The Wilson AirKenia is not like the airport terminals you know neither the check-in. Multi-use plastic boarding passes with different colors and you are told which destination and which color is boarding for the next flight. Of course it is a small plane which you board and ours was for max 18people and we boarded with an hour delay.
Interestingly enough, it was sort of a direct flight - we had 2 stops in between and ours was the 3rd as we were told at the check-in.
At arrival in Masai Mara, we were met by the driver with a dark green land cruiser ... open roof, open windows and an hour drive to the camp.Luckily, we saw on the way a cheetah, elephants, giraffes, wildebeests, and many gazelles for which drivers don't stop to observe because they are many and locals don't find them particularly interesting.
Тhe camp Ilkeliani was superb - the tents were so good, with bathrooms etc. that you cannot say that you are in a tent. The electricity is limited - only in the morning and in the evenings and chargers are available only in the bar... Yes, there was a bar and a restaurant where we had our breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Electricity was coming from solar panels as well as the hot water. Interestingly, the lamps were like gas-lamps but with electric bulb instead and we had 2 in the room and 1 in the bathroom. Also I should mention that they fed us way too much (you are told what the menu for the day is and you might be able to change something like me, asking for apple for dessert pretty much each meal.
It was quite unique to go to bed early but you do not have much to do and thinking about the early morning call and busy day and the fact the I needed to catch on sleep and relax, I somehow did it and survived!
A funny moment was the first night when we were asked what time we want our wake up call and my first reaction was: What wake-up call? There's no phone! haha The wake-up call was someone coming to the tent and calling you to get up! You can live without technology and at the same time it reminded me of the time when I was a kid and my parents were waking me up...
The chef Jonathan was very very good and we were amazed by him! The other amazing thing was the staff ! Always smiling, nice and helpful!
The games were every day twice - first at 6.30 in the morning for about 2 hours because you have to catch the breakfast before 9 and second at 3.30 in the afternoon till 6.30 when the park closes. during our stay, it was raining pretty much every afternoon and on some occasions heavily although this is not the raining season and the result was that the animals were hiding most afternoons.
The first day we saw lions mating, which lasts for less than a minute and repeats every 15-20 min for a few days. Apparently the lions are very lazy animals and the lioness does all the job hunting etc. we saw a few more times lions and the case was always the same... both laying and don't even bothering to look around or get up. Once we observed 4 lionesses who were probably sisters and were eating their victim. once lions were observed while staying in the rain, just sitting and not doing anything.
In summary, we saw giraffes, elephants, ostrich, gazelles a few types, thousands of zebras and wildebeest, hyenas, cheetahs, warthogs, birds, baboons, hippos, crocodiles (last 2 in the Mara river);
Masai Mara was a great experience and the guide along with the camp staff made it even greater! Furthermore, they set the standard really high.
The vast territories on Maasai Mara with their golden greenish shades, the migrating wildebeests, zebras, gazelles and all others were unforgettable experience which lasted too short - like our guide and some of the staff told us, we have to come for at least a week if not a month but this shall be the next time because I have to go back to Kenya!
Of course, there were tons of pictures taken :)
Interestingly enough, it was sort of a direct flight - we had 2 stops in between and ours was the 3rd as we were told at the check-in.
At arrival in Masai Mara, we were met by the driver with a dark green land cruiser ... open roof, open windows and an hour drive to the camp.Luckily, we saw on the way a cheetah, elephants, giraffes, wildebeests, and many gazelles for which drivers don't stop to observe because they are many and locals don't find them particularly interesting.
Тhe camp Ilkeliani was superb - the tents were so good, with bathrooms etc. that you cannot say that you are in a tent. The electricity is limited - only in the morning and in the evenings and chargers are available only in the bar... Yes, there was a bar and a restaurant where we had our breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Electricity was coming from solar panels as well as the hot water. Interestingly, the lamps were like gas-lamps but with electric bulb instead and we had 2 in the room and 1 in the bathroom. Also I should mention that they fed us way too much (you are told what the menu for the day is and you might be able to change something like me, asking for apple for dessert pretty much each meal.
It was quite unique to go to bed early but you do not have much to do and thinking about the early morning call and busy day and the fact the I needed to catch on sleep and relax, I somehow did it and survived!
A funny moment was the first night when we were asked what time we want our wake up call and my first reaction was: What wake-up call? There's no phone! haha The wake-up call was someone coming to the tent and calling you to get up! You can live without technology and at the same time it reminded me of the time when I was a kid and my parents were waking me up...
The chef Jonathan was very very good and we were amazed by him! The other amazing thing was the staff ! Always smiling, nice and helpful!
The games were every day twice - first at 6.30 in the morning for about 2 hours because you have to catch the breakfast before 9 and second at 3.30 in the afternoon till 6.30 when the park closes. during our stay, it was raining pretty much every afternoon and on some occasions heavily although this is not the raining season and the result was that the animals were hiding most afternoons.
The first day we saw lions mating, which lasts for less than a minute and repeats every 15-20 min for a few days. Apparently the lions are very lazy animals and the lioness does all the job hunting etc. we saw a few more times lions and the case was always the same... both laying and don't even bothering to look around or get up. Once we observed 4 lionesses who were probably sisters and were eating their victim. once lions were observed while staying in the rain, just sitting and not doing anything.
In summary, we saw giraffes, elephants, ostrich, gazelles a few types, thousands of zebras and wildebeest, hyenas, cheetahs, warthogs, birds, baboons, hippos, crocodiles (last 2 in the Mara river);
Masai Mara was a great experience and the guide along with the camp staff made it even greater! Furthermore, they set the standard really high.
The vast territories on Maasai Mara with their golden greenish shades, the migrating wildebeests, zebras, gazelles and all others were unforgettable experience which lasted too short - like our guide and some of the staff told us, we have to come for at least a week if not a month but this shall be the next time because I have to go back to Kenya!
Of course, there were tons of pictures taken :)
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