Best lodges in the Mara for game

Any recommendations on the best lodges in the Mara, when it comes to
being in prime game territory - especially predators? The idea would
be to get to something "interesting" as soon as possible, without
having to cross half the game reserve first.

Keekorok appears to be highly recommended - how does that compare to,
say, Sarova Camp?

Also, with the migration moving later and later, would it be worth
heading there in June? Or, for that matter, would July be
significantly better? Or should we just think of Sep/Oct instead? The
current drought is also throwing off my planning, so any recent
news/comments on this would also be appreciated.

Cheers,
Vandit

In message .com
"VK" wrote:

Any recommendations on the best lodges in the Mara, when it comes to
being in prime game territory - especially predators? The idea would
be to get to something "interesting" as soon as possible, without
having to cross half the game reserve first.

Keekorok appears to be highly recommended - how does that compare to,
say, Sarova Camp?

It depends on when you're there.
The migration moves within the Mara, so, for example when it crosses
into Kenya, Keekorok is best located. In mid-August, it's Serena,
which is well-located for viewing the wildebeest crossing the river
(I've heard - our driver told us last time the river crossing near
Serena starts around 13/14 August, but I can hardly believe it's an
exact science any more than the date of them 'crossing the border' is.
In any case that's another retirement trip for me as I need to be back
at work in mid-August.) Others will have to fill you in on which
lodges are best as the migration progresses, e.g. in September I
believe the lodges to the north would be better located, e.g. Mara
River Camp.

Also, with the migration moving later and later, would it be worth
heading there in June? Or, for that matter, would July be
significantly better?
You can't predict this far in advance.
Sometimes it can be in the Mara in mid-June, we were *once* in the
Mara (1995) and nothing had arrived by the end of the second week in
July, but we heard the animals had arrived a few days later. The last
time we were there - 2002 :-(, there were very few zebra and
wildebeest to be seen on our first early morning drive out of
Keekorok. After breakfast we went out again and it was unbelievable:
there were thousands of animals piling in! This was the third week in
July.

Or should we just think of Sep/Oct instead? The
current drought is also throwing off my planning, so any recent
news/comments on this would also be appreciated.
I thought it was mainly affecting the north-east of the country?
Maybe I'm a bit out of date on this.

Safari njema!

Liz

--
Virtual Liz: http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
Photo blog of Make Povery History rally in Edinburgh 2 July 2005:
http://www.v-liz.com/g8rally/protest.htm

On 2006-02-24 18:00:00 +0100, "VK" said:

Keekorok appears to be highly recommended - how does that compare to,
say, Sarova Camp?

Didn't go to Keekorok, stayed at Sarova Camp, which I found too close
to the perimeters, but there were lions all over the place - to the
point of boredom.

Geir

You may want to consider one of the tented camps rather than the lodges
which tend to be very busy. This gives you more freedom and less
competition. I recommend Serian - a small luxury tented camp opened
about 2 years ago. More information on my website at
http://www.safarisandexpeditions.com...hp?id_lodge=56. Game is
always good in the mara but best when the migration heads in - consider
August / September.

Tom


VK wrote:
Any recommendations on the best lodges in the Mara, when it comes to
being in prime game territory - especially predators? The idea would
be to get to something "interesting" as soon as possible, without
having to cross half the game reserve first.

Keekorok appears to be highly recommended - how does that compare to,
say, Sarova Camp?

Also, with the migration moving later and later, would it be worth
heading there in June? Or, for that matter, would July be
significantly better? Or should we just think of Sep/Oct instead? The
current drought is also throwing off my planning, so any recent
news/comments on this would also be appreciated.

Cheers,
Vandit

In message .com
"Tom" wrote:

You may want to consider one of the tented camps rather than the lodges
which tend to be very busy.
Fairy nuff, though the small tented camps can be much more expensive.
But it's certainly nice to spend a night or two 'under canvas'.

This gives you more freedom and less competition.
Can you please explain this sentence? I just can't understand what
point you're making. You surely have the same freedom because it's up
to you and your driver/guide what you do.
Did you mean less competition for beds in the peak season? I couldn't
comment if so, but otherwise ...?

Slainte

Liz

--
Virtual Liz: http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
Photo blog of Make Povery History rally in Edinburgh 2 July 2005:
http://www.v-liz.com/g8rally/protest.htm

In message .com
"Tom" wrote:

True - it is a question of available budget. The lodges are the best
value for the $.
It all depends on what the visitor wants. Some of the camps are very
much geared towards the American visitor, which presumably some
Americans find reassuring. I always like to have at least a couple of
nights in a camp, but would prefer to have three weeks in lodges than
10 days in small camps, but of course, some people don't get three
weeks of travel time all at once. I've got the time, but not the
money!

As to more freedom and less competition - have you
ever been on a game run near one of the larger lodges? 20 cars
surrounding a cheetah or a lion - not really what I call freedom. Yes -
your driver can take you to where you want, but the weary drivers just
follow the herd (or other cars) and their incessant radio chatter calls
them from one cat to the next. You really want to avoid this fs at all
possible.
We've clearly had more luck with our driver-guides.
We tell them what we want to do/see and that's what we try for, though
not being so rigid that we miss anything that we hadn't bargained on.
Basically, our drivers have all wanted to be helpful, I'd have thought
that most drivers, even if unhelpful, still had their eye on the tip
at the end of the trip.
Having said that, a high proportion of visitors, especially
first-timers, want to see Big Cats, so that's what they get! I've
actually heard Americans saying that was *all* they were interested in
seeing!
Granted, the new radio thing is a mixed blessing. We asked our driver
to turn it off at times. Generally, when he said "there's a
lion/cheetah at ..." we'd say, "Is it doing anything?", to which the
answer was usually no, so we didn't have to waste our time.
We had the same driver on three of our trips, so he knows we often
want to spend all of a game drive at the same thing, if possible, so
he brings a newspaper or book, or reads one of ours, but still keeps
an eye out, so that e.g. when we were watching elephants crossing the
Uaso Nyiro and totally intent on this, he quietly pointed out some
baboons bounding across the river behind us, in a sort of 'in case
you're interested' manner.



My experience of the smaller camps is that they have good
drivers who will try to keep you away from the crowds. Also, as the
camps are smaller, there is less competition to view the same Cheetah
or lion or whatever they find than near the busier travelled routes
/lodges.
Everyone has to make their own decision. We prefer to have our own
driver/guide for the whole trip so that they get to know our modus
operandi (e.g. my husband is an artist, which has specialist needs).
Also, we're not keen on sharing with others and having to compromise:
going in a shared vehicle with others who may not have the same
interests or aims as you have can't be optimal: they may well want to
spend ages with the sleeping lions.
E.g. the last time we were at Treetops, I went out in their vehicle
with a load of people who were newly arrived on their first safari.
The driver pointed out a troup of Colobus Monkeys ahead, which I was
*very* keen to see and photograph, but the other people in the vehicle
were literally just off the plane and wanted him to stop to look at a
herd of buffalo about 1/4 mile away down a steep valley (the monkeys
were playing in trees rightat the side of the road!) which they did
for 15 minutes, by which time the monkeys had gone. The poor driver
kept 'pushing' the Colobus, but without success. Call me wierd (I was
a minority of one), but views of tops of the backs of distant buffalo
don't do much for me.
It was the same in Selous (a small tented camp). We went out with
their guides, who were excellent, but we had to share with a man and
his two sons, who were first-timers and had different interests.


Getting out of the car and doing some walking (specialities at Serian
and other camps) gives you another perspective than from behind glass
in a car.
'Game walks' don't do much for me either: I walk a lot in the
countryside at home, so it isn't such great shakes. IME you don't get
near enough to anything to photograph, and although all the
information about the plants, seeds etc is very interesting, I tend to
forget 90% of it. I know that others on this group **really** enjoy
game walks, so again everyone is different and has to make up their
own mind.

I like the bird walks which the most of the lodges and camps do: the
guides usually know exactly where to find all the species, which never
seems to be all that easy when you go out and look for yourself! But I
suppose most visitors aren't interested in the smaller or less
spectacular birds.

The smaller camps have advantages: they're more intimate, you can
generally chat more to the staff, which is usually very interesting,
and you might get to know your fellow-guests more easily (unless
they're travelling in a group), which may, or may not, be a Good
Thing. We've found that in the lodges, they tend to put the two-seater
tables in their own areas in the dining room, so you can easily enough
get chatting that way - the groups tend to stick together. Some of
the small camps/homestays eat 'en famille', which is nice: I noticed
at Okonjima Bush Camp that the staff seemed to be very skilled in
getting the guests to mix and mingle.

So many choices: so little time!

Slainte

Liz

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Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
Photo blog of Make Povery History rally in Edinburgh 2 July 2005:
http://www.v-liz.com/g8rally/protest.htm

I'll chime in with this - where you sleep is not such
an important factor for game viewing in the Mara.
I always recommend the Serena as #1 for its central location,
quality of staff, accommodations, value, etc.

Mara Intrepids publicizes its nearness to some of the
sites featured in Big Cat Diary. My clients who stayed
there were OK with the staff, not crazy about anything else.

Sarova - as one poster mentioned - is right at the extreme
eastern part of the reserve - good if you are driving in
(gets you out of the van and off the road sooner!)

Keekorok has been tremendously refreshed by the new
operators - also in the eastern sector of the reserve.

From either of these lodges to anywhere west adds a
lot of driving to the day, and sometimes means a
through-the-day game drive with a box lunch.

Postings about the large number of vehicles around the
lions, cheetahs, etc., are quite accurate - but I think it is
unfair to suggest that you avoid this by staying at one of
the smaller tented camps. Experienced guide/drivers for
the major tour companies know every inch of the Mara
and will take you where the cats are customarily found,
if that's what you are looking for. This skill is not limited
to the men who work for the camps.

My one suggestion - as you are setting up your budget -
is to secure your own guide/driver from the operator
and use one of the larger lodges as your base. Save $$$
on accommodations (these are still great places, by the way)
and spend more for your own private guide and vehicle.
This allows you to manage your time and stay on site
at something interesting without having to consider
the interests and wishes of others in the vehicle.

In message
Dave Patterson wrote:


Keekorok has been tremendously refreshed by the new
operators - also in the eastern sector of the reserve.

Dave -
Did Block go bust?
I discovered in an earlier thread that Shimba Hills lodge had
transferred ownership, and now Keekorok.

I'd still opt to stay for Keekorok early in the migration (July). When
the animals are crowded all round, there's no need to make long
journeys to other areas! The furthest we ever went from there was to
the Hippo Pools.

I agree with the rest of your post. If you don't use your own driver,
you have the added expense of getting to the lodge or camp on your
own, e.g. by flying. Maybe some of the camps have options to drive you
to/from Nairobi as part of their 'package'?

Slainte

Liz

--
Virtual Liz: http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
Photo blog of Make Povery History rally in Edinburgh 2 July 2005:
http://www.v-liz.com/g8rally/protest.htm

Block indeed is gone.
This is the new operator - and perhaps the
owner as well, though I don't know that for sure.
Note the links to the 3 properties:
Larsens (we're using it in a September itinerary),
Samburu Lodge & Keekorok.

Forgot to put in the web site!
http://www.wildernesslodges.co.ke/