Kenya: Shompole Update
Jan 20th, 2007, 02:05 PM
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Kenya: Shompole Update
Since it is a popular Fodorite destination, here is our view from our stay there in December 2006.
Map and images are here: http://www.go-safari.com/Shompole/Shompolecamp.htm
You can also see some aerial shots of the camp and the individual rooms! It should help when deciding which room to get!
I think 1 and 5 in main Shompole have slightly better views. But the rooms are all different as you can see.
Shompole always gets rave reviews and we went their with very high expectations. Maybe too high.
Nevertheless it lived up to its reputation as a wonderful, unique retreat for couples who just want to get away from it all.
Many here has written about Shompole and I have nothing much to add, except the pictures I guess!
Afterwards, Carol and I got together and compared our feelings about Shompole. We actually came to the same conclusions:
1. Game drives were less interesting than expected and we really did not expect much! Some zebra and a few wildebeests. After talking to other guests we skipped the night drives. They saw an assortment of smaller wildlife including genets and different cats.
2. Lake Natron with Mount Shompole as a backdrop was beautiful (a 2-hour drive to see the flamingoes) and peaceful although we were actually in Tanzania at that point!
3. The Yellow Wings charter plane ride is something else. It is a really small plane (3 passengers at most) and we had to duck the thunderstorms on occasion. The flights were quite smooth but we both kept our eues on the single engine!
4. We loved the rooms and certainly agree with the accolades. But we experienced some serious afternoon storms and the wind nearly blew us away in the open rooms - there is nowhere to hide!
5. Mosquitos during the day were a very serious bother! We tried to use our plunge pool but got bitten so bad we gave up. We ended up spending many hours on our bed inside the mosquito net! The mossies were relentless - basically rendering our little lounge and pool useless. Maybe it is different at other times of the year but during our visit we saw many more mossies than anywhere else on our month-long trip.
6. We appreciated the privacy factor of Shompole although the open plan design has its moments when staff shows up during inopportune moments. The spear-in-the-ground stops them from entering the room but they wait at the entrance with good views of the open bathroom areas. I could see them and they could see me! It was not uncomfortable, more funny actually to see them waiting so patiently in clear view!
7. Privacy has its price. If you find yourself in the plungepool or at the main pool there is no way to order drinks, except to get dressed and try to find someone. There is no bar to speak of, and the staff tends to disappear to the kitchen or somewhere during the day. I could be found on many occasions wondering around trying to find a waiter or someone. We were never introduced to the team so I still don't know who did what! The staff was very friendly (normal in East Africa) but service in general was lacking when considering the costs. We were never offered any snacks or afternoon tea for example.
8. In both our opinions, the secret to enjoying Shompole is to do your own thing and to not expect pampering! Just walk up to the kitchen areas and ask them to bring a batch of drinks (which they place inside a cooler in your room) or snacks, then go and do your own thing until the cooler is empty!
9. We are unsure if Shompole is hip or cool or just interesting and different or all of these! We both felt it lacks that little something to make it a really special place but we just cannot pinpoint what it lacks. It is not spontaneous and we felt reserved. Maybe it needs a bit of personal warmth we experienced later at Ol Seki and Serian for example.
As I stated earlier, our expectations were probably unfairly high and Shompole lived up to its reputation. It is a wonderful place for a honeymoon and to rekindle the sparks in a relationship.
I hope you enjoy our pictures and maps!
Map and images are here: http://www.go-safari.com/Shompole/Shompolecamp.htm
You can also see some aerial shots of the camp and the individual rooms! It should help when deciding which room to get!
I think 1 and 5 in main Shompole have slightly better views. But the rooms are all different as you can see.
Shompole always gets rave reviews and we went their with very high expectations. Maybe too high.
Nevertheless it lived up to its reputation as a wonderful, unique retreat for couples who just want to get away from it all.
Many here has written about Shompole and I have nothing much to add, except the pictures I guess!
Afterwards, Carol and I got together and compared our feelings about Shompole. We actually came to the same conclusions:
1. Game drives were less interesting than expected and we really did not expect much! Some zebra and a few wildebeests. After talking to other guests we skipped the night drives. They saw an assortment of smaller wildlife including genets and different cats.
2. Lake Natron with Mount Shompole as a backdrop was beautiful (a 2-hour drive to see the flamingoes) and peaceful although we were actually in Tanzania at that point!
3. The Yellow Wings charter plane ride is something else. It is a really small plane (3 passengers at most) and we had to duck the thunderstorms on occasion. The flights were quite smooth but we both kept our eues on the single engine!
4. We loved the rooms and certainly agree with the accolades. But we experienced some serious afternoon storms and the wind nearly blew us away in the open rooms - there is nowhere to hide!
5. Mosquitos during the day were a very serious bother! We tried to use our plunge pool but got bitten so bad we gave up. We ended up spending many hours on our bed inside the mosquito net! The mossies were relentless - basically rendering our little lounge and pool useless. Maybe it is different at other times of the year but during our visit we saw many more mossies than anywhere else on our month-long trip.
6. We appreciated the privacy factor of Shompole although the open plan design has its moments when staff shows up during inopportune moments. The spear-in-the-ground stops them from entering the room but they wait at the entrance with good views of the open bathroom areas. I could see them and they could see me! It was not uncomfortable, more funny actually to see them waiting so patiently in clear view!
7. Privacy has its price. If you find yourself in the plungepool or at the main pool there is no way to order drinks, except to get dressed and try to find someone. There is no bar to speak of, and the staff tends to disappear to the kitchen or somewhere during the day. I could be found on many occasions wondering around trying to find a waiter or someone. We were never introduced to the team so I still don't know who did what! The staff was very friendly (normal in East Africa) but service in general was lacking when considering the costs. We were never offered any snacks or afternoon tea for example.
8. In both our opinions, the secret to enjoying Shompole is to do your own thing and to not expect pampering! Just walk up to the kitchen areas and ask them to bring a batch of drinks (which they place inside a cooler in your room) or snacks, then go and do your own thing until the cooler is empty!
9. We are unsure if Shompole is hip or cool or just interesting and different or all of these! We both felt it lacks that little something to make it a really special place but we just cannot pinpoint what it lacks. It is not spontaneous and we felt reserved. Maybe it needs a bit of personal warmth we experienced later at Ol Seki and Serian for example.
As I stated earlier, our expectations were probably unfairly high and Shompole lived up to its reputation. It is a wonderful place for a honeymoon and to rekindle the sparks in a relationship.
I hope you enjoy our pictures and maps!
Jan 21st, 2007, 05:04 AM
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You were sleeping in my bed!
With the amount of rain in EA this past season, even though Shompole is usually dry with little rain... doesn't surprise that mossies did abound everywhere, even here. Puddles of water anywhere is mossie breeding ground. Shompole, though is still a malaria area w/ or w/o rain.
Can't think of a nicer place to be stuck under mossie nets over those big big playpens.
Single engine tiny planes - I just love those, small and compact; the only ones we've taken for our private charters - Laikipia, Desert Rose, Shompole, Tsavo - but never in a storm. I'd opt for a road transfer on the spot; you're brave.
Shompole is certainly different - definitely the kind of place "to do your own thing" - honeymooners, chilling after safari, or the many Hollywood-types - where most prefer "I want to be left alone" - but you can be pampered if you wanted the attention.
Good posting.
With the amount of rain in EA this past season, even though Shompole is usually dry with little rain... doesn't surprise that mossies did abound everywhere, even here. Puddles of water anywhere is mossie breeding ground. Shompole, though is still a malaria area w/ or w/o rain.
Can't think of a nicer place to be stuck under mossie nets over those big big playpens.
Single engine tiny planes - I just love those, small and compact; the only ones we've taken for our private charters - Laikipia, Desert Rose, Shompole, Tsavo - but never in a storm. I'd opt for a road transfer on the spot; you're brave.
Shompole is certainly different - definitely the kind of place "to do your own thing" - honeymooners, chilling after safari, or the many Hollywood-types - where most prefer "I want to be left alone" - but you can be pampered if you wanted the attention.
Good posting.
Jan 21st, 2007, 05:05 AM
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Wow! - thanks for the informative and descriptive pictures and text, Eben & Carol. I'm looking forward to a few days of unwinding at Shompole after a trip to the Mara in August (and hoping that the mossie factor will be less of an issue then).
Jan 21st, 2007, 08:49 AM
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Thanks so much for the update; great shots of all the cottages - if you can call these enormous open air villas a cottage. I had unit 1 when I was there last May. The view was incredible, but the hike up there can be tough in the heat for older people. It's the only "cottage" with twin beds. I didn't see a single mossie then even after the rains at that time. Lake Nakure was so high that we couldn't go there as getting stuck was a certainty. The food was so good. Like Sandi, I love the small planes. We flew in from Olonana and it was spectacular, especially coming over the Rift Valley before landing. I thought the service was excellent but unobtrusive. Anything you want for the asking. I agree, they don't haunt you down every minute to ask if everything is OK. Didn't they have a way to call for service? It seems to me that they did, but I can't remember how. It certainly is a great place to honeymoon and relax after a busy trip around East Africa. I wouldn't go there just for the game viewing, but the night-drives were good. It's the only place I've seen Aardwolf and many other interesting night creatures - big and small.
Expectations can be a distraction, I know. It happened to me at Murchison Falls. I had so much about the big crocs there and all the hippos and had wanted to go there for as long as I can remember. It just couldn't live up to it. Now that I know, I will go back with a "better" attitude. The mind is a funny thing,
Expectations can be a distraction, I know. It happened to me at Murchison Falls. I had so much about the big crocs there and all the hippos and had wanted to go there for as long as I can remember. It just couldn't live up to it. Now that I know, I will go back with a "better" attitude. The mind is a funny thing,
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