was great. The loo was a bit smelly and difficult to flush.

The comfort and design of the communal areas was lovely and the atmosphere on the camp was very friendly. The food at dinner was disappointing, although lunchtime salads were good and bush breakfasts were fine.

Great game watching, although the design of the vehicles meant it was a little difficult to communicate with the guide. Joseph was very interesting and knowledgable regarding the problems with the local community and farming/game viewing." See all these reviews: 7n in Mozambique; 7n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Cheetah

4 sightings

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

4 sightings

Hippo

3 sightings

Lion

6 sightings

Spotted Hyena

6 sightings

Wildebeest

6 sightings

Zebra

6 sightings

Mr BG
Newport Coast

"Offbeat Mara review"

4 nights Arrived 20 Jan 2019
"Great camp with good service, guiding, food, and excellent game viewing!" See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania; 4n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Average
Mr T.
Bangkok

"Fabulous Mara"

3 nights Arrived 21 Dec 2018
"We had a great stay at Offbeat Mara. We were lucky to see a lion kill - a baby giraffe - just outside the camp. Lots of game and amazing guides. A lovely camp with great food!" See all these reviews: 9n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

2 sightings

Buffalo

3 sightings

Cheetah

2 sightings

Eland

1 sighting

Elephant

5 sightings

Giraffe

5 sightings

Hippo

3 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

10 sightings

Spotted Hyena

6 sightings

Wildebeest

2 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Showing 11-20 of 41
98%
41 reviews of Offbeat Mara by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
38
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1
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0
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