The trip was a great success!!! Thank you and the whole Experience It team for making this once-in a life time experience possible! Just as planned we were greeted by a representative of the Gamewatchers team at the airport who took us to meet Alan, our driver and guide. Alan made everything possible for us to enjoy our safari experience and went above and beyond so we could see as many animals as possible. He was our guide in Amboseli, Ol Pejeta and Lake Nakuru. We enjoyed learning from him about the behaviors of different animals and about the geography of each place while driving from one place to the other. Alan was a real champion when driving from Amboseli to Old Pejeta, as we encountered traffic disruptions due to the closing of the electoral campaigns prior to the general elections. Although unexpected, it was an experience on itself because we were able to see the engagement of the population in the electoral process. At Ol Pejeta we stayed in the Conservancy we enjoyed seeing white and black rhinos and had a chance to feed Baraka, the legendary blind black rhino. We also visited the Chimpanzee sanctuary where we learned about the origin of these rescued chimps and about how clever they are. From Ol Pejeta we drove to Lake Nakuru, where our accommodations in The Cliff surpassed our expectations (Thank you Jeff for choosing the Cliff for us!!!).
Each of our cabins were facing the lake and we were able to enjoyed the beauty of the sunrise from our bed. In addition to the wonderful accommodations, Lake Nakuru surprised us with its flamingos, beautiful birds, Rothchild giraffes and amazing scenery. Lake Nakuru is not to missed, though surprisingly we learned that not all tours visit it. After Lake Nakuru we drove to Masai Mara, where we stayed in the Porini Cheetah Camp. At the camp we said our goodbyes to Alan and we were introduced to our new guides (Philip and Jacob), the owners (Juy and Nirmalya) and the whole camp team (John and the other team members who made our stay unforgettable).
Again, I need to thank you for introducing us to the philosophy of the conservancies and to have selected the Porini Cheetah Camp for us. All the animals were right there for us to see, and with the incredible sight and knowledge of our Masai guides we didn’t have anything left in our list to see. Juy and Nirmalya are wonderful hosts, the food was great and the camp felt like home. We stayed three nights and almost four days at the camp. One of the days we visited the Masai Mara National Park where we watched the wildebeest’s migration, cheetahs, a leopard, and a lion having a feast with a freshly caught wildebeest. Though we didn’t see the crossing we enjoyed watching several wildebeest and zebras thinking about it, and being cognizant of several crocodiles and hippos waiting for them in the river. The difference between the conservancy and the National Park was quite striking. Though we enjoyed the plains and different scenery of the Park, we were surprised to see so many vehicles driving through the park and competing for seeing the animals.
Upon our return to the conservancy, we realized how different our experience would have been if would have stayed inside the Park. In the conservancy coming across a tower or a journey of 10 to 12 giraffes (Haha… applying my new vocabulary words), or a family of elephants knocking down acacia trees just for fun was a common scene. We also enjoyed the resident lions, which we not only saw in one of our day games but also saw at our night game under the light of a full moon. We saw so many different animals, beautiful birds like the lilac breasted roller, not so pretty ones like the Caribu Stork, and the funny looking ostriches, that it is hard to come up with a complete list. I felt in love with the heart nosed waterbuck and the funny pumbas running around with their tails up as if they were antennas.
As you planned it, Jeff, this trip was unforgettable and one that will treasure!!!
I absolutely will recommend the Experience It team to any of my friends planning a trip to Morocco (our family trip to Morocco was also an experience to treasure) or to Kenya, and as a matter of fact I already did!! My daughters and sons in law are fans of you and your team, and they will be picking our next family trip based on the places you know and where you have experienced guides on the ground. So, keep in touch! THANK YOU!!!
Silvia G.
August 2022