Wildlife of Kenya's Maasai Mara

Some of the girls had been on this trip before and I can see why they had repeated it. The cheetah family, the cheetah brothers, the three beautiful male lions, the five lion cubs, the super model of the leopard world (which way would you like me to pose?)and of course the two servals. I loved Elsamere and felt very honoured to stay there, Born Free was the first film I ever saw at the cinema and Virginia McKenna was one of my customers at Wisley Gardens. Our guides Davies and then John, who took over, were excellent. Our 'relief' driver Hassan was superb, great at spotting, driving and such a nice guy. Told him I wanted a serval (my ghost animal after 40 years of travelling in Africa) and he found me two, one hunting, one sitting, posing. Thank you Naturetrek.

Our first trip to Kenya and we felt that the inclusion of Elsamere at the beginning of the trip was an excellent way to start the holiday. The staff at both Elsamere and Base camp were very friendly and helpful. The opportunity to see the bird life on the lake and see the hippos at Elsamere made a good contrast to the Maasai Mara. We were particularly pleased that both the places where we stayed were very involved in conservation and education. We were very lucky to spend a long time with two lionesses and their five cubs - it was absolutely magical and I never expected to be so close to big cats - so close you could almost touch them! Davies was an excellent driver - very aware of how the ridges and furrows of the tracks on the Mara would impact the comfort of his passengers and managed to smooth our passage around the park. He always ensured that we were well positioned for taking photos with the light behind us whenever possible. On the road he was careful and kept to the rules of the road. He was immensely knowledgeable about the bird and animal life of the park and was exceptional at finding the things that we were hoping to see. I feel that the success of the trip was hugely influenced by his expertise.

One of the best wildlife holidays I have experienced! We enjoyed the lake trip and our visit to Hell’s Mouth NP. We were lucky with the weather as it was fine for the walking safari. The game rides were all full of interest and there was plenty of free time at the camp to choose what we wanted to do. Davies, our guide, was brilliant. Owing to his skill at locating animals, we saw big cats every day and plenty of other animals. I think that the balance of staying two nights at Elsamere and five at Maasai Mara Base Camp is good. Davies is easy to get on with and he always answered questions put to him. He is knowledgeable, an excellent driver, both on the tarmacked roads and on the roads in the reserve, which can be quite tricky. Davies also respects the rules regarding viewing animals, in particular the big cats. Davies always gave photographers plenty of time to take images, so most of us of have taken home our memories to keep.

It was our first time in Africa and the whole holiday was a highlight! We were extremely well looked after by our driver/guides, hotel and base camp staff. The jeeps were comfortable and well maintained and with the pop up roofs made excellent viewing platforms. Our guides approached a reported Leopard location and with their expertise, knowledge and patience we were rewarded with excellent viewings of the cat soon after other less professional safari guides had left the scene. John, our driver and guide was incredible, he knew every mammal, bird, flower, tree and even butterflies and dragonflies. He was full of interesting information about the different fauna and flora that we encountered. He also had the ability to park our Jeep in the right location to see and photograph the more elusive animals. Elsamere and Base camp were excellent, wonderful locations, friendly and helpful staff and very good food indeed. There was no doubt we were ‘in’ Africa when there were Zebras, Bushbuck and giraffes on your doorstep in the mornings and hyenas laughing at night not that far away from the tent. The word tent does not do the camp justice, they were so luxurious with all modern conveniences and comfortable beds. It was reassuring to know we had our Maasai guards (Askari) looking out for us after dusk and until dawn.