Porini Lion Camp

The accommodations recommended to us were better than we imagined. There are not enough words to describe the sensations and attention we received at Porini Lion Camp. The warmth of all the people who participated in “the trip of our dreams” will be unforgettable.

A truly authentic, eco-friendly safari experrience where the focus is on reconnecting with nature, and enjoying phenomenal game viewing lead by expert guides within a private concession.

Porini Lion was very nice in terms of the tents, it was even nicer and more spacious than Porini Mara. All the staff members were equally kind and nice! Guides equally good (Jon Marc and William)! What is great about all the guides at Porini is their love for wildlife and their knowledge! We got to see so many things in action including lions mating, cheetah hunting and many more!

This was an amazing experience. Being able to sit out the front of our tent and watch the wildlife go by was wonderful. The whole concept of the camps where they employ people from the local community gave the camp a really family and personal feel. All the staff were wonderful and couldn’t do enough for us, including another birthday cake, champagne and Maasai dance on our last night. The location of the camp meant we had almost every animal we could think of on our doorstep – lions (of course), leopards, cheetahs, elephants, hippos, zebras, warthogs, gazelles, hyenas and of course thousands of wildebeest! We considered ourselves very lucky to see a wildebeest herd crossing the Mara River from the Mara back to the Serengeti discovered that her second favourite animal (after lions) is the warthog – she couldn’t get enough of them.

Porini Lion Camp and Selous Impala Camp were tops in every aspect.

Sue: Porini Lion Camp and Selous Impala Camp were tops in every aspect.

Tori: Porini Lion Camp was fabulous. The location and the fact that is was a conservancy, the food, guides, tents, schedule, animal viewing was all top notch. We will definitely consider staying at other Porini camps in the future. One small hitch was that our schedule said we were to be given a packed lunch, but we didn’t receive one. As I had a 10 year old with me and none of us are big breakfast eaters, this left us quite weak for the long day of flight, border crossing, flight, game drive and late afternoon arrival to the next camp. Another family we met at the airstrip had so much extra food that they gave us an extra bag that we devoured between the 5 of us.

Then you have Mara…what can i say. You can’t go to Mara if you dont want to be bitten by the Africa bug. You will always want to come back for more after Mara. I absolutely LOVE it.
The best camp is Lion camp, what a place! I will do not think twice and book a week only at Lion camp any time. the other advantage for Lion Camp is the proximity to the National Park, but i can tell you, i would happily stay on the conservancy and drive around their river trying to spot a leopard or a crossing than going into the madness of tourist crows in the park, The Lion conservancy is so rich in wildlife and so beautiful so well protected you dont need to go anywhere. I am definitely going back there again.
The other thing i want to mention is the food. They get a 5 star in every place! I was concerned about this and brought a bunch of chocolate with me just in case. No need, food is excellent everywhere, yummy, with a variety of dishes for all tastes or traditions. Some of the guests even asked for recipes to take back home as some dishes were too good.
And a day room? Best idea ever! After 10 days in the while you do need to rest and take a long shower before getting into a flight. Eka is for sure where i would always stay. It is great, with beautiful rooms and a high level of security for the guest.

We loved the Porini Camps. The staff at each were wonderful and very accommodating. The food was excellent. It’s hard to pick a favorite. Our sleeping arrangements were very comfortable and my daughter got along fine without a blow dryer. At the Mara we forgot to zip the tent flaps before dinner and were welcomed back at our tent by a couple of vervet monkeys ransacking the inside looking for cookies.

In the morning we were very happy to be heading to a more, in our view, authentic African experience at Porini Lion Camp. When we first arrived we were a bit surprised, but not put off, by the simplicity of the camp as neither of us had ever stayed in a tent camp before. Ultimately, we loved it there. The comfort of the tent was more than adequate, and for us I think the most difficult adjustment was requesting water for the shower, which once done, was surprisingly nice. We loved eating at a group table and enjoyed the conversation with other travelers. We thought the food was good, not great. As for the guides and safaris….wow. Our guides were Jackson and John Mack. They remembered you fondly and I do think they actually did remember you. They were amazing and we loved the “Masai brotherhood”.

Both camps were great. We were well taken care of from arrival to departure. The food is always good but not over the top. We ended up being a couple of weeks early for the main migration, but the amount of game at the two camps was phenomenal. The game drives and the nature walk were all lead by Masai tribesman who spoke excellent English and were obviously knowledge about everything in their environment.

We had a wonderful time in the Mara. We were very pleased with the accommodation, food and staff. Understanding we were a little early for the migration, we still saw lots of animals, including baby cheetahs, and thoroughly enjoyed our safari vacation.

We thought the Porini camps (Amboseli, Lion, and Rhino) were all just as described and we were so happy with our choice. We had all the comfort we could ask for and still knew we were not harming the land and were, hopefully, doing right by the people. The Maasai guides and drivers and truly, all the staff were warm, considerate, and they had an impressive knowledge of nature. They had our days all planned out with night drives, morning drives with a picnic breakfast fit for a king, guided nature walks, and all day drives with the best safari picnic lunch.

Jim and I have to say our trip to the Porini camps was the most memorable we ever taken. As seniors who aren’t really travel-savvy, we were initially uncomfortable with the idea of exploring Africa on our own. However, Nic and Greg were quite adamant that the Porini Safari Camps would meet our every need and we would feel not only comfortable, but pampered. They were so right and we had the trip of a lifetime! Of course the animals of Africa were wonderful… but the people aligned with Porini Camps were even more so! We were met at the airport and escorted by exceptionally gracious people from the minute we landed until our departure.

I have returned from Africa and I can honestly say I had an excellent holiday at Porini. The camp and staff were wonderful.

Lion Porini is in an amazing location, they have good guides and the food is okay but can be repetative. It was amazng for the big cats.

We even witnessed the mating of the lions, twice. I cannot say enough good things about the Porini Camps. The staff at both camps was wonderful. The food could not have been better and the accommodations were clean and comfortable. I would recommend both you and the camps to anyone wanting to take this incredible adventure.

The trip to the Lion Porini Camp was outstanding and I can’t wait to go back there sometime in the near future. The location is unbeatable, since the conservancy is private and therefore not overrun with vehicles full of people from the lodges in the Mara – but we also had permits to enter the Mara, so it was literally the best of both worlds.

I loved the Porini Lion Camp. The food, accommodations, and certainly the guides, Meshak and William, were all wonderful. The wildlife viewing far exceeded my expectations. I still cannot believe how close we were able to get to the animals, especially the big cats. The variety of animals that we saw was equally amazing.

The Lion camp was our favorite – the setting set my spirit soaring – the wide open plains awakened parts of me long asleep. The quantity of lions in the Olare Orok Conservancy is staggering and our guide, Meschack, knew all of them by heart. He could find them on every drive and get us so close that in one small pounce, any cat could’ve been in the Land Rover in an instant. We saw leopard, serval cat, cheetah, elephants and on and on. We even saw a crossing of wildebeest at the Mara River along with a crocodile kill of one of them. The balloon ride was beautiful – the breakfast after very special. We were fortunate enough to have Meschack and Jared as our personal drivers and spotters for the whole trip at Lion. In fact, we only shared one drive at Amboselli park with another couple, the rest of the time we were in the jeeps privately. Very nice! Meschack was a special man – he and I both appreciated the quiet and space within the conservancy and while on drives. We made a friend in him and shared many memories.

The food wasn’t terrific at the Porini camps by the way – it was alright and I did not go for the food but for seeing the wildlife – still – just thought I should let you know it wasn’t terrific – it was better at Lion than at Amboselli though.

We also met Jake Grieves-Cook at Lion along with his wife Shaun and their 2 friends. Our first night, we were the only ones at the camp and thusly were able to enjoy a delightful bush lunch and dinner with them. it was a great opportunity to get to know Jake and his friends, I love his wife Shaun!

Our trip was amazing. The Lion Porini and Mara Porini camps were what we expected and a lot more. Our flight to the Masai Mara was really exciting. And ofcourse, Meschak and crew were waiting for us at the airstrip in Masai Mara to take us to Lion Porini camp. The Porini experience was fabulous. We also met Mohanjeet the director by chance at the Mara Porini camp. Our guide Lamara , at Mara Porini camp was another amazing guy. We had great vegetarian fare and they were all very friendly and always ready to meet our requests. I would go back to the Porini camps again.

The Porini camp at Mara was our favorite. Not so luxurious as the Tortillis, the service is unbelievable; Phillip (camp Mgr.) constantly checking on us, everybody at camp would help you out for anything you needed with a smile, waked you up gently, brought you coffe or tea in the morning, chatting, the night dinner and chats with the other guests was all wonderful. Mara as park was out favorite too. What a place !!! Animal paradise!! The guides were funny and knew their way around amazingly. We had a walking tour and were tought how to throw a massai spear and my 12 year old daughter was the best . Even the guard that followed us played with us with the spear. Everybody was so friendly!! When we were at Paris and London small room hotels, we really missed our lovely tents, and the Kenyan people.

It’s hard to say what was the best part of the trip. The tent camps at Ilkiliani and Porini Lion Camp were an incredible experience. Massive herds of Wildebeest and zebra, and elephants, lions, and hyenas everywhere. And that was just the trip from the airstrip to the Ilkiliani camp the first day!!

The Lion Camp was maybe too exciting. We had elephants grazing directly outside the tent, hippos so close they brushed up against the tent, and nearby hyena calling. Good thing for the Maasai guarding our tents. They give you whistles to blow in case of danger. They told us no one had ever needed to blow the whistle yet — otherwise I would have been on that whistle!

Porini Lion Camp is set in very beautiful area the trees are on three sides and open space in front of the camp, the tent are large the manager Philip and the rest of the staff are just great. Few improvements are needed (cars for example ). I think the area is the best and more beautiful than all the places that I have been to.
The animals are everywhere ,the migration have arrived in the area . We have seen actual kill by a leopard, it was amazing, many lions and other animals.
My next safari would be in that area.

Our trip to Masai Mara was without complications, and we were met at the airport by our guide/driver, Mechak, and our guide-in-training, Jackson. They were wonderful guides and succeeded in showing us all
the hiding places of the animals, except for the rhino. The landscape was very different from Amboseli, and we were very glad we’d decided to travel to two different camps in our safari. The green fields and
hills filled with wildebeest and other animals were an amazing sight. We saw lions, cheetahs, leopards, jackals, serval cats, baboons, monkeys, bush babies, mongoose, hyenas, elephants, zebra, wildebeest,
antelope, ostriches, hippos, giraffe, buffaloes, warthogs, and a wide variety of birds. Highlights for us were seeing a cheetah make a kill and share it with her six cubs, dueling male giraffes, fighting hippos
(wow, do they have huge mouths!), sundowners surrounded by lions, and, of course, the wildebeest migration across the river.

The Lion Porini camp was similar to our previous camp, but a little nicer in decor. The camp manager, Philip, was very nice and all went smoothly in the camp. We enjoyed the fabulous food, campfires, and the
company of the other campers. The morning walk near the camp was also very interesting. We loved being woken up with a tray of hot coffee, hot chocolate, and cookies each morning. The nights were full of
animal noises just outside our tent, which made it even a more genuine safari experience.

The accommodations were disappointing. It was too “basic” or “rustic” for me and not as clean as I am accustomed to. However, the food was very good and the staff was excellent. I happened to be there on my birthday which I had totally forgotten about until during dinner a group of Masai males in their traditional tribal robes came out dancing (jumping) and singing in my honor. It was fantastic. The chef baked me a birthday cake which was shared with all the other guests. Our driver/guides were great (although the 4wheel drive vehicles were not in good shape. One was broken down and another was spewing fumes into the beautiful Mara). I was able to see cheetahs, leopards, lion pride kills, wilderbeest crossing (the animals I most truly love), etc. The abundant animal life was amazing. It was fantastic.

Your assistance and professional salesmanship, both of which made for an amazing experience on the African leg of our anniversary vacation. And thanks for warning me about “Africanisms.” Almost nothing went as planned, but still everything was grand.

An example would be Flight 540, which you were kind enough to substitute for what would have been a hideous bus journey. They had changed the time of the scheduled flight, so we went to check in an hour and twenty minutes early, only to find that their counter was closed and the aircraft had already left the terminal. People yelled into phones, hustled us though security and immigration, grabbed our bags and literally ran us through the airport to a service vehicle that drove us down the tarmac to a plane that was ready to take off. Although we’re not likely to take it in the near future, Flight 540 turned out to be absolutely charming and is now one of our all-time favourite airlines.

Thanks again for finding a way to accommodate Dina’s dream of Ngorogoro and Oldupai without too much additonal strain on our somewhat taxed budget (there was also a week in Rome).

After you had sold us on the Porini Camps, I read nothing but rave reviews on the Internet, and now agree with those reviews. Their vehicles, by the way, seem better for game viewing than the ones we occasionally encountered from Governors.

If our journey should inspire any of our friends and relatives across Canada to think African thoughts, we will recommend GO2AFRICA,
and if they should be interested in East Africa, we’ll tell them to ask for you.

We have to say that coming from the northern Serengeti, that is still in a way “uncontaminated”, we perceived Kenya as more “commercial”: upon arrival, the Maasai guide took us to the exact place were he knew there was a pride of lions, so the “discovery” feeling just vanished away.It went the same for the rest of the game drive: very satisfactory for the quantity and beauty of all the sights we had, but more “organized” and missing the intimacy with nature we experienced before. We drove to the Mara river waiting for the crossing and we found ourselves surrounded by dozens of other cars!The camp was very nice, Philip, the manager was kind and helpful.

Ballon experience: this was unfortunately the only really negative experience of our beautiful Africa: too much commercial, loud and managed in a way not at all respectful of nature!!!
We were taken in a huge and horrible lodge (tree top lodge) resembling a Las Vegas hotel: surrounded by tourists wearing hawaiian shirts and flip flops, smoking and throwing cigarette butts in the bush.
Together with another 60 persons we were taken to the ballon place where they managed to pack 16 desperate people in one basket, then the pilot started to scream like in a one of those vacation villages we try to stay away from. When spotting animals, he was just taking the balloon as close as possible and this actually scared them. Last but not least, once landed, they drove the crowd to the bush, where they had prepared breakfast and 4 very long tables were set up in the quiet savana, while they were marketing the pictures taken during the flight as well as the certificate. We have to admit it was the saddest experience we have had and this is exactly what Africa should not be. It was our choice, but If we had known we would have decided to spend our time in a different way.

Lions Porini Camp was quite enjoyable and pretty well-run, generally good service. Plenty of animals to see, friendly staff. They didn’t have any change for high dollar denominations though and that presented a small problem with tipping.
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here was absolutely no information available to us prior to our balloon flight on Saturday regarding the timetable except for the pickup time of 4:45 am…no idea how long the drive was going to be to get there or where we were going…no idea of the details of the flight itself. We were actually told by Porini people that we would be back by 9 am for a game drive; in fact we didn’t get back until 11 am and the game drive was long gone. Poor coordination to say the least.

Lion Porini had many of the same features as Amboseli in terms of staff kindness, comfortable tents, good food (but if I were to have to compare, I would have to say that the food at Amboseli was somewhat better), relatively *smooth* rides on the drives, and excellent drivers/guides. Moreover, going to Lion Porini after Amboseli was the perfect order for us as the game that was at Lion was somewhat more exciting. We saw a leopard stalking Thompson Gazelle within 10 minutes of our landing, and with the quick vehicle movements to track this activity and the close distances between the vehicles and animals, it probably would have been too stimulating as a first exposure to watching the animals. But our interest in the stalking activities quickly grew. A few hours later we saw a fresh lion kill with the whole family feasting from the males to the cubs (no, I don’t think we have a propensity to like violent interactions). This was all very exciting for us. To see the wide array of animals in their natural environments, acting naturally (despite our close proximity), was not what we expected and what we experienced far exceeded our expectations.

Speaking of excitement, we had a bit of a mishap with our tent one night, we were in the unfortunate position of being in the path of migrating ants! Around midnight my two 11 year old sons woke to say that their heads were *on fire* and when I looked closely, I saw that ants were not only all over them but all over the floor, ceiling and in particular had invaded one of the beds! Following the strict (and sound) orders to stay in our tents at all times at night (yes, we heard the lions and hippos roaring), and while we frantically brushed active ants off of our bodies and feet, we called for help with the whistle. We were quickly taken care of and provided a clean, ant free tent and the staff emptied the infested tent of all our necessities for
us. I can*t tell you how safe we felt being in the hands of the able staff during our time of crisis that night..the crisis rapidly dissipated thanks to their immediate and effective responses. While we only experienced minor stings and a really good scare, we quickly forgot our trauma thanks to the staff. We also further challenged the staff as Carles had sinus problems…and the staff were very accommodating and took him to the clinic to obtain decongestants.

While all the staff at Lion Porini were great, I have to put in an extra plug for Mershalk and Johnson who were our driver/guide. Their knowledge base about the animals and the Masai were encyclopaedic and they were highly skilled at finding us a full range of animals and birds to view during our drives (night and day). Quite frankly, we were very sad to leave at the end of the safari.

The Porini camps were great. If I had to do it over again I wouldn’t have done both Lion and Mara and just done Lion Camp (but we enjoyed Mara nonetheless).

In Amboseli we saw up close and personal a lioness moving via her mouth a newborn cup. First ever for me and my guide of 20 something years! Porini is a nice average quality camp. But it is over an hour drive from Amboseli. The conservacy was limited with game because of the intense dry season conditions.

It is really ecotourism but has a limited access to water, electricity and is really far into the bush, but all the more perfect for it. The masai that were there were really nice and open and welcoming and the guide, Daniel, was really knowledgeable and willing to share the information.

We had a fantastic time and the Africa exceeded our expections hugely. The Maasai Mara is an amazing place and the Lion Porini camp exceptional.

We are very satisfied with your service and will consider using your services again in the future when we next visit Africa.

Since this was the first tented camp that we had ever stayed in we didn’t know quite what to expect. However the staff made all the difference. They were very friendly, helpful, caring, and personable. The atmosphere was almost like a big family. We enjoyed spending time with our guide seeing numerous animals and going for a walk with 3 Masai warriors. They were terrific. We also had the opportunity to go to a Masai village and meet the people. The food was excellent and exquisitely prepared. We very much enjoyed
the interaction with the other people on safari-at meal times, safari drives and sundowners. Last of all, Porini provided all of the refreshments free. They served wine, beer, whatever you wanted at dinner for no additional charge. There was also a refrigerator stocked with beer, soft drinks, juice and water available any time you wished. Truly a wonderful experience. A small detail that we really liked was that we were provided a list of every mammal and bird found in Amboseli so we could check them off. This list was not provided at any other location. Your information on the facility does need to be updated regarding the facilities as there are now 9 tents instead of 6 as was indicated.

There were just a few items that were not so favorable.
1. Porini only gives you 20 liters of water to shower with. This isapproximately 3 minutes of shower time each. The bucket is filled up once a day, in the evening, with hot water. The first day I was very tired and made the mistake of waiting until the next morning to shower. Needless to say it was freezing! I didn’t want to be under the water more than 3 minutes. The next evening I made sure I used my 3 minutes then. It would be nice to have a little more water. After a long day of game viewing it would feel so good to be able to stay in the shower a little bit longer. 2. The most disappointing thing happened shortly before leaving camp. Mike and I packed our bags the night before so we wouldn’t have to worry about it the next morning. We just left out what toiletries we needed. After breakfast when Mike was finishing putting in his few remaining items he realized his sandals were missing. He had put them in the bag last of all so he knew they should be on the top. After some searching he found them under the twin bed that we had not used. It appears that they had been removed from his bag while we were at breakfast and placed in a spot where they would not be seen and therefore, would be left. The staff had changed the night before and I can’t imagine how this happened except that one of the new staff had removed them.

At Lion Porini we always felt welcome & were located in the centre of all wildlife happenings. We also highly appreciated the eco-character of the Camp (solar panels). What was great was that all drinks were included into the price.