Preparation:

Next Adventure did a great job of preparing us for Kenya. We are so happy we bought a pair of binoculars. Now my husband wants night vision and heat scopes to see better at night. We made weight! The cash envelopes were very helpful. I would suggest people bring even more cash if they plan to purchase things at local villages. The Nairobi market took credit.

Nairobi and Karen Blixen Cottages

The local team was waiting right where you said they would. They were very professional and accommodating. The guide even let us sleep in a bit before we hit the National Park. We probably saw 95% of the wildlife at the National Park when the sun was up. I would HIGHLY recommend it to anybody traveling through Nairobi. We should have stayed an extra day to do a little more exploring, as the pace was pretty intense. We also regret not buying more gifts at the market where they took us. Weight restrictions and lack of time as we left Nairobi limited what we could purchase. It makes more sense to get gifts in Nairobi and store them there. The camps were great, but they did not offer some of the wood items and masks that we found in Nairobi. The Blixen cottages were fantastic. Talisman! Also very good.

Samburu

We were lucky to have our own driver because the camp was VERY QUIET. As you mentioned, we were met with a contact everywhere we went. Lyle and I joked about having many "handlers." It was lovely. We figured things out, but if you have less seasoned travelers, this is a great benefit. We loved crawling up the rocks to Saruni Samburu. The villa was fantastic. It was a little warm the first night, but we opened a back tent window and had more of a breeze. The pools were gorgeous. Clearly the Italian architect who developed it knew his stuff.

The food here was amazing - but we also asked for Kenyan fare at the end. Since it was so small and intimate, I don't think it was a problem. The chefs were actually happy to make us something a little more local than penne pasta. (Maybe not the local blood/milk combo - that never appeared on our table.) They were so sweet to make me a birthday cake and sing. All the folks at the camp were fantastic. The night escorts were a little more stoic, but I think they may not speak as much English. I believe those positions may be an entry into the camp. We learned a LOT from Joseph (our guide) and our meal "concierge" about the area, customs, support of the conservancy, and how the employees came to the camp. Lyle probably grew tired of all my questions and curiosities.

I'm not sure if I mentioned the special guests we met at the pool, a lovely Norwegian woman, Brita, and her husband, Trond. After speaking with them about the camp, we learned that Brita was a CEO/COO? of Basecamp, there doing site visits. She walked us through the origin of the conservancy and how it works.10 years of negotiation for the conservancy! As it turned out, we saw Brita and Trond on a couple more flights and they had lunch at Leopard Hill. It was great to have a little more insight into the Basecamp/Saruni brand.

We did visit a "village" with Joseph in Samburu that was not at all what I was expecting. It was set up like a village, but clearly nobody lived there. While it was nice to see the homes, cattle area, and customary dances/welcomes, the hard sell on beads was not a positive experience. Negotiating with the son of the chief was pretty awkward and we left feeling like we overpaid for items we found later in our camp. Negotiating in the Nairobi market was much smoother and felt like significantly less pressure. I say this for you to pass to guests who may want souvenirs. I would obtain them in Nairobi and leave them safely with the tour company.

That said,the bush breakfast made up for it 100%. It was out of a movie. Crocodile in the river. Giant elephants trotting up to our truck. Monkeys eyeing our breakfast. A cheetah sighting on the way home. Fantastic.

Maasai Mara

We loved this camp. The bush flights were fun for me. Lyle isn't a fan of flying, so the bumps and turbulence were a little less fun for him. Solomon was our guide and also took great care of us on the land cruiser safari and also on the walking safari. We were paired up with a couple from Jersey on their honeymoon and had a lot of fun. No leopard sighting at Leopard Hill, but we were blessed to have seen so many animals and incredible landscape, we didn't really care about "the big five." It was wild to turn a corner and see giraffes only a few yards away. We got up close to the lions (always sleeping) and lionesses (always working and dealing with the kids). I have some great videos of the cubs.

You may get some feedback on us because we kept Milton (our lunch guy) up until after 10pm discussing Maasai culture and his upbringing. Everybody we spoke with (at both camps) were happy to tell us about their culture. They were also very very grateful for visitors who supported their camps. Milton told us about how he came to the camp. He was also thrilled that we requested Kenyan items on the menu. Each day there would be either a meal option or side item that was Kenyan. The chef came out to say hello (he had to be 18), and also seemed proud to show off his Kenyan cooking skills. I assume that the chef cooks for the staff, so hopefully our special requests were not too hard to accommodate. Brita and Trond appeared for lunch and it was nice to see them again.

We went to Basecamp and visited the cultural center, Enjoolata. They even opened the little gift shop for us. It was neat to see the Obama trees. The camp was much bigger than the Saruni, so we were happy with our choice for a more intimate stay at Leopard Hill.

I wish we had three days here instead of Lamu. The Saruni camps are so lovely. Brita told us that Basecamp is a little more "basic" brand and Saruni was the "posh" brand. We could have done either, but 6-10 tents at the camps gave us a lot of peace. The dining at both Samburu and Leopard Hill looked far more intimate than the larger camp at Basecamp. Great choice! The watering hole was neat and the overview from the Samburu camp entertained us for a bit of our stay. Oh, I would suggest that perhaps the camps keep a set of inexpensive binoculars around for people to look out over the land. We LOVED watching the wildlife and shared our binoculars with incoming guests in Samburu so they could look out to see the wild life in the bush. Just a thought as some people don't bring them.

Lamu

As you know by now, Lamu was our least favorite part of the trip. And I LOVE beaches. The Peponi Hotel was lovely and had an incredible restaurant but just uncomfortable and noisy at night. The man urinating off the steps of the hotel was definitely a turn off. The camps clearly spoiled us. I think we just had higher expectations for shops and activities. It was a little more bohemian than we were expecting and less relaxing. This is my fault for not doing a little more research; I thought it was a little bigger. The Majlis was incredible - beautiful, clean, and a quick boat ride to Lamu. I would highly recommend our guide, Omar. The Maglis set us up with him and we had a nice, albeit very hot, tour of historic Lamu with great seafood lunch. We also visited a couple of shops. The people in Lamu were very nice and friendly.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience.