Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Nestled in a grove of wild olive trees in one of the prime game viewing areas of the reserve, Kicheche Mara Camp is presented in classic safari style. Completely unfenced, the surrounding wildlife is free to enter the camp, allowing the game viewing experience to begin on the private verandah of your tent. With just eleven tents, the camp has been designed to offer an ‘intimate' ambience, with the emphasis on personal service, fine cuisine and eco-friendliness.
World renowned for the breathtaking spectacle of ‘the greatest wildlife show on earth', the awe inspiring annual migration of the wildebeest, the Mara is Kenya's most visited protected area. Technically an extension of Tanzania's renowned Serengeti National Park, the Mara constitutes only 4% of the entire Serengeti ecosystem but its rolling grasslands, meandering rivers and towering escarpments offer one of the world's most rewarding and evocative wildlife arenas.
Kenya hotels and accommodation
Amongst the wide range of Kenya hotels, some make the ideal Kenya safari destination. Choose a safari lodge, safari hotel, bush camp, luxury lodge, safari camp, tented camp or bush lodge. National park accommodation usually takes the form of a traditional safari lodge or tented camp, but numerous other options exist on the park boundaries. Luxury lodges and luxury camp options are also offered in the private wildlife conservancies.
Location
The Masai Mara is 270 miles from Nairobi (five hours by road). All weather air strip - less than an hour from Nairobi by plane. Kicheche is located on the Aitong Plains in the northern Koiyaki Lemek region of the famous Masai Mara Reserve.
Access: By air - A scheduled one hour Air Kenya flight from Nairobi's Wilson Airport to the Mara Ngerende airstrip. Air Kenya fly twice a day; morning flights departing at 10h00 (10 a.m.), afternoon at 15h00 (3 p.m.). Air Kenya also operate a daily service from Nanyuki to the Ngerende airstrip departing 10h00 (10 a.m) and also from Samburu departing 0915. There is a 120 minute daily service from Mombasa departing at 0800 (exact departure time depends upon which airline). The camp is a 20-minute game drive from the airstrip
By road: 4½ hours drive from Nairobi.
The Miracle of the Migration of the Wildebeest
All the time, when on the move, the wildebeest emit harsh grunts, something like the sound of frogs, something like that of old men clearing their throats. People have called them ungainly because of their high shoulders and sloping hindquarters and also clowns because of their long pale faces and white beards, but in fact they move with grace and sometimes playfulness, leaping and cavorting with apparent joie de vivre.
Last Days in Eden
Elspeth Huxley and Hugo van Lawick
Between the end of July and November, over one and a half million wildebeest accompanied by half again as many zebras and gazelles, migrate from the short-grass plains of the Serengeti to fresh pasture in the grasslands of the Mara; thus creating one of nature's grandest spectacles. Moving in groups of up to 20,000 at a time they thunder across the plateau hesitating only briefly to cross the Mara River, where many fall prey to the waiting crocodiles. Towards the end of October they begin crossing back into Tanzania. The actual timing of the migration, however, is dictated by the weather and does not always ‘run to schedule'.
Accommodation
There are 11 spacious luxury tents, each with an ensuite bathroom (24-hour hot water, showers and flushed WCs). Charmingly furnished, the tents offer 24-hour solar power. The private verandahs feature traditional safari chairs while hammocks are slung between neighbouring trees. Additional beds can be supplied.
Dining and bars
The camp features a spacious dining tent with a fully-stocked bar. The majority of meals, however, are served in a wooded grove overlooking the plains. The camp also offers a central lounge tent with an extensive safari library.
Wildlife highlights
Offering an abundance of herbivores, the Mara makes the ideal hunting ground for Kenya's famous ‘big cats' and hosts her largest population of lions. It also offers the best chance of spotting a leopard in the wild. Other predators include cheetah and spotted hyena. Historically teaming with wildlife, the Mara is famous for the large herds of elephant and buffalo that meander its plains; also for the fat pods of hippo that wallow in its mud-brown rivers. Other stars include the distinctive Masai giraffe, plum-coloured topi, Coke's hartebeest, Grant's and Thomson's gazelle, zebra, impala, Kirk's dik-dik, bushbuck, waterbuck and red duiker. The Reserve also boasts plentiful Nile crocodile, monitor lizard, baboon, vervet, blue and red-tailed monkeys, nocturnal bush babies, and tree hyrax. There are over 550 resident and migratory species of birds.
Child-friendly
Children are welcome but parents are warned that the camp is not fenced. Triple tents can be provided upon request.
What to see and do
Morning and afternoon game drives are offered in customized 4WD landcruiser veicles with roof hatches. Typically, guests will be woken with tea in the tent before joining an early morning game drive, which typically takes 2-3 hours. A full breakfast is served in camp, as is lunch. The afternoon game drive departs at around 4pm and returns in time for cocktails around the campfire. Dinner is served al fresco or by candlelight. Guided nature walks are offered (with professional guidance and armed escort).
When it comes to game-viewing, there is nowhere in Africa richer in wildlife or more eventful in encounters than the Mara. A pristine wilderness of haunting beauty, it promises its visitors a profusion of wildlife, prolific bird life and the unprecedented opportunity of catching up with all the members of the ‘Big Five' in one morning.
As to scenery, the 1,800 sq kilometres of this veteran reserve offer the classic mix of African imagery; miles of lion-gold grasslands, shoals of lilac-misted hills, a meandering river, acres of thorn-bush and mile upon mile of undulating wilderness. Meanwhile, back in the cool of the camp, guests can lounge by the 12.5 metre ‘lap' pool with views out over the savanna. There is also a charming gift shop.
Kicheche Mara Camp - Masai Mara • Traditional Tented Camp • Kenya Hotels, Safari Lodges & Camps
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