Does anyone have any experience with Gamewatcher's PORINI camps?

I can see the value of a smaller, more exclusive camp.... but I'm also hesitant about being so far outside the park, and the camps being a little more 'rustic'.

Can any Fodorites offer any personal experiences and/or recommendations on the Mara Porini , Porini Lion or Porini Amboseli camps?

I was at 2 of the camps last year... amboseli, and porini mara...

I loved both camps. They treated us very well, and I like being in smaller camps. As for being outside the parks, it really wasnt too big of an issue and we had game drives to and from the park. Your advantage to being outside the park is the ability to do night drives... I have great memories of Porini Amboseli and being in the "bait" chair at night holding the spotlight looking for game...

Richard

I have no preference whether inside or outside the parks. Porini Lion is closer to the park than Porini Mara if that is a consideration. It's small vs larger that is usually my determining factor. I'll take smaller.

Last year I had drives between a number of camps of 1.5-2/hrs and never once looked at my watch. In fact, I usually take my watch off as soon as I land in Africa. It's all part of the experience.

That said, however, if it was a choice between a 6+/hr drive vs a flight, if budget allows (an usually does) I'd take the flight.

Thanks Sandi.

Have you been to the Porini camps yourself? Any thoughts on how they compare with others in the same price range?

Simbakubwa -

Wish I had. Wish I had enough days to visit all the camps, but time gets aways from me and I've gotta get on that silver bullet and be homeward bound.

The Porini camps do get good reviews. Maybe there are comments by Eben when he visited early '07. Know the search function isn't working very well, but see if you can find something. Sorry I can't offer more help.

thanks, hopefully eben will see this!!

A big plus for the Porini camps are the guides. They only hire silver level (currently highest level, about 80 in Kenya total). Other camps may be a little nicer, but you won't find better/more knowledgable guides.

Hi

I stayed in the Porini Amboseli and Porini Mara camp late september / early October. If travelling to Amboseli, I would recommend flying there, not driving from Nairobi. The atmosphere in the camps is excellent, with everyone gathering rouind the camp fire before dinner, and night drives. It is a bit of a drive into Amboseli, but there is game to be seen around the camp and on the way to the park. It was very dry when we were there so there wasn't as much game around the camp as there might have been if they had had some rain. It was really nice having sundowners in the bush by a camp fire. The guides at the camps are very good. When staying at Porini Mara for three nights we had two full days in the Mara, rather than returning to camp for morning tea/ lunch and afternoon tea as happens in some of the camps and lodges within the park. A big plus for the camps is that you are in an open landrover or landcruiser and not in one of those horrible white minibuses! Although there were lots of these mini buses in the park, our guide avoided them most of the time and we had some great sightings all to ourselves, including a rhino and a couple of cheetahs, one with young cubs.
At Amboseli you get to visit a local village for free, rather than one that is maybe a bit commercialised and charges $35 per person. At both camps we were served excellent food by local Masi.
I will hopefully get round to posting a trip report and photos soon.
Hope this helps

Hamishbear, when you say you went into the Mara for the full day (without returning to your camp)... where did you eat lunch?

Picnic lunch under the shade of a tree in the middle of the plains with nothing and nobodyelse around. The guide and driver set up a picnic table complete with tablecloth and picnic stools.

We recently stayed at Porini Lion Camp for 2 nights and thought the accommodations were great and not particularly "rustic", our guide, Steven, was excellent and very knowledgeable, the food was delicious and well-prepared. The location worked fine for us, though we could not do night drives because of rain/mud. I wouldn't hesitate to send someone there.

Thanks! The concept sounds interesting...