Amy & Friends - Magical Kenya V3

Tamarind Tree Hotel is ideally located southwest of Nairobi within the spacious Carnivore grounds, offering easy access to the city, Nairobi National Park, and Wilson Airport. The hotel features spacious rooms with modern amenities such as flat-screen TVs, air conditioning, and ensuite bathrooms. Dining options include the Carnivore Restaurant, where meats are roasted on traditional Maasai swords, the Tamambo restaurant with international cuisine, and the elegant Dawa Lounge. Additional amenities include a heated pool, a fitness centre, and meeting facilities.

Encounter Mara is a classic tented camp, opened in 2011, tucked in a shady forest of orange-leaf croton and Euclea trees on the edge of a vast open plain in the  Mara Naboisho Conservancy. There are no permanent structures at the camp and thus never anything but canvas between you and the bush. The camp is comfortable and stylish, however, and certainly aimed at those who appreciate a bit of simple luxury.

Pathways laid with elephant-dung link Encounter Mara's parking area with the camp's central areas and tents - dry elephant dung is in plentiful supply in the conservancy and beds down to a soft, springy ground covering that is a pleasure to walk on. The main areas at Encounter Mara consist of two separate tents, one for dining, with a large communal dining table, and one as a lounge, furnished with comfortable, yet contemporary chairs and sofas. This lends a modern, slightly minimalist feel to what is a new camp, and it works really well. The lounge tent has a scattering of interesting coffee-table books and fresh flowers, and a charging point for batteries. For much of the year, and depending on guests' preferences, meals are taken outside: on the lawn for breakfast or brunch, or in a shady spot nearby for lunch and dinner – both thoroughly enjoyable locations. That said, it may sometimes be more comfortable to have dinner in the dining tent, as it can get chilly in the evenings, especially in the slightly cooler months between June and September.

A short distance away from the main area is a thatch-covered deck overlooking a salt lick, frequented by elephant, buffalo, and even the odd lion! It's a lovely spot to take a drink and sit with a pair of binoculars between activities, and occasionally meals are served here too.

The contemporary style has been carried through to Encounter Mara's 11 tents, which includes a family tent, and are classic in design, with flaps that open up almost entirely at the front, and with one wall made entirely of mosquito screen. The tents are bright and airy, with plenty of room for the king-sized beds, flanked by modern and stylish bedside lights. Each tent can be a double or a single, or if necessary can accommodate a double bed and two singles. Soft furnishings are in muted safari tones. Every tent has a large wooden lock-up chest for safeguarding valuables and there is plenty of storage space for clothes.

The bathroom is located at the back of the tent, with a flush toilet, twin washbasins with cold water, and a 40-litre safari shower of hot water, filled by the staff on request. Eco-friendly toiletries are provided in lovely glass flasks, as is filtered drinking water. A jug of hot water is provided every morning for washing.

Outside on a shaded veranda are two directors' chairs and a large and comfortable day bed. Most tents also feature a hammock hanging beneath a nearby tree. In short, there are plenty of spots to while away your siesta time – and all of them look out over the plains in front of the camp.

A variety of game-watching activities is on offer at Encounter Mara. Most guests head out twice a day on game drives around the extensive earth roads and bush tracks of the Mara Naboisho Conservancy – from 6.30am to 10.30am (or back earlier if you prefer) followed by brunch, and again in the late afternoon, usually leaving at about 4.00pm after you've had tea and cake, returning to camp as night falls at about 6.45pm. Again this can be a little earlier or later if you prefer. Game drives are in open-sided Land Cruisers with canvas roofs that can be rolled back. Their usual practice is to drive with a guide, and on night drives, a spotter joins as well to direct the lamp.

At one end of the camp is a wonderfully peaceful wooden viewing deck overlooking the surrounding bush, it is a great spot for birding.

As well as day-time game drives, Encounter Mara offers night drives. Night drives normally incorporate a sundowner drink and a return to camp for a late dinner, or (by special request) they set off after dinner for a couple of hours, slowly driving through the Mara Naboisho Conservancy's exciting bush and savanna environment before returning at about 10.00pm.

A more recent addition to activities at Encounter Mara are game walks. The walks go out with an experienced armed guard, carrying a .308 rifle, and are either a nature walk, for families with young children, in the immediate surrounds of the camp or a bush walk for around an hour (minimum age 12); or a longer bush walk. If you are looking for a more substantial walk however then you are better off at Encounter Mara's sister camp Naboisho. Although safety is an absolute priority, on the longer bush walks you are quite likely to encounter elephants and big cats - at a respectable distance!

Encounter Mara also offers visits to a local Maasai village, Enooronkon, a 20-minute drive away. These visits last an hour or two and cost US$25 per adult, which is paid to the camp managers and passed on to the community via the conservancy's community liaison.

Conservation Safari Company recommends Encounter Mara for its excellent game viewing, hospitality and wonderful tented accommodation! Highly rated by clients.

Encounter Mara rates include accommodation, all meals, conservancy bednight fee, all drinks (except premium), game drives, night drives, walking safari in Naboisho Conservancy, transfers to/from nearest airstrip and to/from Encounter Mara, laundry service.

Slightly outside the southern boundary of Amboseli National Park, Tortilis, named after the Acacia tortilis trees of the area, is a luxury safari camp clustered around a gentle rise. On a clear day, there are fantastic views of Kilimanjaro from the lounge and dining area. The camp is located in the 120 square-kilometre Kitirua Conservancy, which is exclusive to guests of Tortilis.

Tortilis is a well-established camp with a long heritage, arriving into the reception area, you are greeted with lovely views across the bush below you and out towards Kilimanjaro. The high-ceilinged, thatched lounge and dining area are open-sided to make the most of the views. With chunky wooden furniture and decorated in earthy hues, they make for a comfortable and atmospheric spot to enjoy meals or relax after a day on safari.

Below the main areas, there is a firepit for sundowners and further still is the main swimming pool, tucked in amongst small yet mature gardens. There are a number of loungers and a poolside bar here too.

The camp’s 16 tented rooms wind their way through the acacia trees and look out in the direction of the mountain. Under a makuti thatch roof, a canvas tent is suspended and this houses the bedroom and ensuite bathroom to the rear. The tents are largely traditional in style, with the usual lockable wooden chest, desk and all be configured as doubles (with king beds) or as twins. The wooden flooring and brightly coloured throws may once have looked rather smart, but now do look like they are in need of a refresh. At the front of each tent, there is a paved terrace with a day bed and lounge chairs, a perfect spot to enjoy your morning coffee.

To the other side of the main areas and completely separate from the rest of the rooms, there is a family tent and private house. These rooms are really well-designed spaces and are excellent choices for families: there is enough separation for everyone to have their own space (and bathrooms), while still being under one roof. The family tent has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, with a large terrace to the front. The private house is larger, comprising a double room, a twin or triple, plus a sitting/dining area. These two rooms share their own private swimming pool and are afforded possibly the best views of Kilimanjaro of anywhere in camp.

Activities at Tortilis are predominantly game drives, both in the private conservancy and in Amboseli National Park. This area is particularly famed for its large elephant population – over 1,000 individuals within the ecosystem – as well as being home to some of Africa’s last ‘big tuskers’. In the dry season, it’s not uncommon to encounter hundreds of elephants, in many different families, in just one vista. Amboseli is also known for its birdlife, as the lakes and wetlands provide an ideal habitat.

As well as game drives, Tortilis offers guided walking on the conservancy as well as visits to a local Maasai community just outside the park (for a donation made to the village). Back at camp, there are also spa treatments available for an additional cost.
 

Conservation Safari Company recommends Tortillis with its well-appointed tents and slightly elevated central areas, offering glorious views across the camp towards Kilimanjaro, Tortilis is one of the Amboseli ecosystem's best bases, even if it could do with a bit of a refresh internally. Having access in minutes to its own exclusive conservancy makes this one of the region's top choices.

Rates include all meals and drinks and safari activities.

With only six tents, Kicheche Laikipia is a small camp offering comfort and quality, one of a handful of properties located in the 360km² Ol Pejeta Conservancy. It’s the most luxurious option in the conservancy, with a wide range of activities, and a lovely location, with views across a small dam.

Facing the dam, and tucked beneath some shady trees, is Kicheche's spacious main mess tent. The dining area, with a large wooden table, is where breakfast is served, and dinner, too, on cooler nights. Like the rest of the wooden furniture in the camp, the table is beautifully made from cedar wood, which comes from fence posts reclaimed from the conservancy. It is set beside a brick fireplace which makes for a delightfully cosy ambience during dinner on chilly evenings. On warmer days the front of the tent is opened up completely for views of the dam.

The adjoining lounge area is furnished with two earthy-coloured sofas, leather poufs, a bookshelf and rugs, enhanced by pot plants and vases of locally grown roses. The result is really homely, and this, together with friendly staff, makes the general atmosphere very welcoming and relaxed.

In a separate tent nearby is a small shop which sells a few locally made items and more sophisticated curios from Nairobi such as belts, bags and silver jewellery.
 

• The six tented rooms at Kicheche Laikipia – all named after 19th century Maasai laibon or chiefs – are broadly the same in style, though one is a larger family tent with a double and two single beds. All the tents are raised slightly on solid plinths and are vast, with pale cream canvas walls and floors dotted with Persian rugs. Inside, each tent is partially divided by a wood-and-fabric hanging space for clothes. To one side is the bedroom with heavy wooden beds (also made from reclaimed fence posts from the ranch), rustic dark-red linen, and cream throws and cushions. A couple of chairs invite lounging during siesta time, and plenty of drinking water is provided.
• On the other side of the partition is the bathroom, with a shower, lovely ceramic twin wash basins set on a large wooden vanity cabinet, and a flush toilet behind a separate canvas flap. Water, heated by a solar water heater, is always hot in the evenings but has to be requested at other times of the day. Shampoo, soap and shower gel are provided, as is washing powder for ladies to do their own underwear. We thought the towels were rather unabsorbent, but it was a minor quibble in context.
• The family tent is larger with two bedroom areas separated by a partition. On one side is a double bed and on the other are twin beds. Both rooms share one bathroom, which is the same as in the other tents.
• Each tent has a veranda and a hammock at the front with comfy chairs and stylish African-fabric cushions that looks out towards the waterhole. During our stay, a few resident waterbuck seemed permanently positioned in front of our tents, totally uninhibited by our presence.

The whole of Kicheche Laikipia camp is enclosed by a knee-high two-strand electric fence which is designed to keep out buffalo, while letting other big game through. This does impact slightly on the wilderness feel of the camp, but as smaller game can still wander through, guests are escorted around the camp at night.

Kicheche Laikipia Camp has a Gold Level Eco-rating Certificate from Ecotourism Kenya, making it one of only a dozen camps and lodges in the whole country to have achieved this endorsement of its responsible resource use, conservation of the environment and investment in the local community.

In common with all the Kicheche camps Laikipia all have at least a silver guiding qualification. The activities and wildlife here are really varied: you can do morning, afternoon or full-day game drives and you can also opt to do a night drive when, if you're lucky, you may see porcupines, civets or bushbabies.

It's also possible to do a walking safari with an armed guide, either in the morning or the afternoon. This normally involves driving out of camp and then walking, as the bush is too thick to walk from camp. A popular option is to do this in the morning when you have a good chance of seeing the more elusive black rhinos for which the Ol Pejeta Conservancy is famous, as well as the much less skittish white rhinos which are happy to graze on the open plains.

Subject to the water level, you can also canoe on the dam lake in front of camp, or set out for a cycle ride one of the camp's mountain bikes. For a bike ride, guests are first driven to the southern part of the conservancy which is regarded by Kicheche Laikipia as being free of dangerous wildlife. 

Another popular activity is to visit the anti-poaching dog unit (extra cost) which is interactive and fun. These are working dogs, so they are not always available and it is best to chat to the camp manager or request this in advance.

For many people, an absolute must at Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a visit to the Northern White Rhino Sanctuary, which is home to the last two of these animals in the world. This needs to be booked in advance and costs US$60 per person. Guests are driven into the enclosure, where a ranger feeds the rhinos and talks to you about the sanctuary's progress in attempting to breed this magnificent and critically rare subspecies. Whilst it is believed that only two females remain, scientists are attempting to use IVF technology with existing biological samples to create an embryo which will then be carried by a surrogate southern white rhino female.

We recommend Kicheche Laikipia as a comfortable and luxurious space with a tastefully rustic edge. The welcoming managers, friendly staff and communal dining all combine to make this a sociable and relaxed camp. The end result is luxury, but with a total lack of pretension, and all of that would add up to a very fine place to stay. However, the camp's eco credentials and its very high standards of guiding make it one of the best in northern Kenya.

Rates include all meals, airstrip transfers to and from Kamok airstrip - Ol Pejeta shared game- viewing drives, night drives, escorted bush walks (to be booked in advance, based on ranger's availability), canoeing and mountain biking, Community Trust contribution, picnics, laundry. Our quotes include conservancy levies and fees.