Porini Mara Camp

Ol Kinyei was just wonderful. Plane departed on time (even earlier) and we met with our guides Jasper snd Tiba at the airstrip. We were actually in the midst of Loita Migration and that is exactly what I wanted for this trip! One of my dreams was to actually see the calving, which we missed only by 5 minutes... Jasper and Tiba were so knowledgable, and I can really see their love for the animals, and being extremely sensitive to them while still being up close. Porini Mara was such a cozy and intimate camp. Food was excellent, and all the staff members were just wonderful!

The Porini Mara was a great choice! The visit to the village was good too. Fabulous to have walked back to Porini, and we had a chance to chat with the Tourist Police fellow as well as the guide, and canvass a range of different subjects. Loved seei ng the traditional uses of plants in the reserve!

The manager was nothing less than perfect: warm welcome, helpful throughout our stay and very nice up to the very last minute. Our guide Jimmy was extraordinary, always nice, helpful and eager to give us every possible information and chance to see w ildfife, and we also had lot of fun. Also Marima the spotter was very good and helpful. Meals were very good and the chef very kind.

Thanks for setting up another great adventure. My wife was sort of reluctant in the beginning but after making the trip, she couldn't have been more impressed. 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. The memories and photos will be with us forever.

We had a wonderful time in the Mara. We were very pleased with the accommodations, food and staff at both camps. I was surprised by the need to change planes coming in from Nairobi and the multiple stops on the way back. I had no idea the Mara had so many air strips! I especially liked the style of jeep used by the Porini camps and appreciated the ponchos they keep in the vehicles for the guests. It was a little cooler than I anticipated in the mornings:) The drivers and vehicles were also impressive in pulling other safari vehicles out of the mud on two occasions. Both camps packed breakfasts and/or lunches for us and we enjoyed our picnic meals in the wilderness. While it was nice to have the conservancy as an additional game drive option, I would say that Mara Porini is somewhat disadvantaged by the one hour drive to get to the Mara. Having said that, we did spot our only leopard in the conservancy as we were leaving Mara Porini and heading for Lion Porini. At Lion Porini there is virtually no distinction between the conservancy and the Mara. Understanding we were a little early for the migration, we still saw lots of animals, including baby cheetahs, and thoroughly enjoyed our safari vacation.

The accommodation in the Porini camps, the tents were nice, spacious and clean, a lot better and comfortable than one would expect in the middle of the savannas. The food and wine was good and the staff were really nice, friendly and helpful in both camps. The Masai guides were very well prepared and they had a very good command of English which was a positive surprise for me.

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 adama nt 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 (which occurred too soon).

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. Ofcourse, Meschak and the 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.

"I just wanted to let you know that we had an absolutely awesome safari! Everything went so smoothly. Gamewatchers did a wonderful job and we loved the experience at the Porini camps. It was a vacation that our family will never forget."

Excellent game viewing. We saw a leopard in a tree in the Masai Mara and had to share the view with at least 20 other vehicles. The next morning we went on an early morning game drive in the conservancy and saw two leopards: a smaller animal that w as travelling along a creek bank who was intent on escaping our view as soon as he could, and a larger leopard that was stalking some prey. The second leopard looked a bit annoyed that we were interfering with his breakfast, but let us get a fairly long look at him. In the conservancy, it was just our vehicle viewing the leopards.

Certainly very close to the wildlife here! Hippos and buffalo outside our tent every night. Ernest the manager was very good and we had wonderful walks with the Masai here. The food was great and very well taken care of. They had good staff and the M asai did a wonderful dance here the last night (as did Amboseli) on our sundowner.