amyb

Michele, you will love Offbeat! I'm so jealous as I have been in February and know what it has to offer you!

Re: guiding, the one big difference between Offbeat Mara and the other camps I've been to in the Mara, was that David/Kappen worked on their own. Only once did we communicate with other guides and that was when we wanted an update on the cheetah who hadn't eaten for a week and we wanted to know if she was hunting again. ALL of our sightings were just us and maybe one other vehicle who'd drive up after a while purely by chance, which is absolutely incredible. I never saw either guide on their cell phones or hear them on the radio asking for help. That was what made me say they have the best eyes in the business, to have the quality of sightings we did without the team or sharing info approach is truly unique.

CaliNurse

Interesting about the guides working on their own, because guides everywhere told me they are "honor -bound" to share information on sightings. In other words, if you want to keep it to yourself, no one is going to help you either on those days when you are in search of a particular animal. So indeed, your guides have great eyes, and great confidence!
The other nice thing about booking with Offbeat is I see it as a sort of vote of confidence, as well as memorial, to the company founder who was recently killed in Laikipia.

michele_d

amy..I can't wait...I am sooo excited.

amyb

I was blessed, CaliNurse. Especially compared to a previous safari when all I saw for two days were sightings found by others, chasing groups of other vehicles to what we had to think was a sighting, and finding nothing on our own. There is nothing I hate more than seeing a bunch of vehicles on the horizon and driving toward that with the hopes it's something good (and worse, getting there to find a bunch of birders, LOL!). That's just lazy. Those same guides spent more time on the phone than talking to the guests. I'd much prefer to have them find our own sightings and not rely on others, or worse, be the fifth to show up at a sighting and have to wait for other vehicles to move off as conservancy rules require before we could approach. We had none of that in Mara North. Whether that it's because the conservancy is so much larger and less trafficked (or conversely that the other conservancies I've been to are so much smaller and you notice the traffic more). We saw 68 distinct cats in Mara North over 6 days of game driving, which is just phenomenal in my book, certainly better than any previous safari I'd done. So whatever magic David and Kappen employ, it works.

CaliNurse

I know what you mean, AmyB! I found that many conservancy camps lead you to believe you'll be the only one at a sighting, but the fact is, you are not. Even there is just one other camp around, that one camp has several jeeps.
I didnt mind, as with our guide and spotter from Porini Lion (as well as with our fantastic guide at Samburu) we were the first jeep on the scene. of some remarkable sights!
...except at the river crossings of course when there is a crowd. To me though that was one fun and added to the excited sharing of communal "ooh"s and "aah"s from the awestruck groups of humans!

plambers

amyb, you are a big part of why we are finally going to kenya! i cannot believe we leave in 3 weeks!

we are doing ol lentille (was sosian originally), kicheche laikipia and kicheche mara. 5/4/5 days. we are going with teens too so wanted activities to start and then to the real safari.

dmiclat, i relied heavily on our safari planner but also read a ton of reviews on the suggested camps. my priorities were guiding quality, small camps, conservancies, good food and good activities with teens. we wanted brick and mortar for our first stop and then tents. i hope we are happy and am sure we will be bc this is our first and it will all be amazing.

i would also suggest you look at a planner. we narrowed it down to 2 or 4 final agendas and it was obvious that 2 really worked to secure better pricing than the third. also, see if they will honor 2017 prices if you pay in full. that is what we did.

good luck!!

amyb

plambers, I can't believe it's almost here! When you first started talking about it, it seemed like ages away! I will of course be anxiously awaiting your trip report on Safaritalk! I agree with you though, there is immense value in having a safari planner to deal with the details and negotiating on your behalf. Yours did well for you indeed!

CaliNurse, conservancy traffic even at its worst is still far better than over the national parks and reserves. I remember my first leopard sighting in the Serengeti. There had to be 70+ vehicles all 50 yards away from the tree the leopard was in. Luckily for the leopard, we couldn't go off road, but as it moved from tree to tree, all 70 cars jockeyed for a better position as the mass moved with it. It was disgusting. My first leopard sighting in Olare Motorogi was 6 or 8 vehicles, a lot closer to the cat, but much better behaved. I won't go for the migration specifically because I don't want to see the bad behavior of guides and tourists. I'd prefer to remember it as my serene idyllic paradise!

CaliNurse

IMHO, there is NOTHING in the "safari world " like a river crossing. Having other vehicles -maybe ten?--in close proximity is the price you pay. It was one of the most emotional moments I've had not just on safari, but in many other trips which I've been very fortunate to do.
And that's not always the case. The first crossing pointt I saw,from high on the hill at Mara Serena above the eponymous river crossing site below, had only one two jeeps--one on each side of the river. That was August 2012.
The "great migration" I witnessed was during a stay at Keekorok the same month. Keekorok, the first ever Mara lodge (opened by Jomo Kenyatta no less) is as you probably know, next to a "migration" route on the plains. Only two other vehicles were on the "road" driving between herds of thousands of wildebeests.
Evidently, I lucked out! Other than at the river crossing in late June 2014, I've never seen more than six vehicles at a spot, which was in a conservancy-- and that seemed crowded to me. Your Serengeti leopard experience sounds truly awful!!

AmyB, I think you said your next trip is to Samburu? FANTASTIC!! Julie of Gamewatchers too me if she had to pick one reserve in which to live for the rest of her life, it would be Samburu.

Plambers, Kenya is wonderful and you your kids will love, love , love this adventure.Just in case your airport, immigration lines are long and slow, don't be put off. The trip starts the next morning!

i took my teenaged grandson, had two great days in Nairobi,then flew to three tented camps, and he loved it all!! Your teens will as well!!

Dmiclat, how is it going? Final decision?

amyb

I'm kicking around a Samburu/Offbeat Mara safari for Feb 2018 or Zambia in May 2018. I feel like I should branch out but Kenya keeps calling me back. I was also thinking about gorilla trekking again in Rwanda because I want to go back and spend more time in Kigali and the other national parks but the increase in trekking licenses rules that out.

Yes dmiclat, what's the verdict???

CaliNurse

AmyB, trekking to the gorilla families in Uganda is less $. Still a LOT, but unless recently changed, it's less costly there than in Rwanda. And Uganda has interesting--some famous, some remote--game parks. You def'lly won't get hordes of jeeps around one poor animal there- farr fewer safari tourists. But i doubt you'd go there for big cats--it wild be a disappointment after Kenya. However, there is nowhere else in Africa like the Kazinga Channel at QE!!
I totally understand abut the pull of a place you love, vs the "rational" brain saying "time to branch out, girl!" I am like that about India!
The good thing is, it's all in the same"neighborhood" --you could go again to the Mara North conservancy and from there, just head west to Uganda. it is an easy quick flight fromNBO. And have you read Live42Day's report on Ethiopia (including uganda)? Wow!!!

Dmiclat, apologies for the thread hijack. We are all enquiring minds who want to know when we can congratulate you on a final decision!