TRAVELLERS' TALES

Kenya Safari  (mouseover the image thumbnails to view larger versions)

Regular client Charles has been booking his holidays with Marco Polo Travel for many years and here he talks about his love for safari holidays.

"My first safari was in Kenya in 1984 and I found it extraordinary that I was really able to see some of the wildlife spectacles which I had seen on TV. Since then, I have returned many times and have enjoyed just about the full range of types of safari holidays – from the camping type to the luxury lodge. You may well ask: why keep returning for the same kind of holiday? Well, no two safari trips are alike – the environments, times of year, sightings of animals or birds as well as the camps or lodges are all so different."

"Kenya is the easiest and quickest to reach of all the African countries offering big game safaris. There is no denying the spectacle of places such as the Masai Mara National Reserve, with almost all the big game animals on view, Amboseli with its elephants and the wonderful backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro and Lake Nakuru with its thousands of flamingos and guaranteed viewing of White Rhino. Kenya has a huge range of accommodation to suit all budgets and more recently there has been an increase in small camps in conservancy areas which offer a high standard of service in areas rich in wildlife. You can guarantee that you will be watching wildlife on game drives without a fleet of other vehicles around."

"Recently, I visited Ol Pejeta Conservancy and then later the Masai Mara North Conservancy where I stayed in the Kicheche Laikipia and Kicheche Mara camps. These are both excellent small camps which offer top-class game viewing and excellent food! In a week split between these two camps I enjoyed sightings of cheetah, leopard, elephant, black rhino and white rhino with lions being seen on almost every game drive. I really cannot recommend these camps too highly. In December 2012 I returned to the Masai Mara for a week’s Photographic Safari based at Kicheche Bush Camp led by Paul Goldstein. Paul and his amazing team of guides ensured that we had fantastic opportunities to photograph lions, leopards and cheetah."

"Marco Polo Travel has a huge range of brochures to choose from, including small group tours such as the one I took part in last year to Rwanda - to see the gorillas in the Virunga Mountains and visit other National Parks there. Marco Polo continue to help me plan tailor-made trips to areas I am particularly interested in and I have particularly enjoyed my visits to Namibia where I have stayed up all night to watch the black rhino, lions and elephants visiting a waterhole and tracked cheetah on foot at the Africat foundation. My favourite safari destination remains the Okavango Delta in Botswana – this is expensive in the high season but good value trips are possible in the low season."

"For me there is nothing more memorable than staying overnight by a river and enjoying the sounds of the wildlife at night, particularly the hippo, or the soft footsteps of an animal quietly walking by my tent."