Kits55

Hi Leely- I was thinking of going next October/November so there's shorter grass; I so want to see a wild Caracal or a Serval! Two years ago we stayed in the Olare Orok conservancy (during peak season) but we had great sightings so I would definitely consider staying there again

jul_uk

sorry to hear not everything was wonderful. You must have been glad you stayed outside of the very busiest areas though. You might like to read the very interesting trip report by Hanuman if you haven't seen it - reading it would certainly have put me off the Mara at crossing time. Hope this link will work
http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...ture-diary.cfm
Even more interesting are the reports on The Mara Triangle website which I found recently which provides a fascinating insight into what is going on around us when we are there having such a good holiday. 5,000 Wildebeest killed at one crossing (not by crocs) and they are "reasonably satisfied" that it wasn't caused by pressure of tourist numbers/vehicles ! Lots of info about current problems with poaching etc.
They also note the upsurge in Indian and Chinese tourists which has been very important for the camps this year.
http://maratriangle.org/connect/mont...ort-july-2011/
On a less serious note, we stayed at Rhino River Camp in Meru and the flexibility of timing for eating ( and pretty well everything else) was amazing. Totally down to each guest when they wanted to wake up, eat breakfast, lunch or dinner. Wonderful but not so great if you really like to be sociable and meet other guests.
Happy planning for your next trip !