Reviews of Offbeat Mara
Wildlife sightings and reviews
44 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
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95% success
24% success
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25% success
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"Wonderful welcome!"
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
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
"Offbeat Mara review"
"Fabulous Mara"
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
"Offbeat Mara review"
"Fantastic stay at Offbeat Mara"
Activity-wise it was all about the drives (although we loved our visit to a local Maasai village one afternoon/evening) - I believe Jesse is waiting on his rifle licence, which will mean he can offer walking safaris which I think would be a good addition. But the drives were amazing and we loved it that one day we got back to camp after a whole day out - and Jesse said 'jump in the jeep, a leopard's been spotted close to camp'. And we found her! So lucky and so glorious to have a local resident leopard - we saw her a couple of times after that, including one incident when she dispatched an infant warthog (cue lots of noise!). We really appreciated that genuine want on the part of the management to ensure we had the best possible experience.
Seeing a crossing was epic (our all-day excursion into the National Reserve was just brilliant) and the guides seemed to know place after wonderful place for breakfast stops. Having bacon and eggs - and a coffee - by a watering hole for zebra in the sunshine and by a hippo and croc-infested river was really special.
We also did an AMAZING night drive with our fellow seriously good fun guests... tearing around the plains on the roof of a Landcruiser with a couple of bottles of wine in tow was absolutely brilliant (though I don't want to get anyone into trouble!).
I feel a bit unfair marking the food and activities 'good' rather than 'excellent' - but that's just because I'm comparing them with Borana (which had a full-service kitchen whereas of course Offbeat doesn't!)... I thought it was all seriously good.
Overall - the Mara is in a league of its own in terms of the sheer abundance of game. Offbeat Mara was a fabulous base and we'd love to go back some day. Special mention to Jesse, Sam, Josphat and Komani for the laughs, attention to detail and general marvellousness!" See all these reviews: 8n in Kenya; 5n in Zanzibar
"Offbeat Mara review"
The contrast in the landscape with Meru could not be greater, open plains compared to deeper bush, which is why the 2 camps makes an excellent combination. Lucky enough to see 2 separate prides of lions eating their kill, large herds of Zebra and Gazelles as well as Topi, water buck and different birds to that seen at Meru. Both camps offer morning game drives taking picnic breakfast with you, which makes game drives longer then normal, but does give you the opportunity to stay out and see more wildlife.
An opportunity that I took up on every occasion, and very worthwhile." See all these reviews: 5n in Kenya
"A little piece of HAVEN!!"
From the moment we turned into this camp it was WONDERFUL!! Karl and Lara were there to meet us with some of their great staff. They made us feel so welcome and very comfortable. The whole experience here was truly amazing, the tents bucket showers(you could have a few a day - if you wanted) the quality of the food their chef produced was fabulous. One night we had this camp to ourselves, what a special treat.
One night, Karl had set up sundowner drinks in a location which he didn't realised was being shared with a group of lion cubs how special was that.
We had the most incredible four nights staying in Offbeat and would love to go back." See all these reviews: 11n in Kenya
"Excellent Camp"
One guest did complain, it seemed she wanted 5 star service and bucket showers did not meet this but for us it was perfectly good and All we needed." See all these reviews: 6n in Seychelles; 4n in Kenya
"The Mara experience without the crowds"
It had been a rainy period and also rained at night while we were there so there was lots of grass. Our guide David said that there had not been this much grass in ten years. He was a really excellent guide along with spotter Kapen. They knew my wife is a birder so helped her add lots of new birds to her checklist. Also, they shared with us the culture of the Masai people. Most of the time we were the only two in the vehicle with the guide and spotter. January is a good time to visit if you want more of a private experience and are not wanting to be there during the migration.
We still saw lots of wildlife. The first evening safari drive we got the "cat trick" ( leopard, cheetah, and lion). We had one other day that we repeated the cat trick with a leopard mother and cub, cheetah on a kill and a whole pride of lions, two big males, four lionesses and 7 cubs. This camp seems to be located in a real game hotspot. Most of our good sighting were within a mile of the camp. It sits along the river where the leopards hang out and the open plains are just up the hill where the game and the other big cats are hunting.
The conservancy is very pristine and beautiful with the open grassy plains dotted with flat top acacia. There are rivers running through with trees lining them. There are some really large elephants and lots of giraffe.
The tents were large and comfortable with king size beds and in suite bathrooms. The staff were all extremely friendly and the managers, Kyle and Lara were helpful and had lots of interesting stories to tell at meal time. The chef was really good and created lots of variety in his menu. We took breakfast with us to eat out on safari.
You are able to do night drives and walks since it is in the conservancy. We did both and they were both fun." See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya
"Great safari but contradictory feelings"
Another advantage is that you go on safari and you can stay as much as you like without any fixed timetable from the lodge. The landowner of the lodge is very flexible and accommodative.
On the low side, the activities and the service. Although we spent there our New Year's Eve, nothing special was planned and the service was very poor, even the fruits that are so numerous in Africa were so much limited in variety. We had also hard time with the bucket of water in our shower." See all these reviews: 5n in Kenya; 3n in Tanzania
The camp received a full supply delivery to the kitchen on the 30th of December and had a plentiful variety of fruit in camp so they are very sorry if these guests missed it. They also apologise if these guests were unaware of the safari shower system when booking the camp and we at Expert Africa should have taken more care to explain that to these guests.
"East Africa Manager"
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