Kenya & Tanzania Adventure

We have returned from a tailormade trip to Kicheche Mara Camp in Kenya and Fumba Beach Lodge in Zanzibar. I must congratulate Charlie Potter for his organisation and what a great trip it was. Kicheche Mara Camp, what a fabulous place. Tents were absolute luxury, better than some hotels. The staff were ALL excellent, smiley and friendly, they couldn't do enough for you. This camp is in the Mara North Conservancy and I strongly believe this is the way forward for Safaris and camps. The camp was small, just 8 tents all well spaced out with fabulous views right amongst nature itself. Wildlife frequently came into camp and you could hear their calls at night time. In the hours of darkness you were always escorted to your tents. Each night someone goes and puts a hot water bottle in your bed whilst you are dining. Every morning at 5.30 you are woken with a hot drink and freshly baked biscuits - each in the shape of an animal, different each day. Then when you go to the Safari vehicle there is a hot water bottle on your seat - yes this was needed some mornings. Each evening before the meal there was a camp fire where you shared details of your day with others as well as having a drink under the stars. Also Michael gave us a thought of the day, which was always appreciated. The food, what can I say it was 5 star, as good as any top hotel, all cooked on the premises. All the bread, biscuits and cakes were freshly done. Presentation was always excellent as was the service. Always smiles on the staff faces and the camp managers - Ray and Tony - always ate with you. It was great when there was a celebration as all the staff took part and a cake brought out or even champagne. Breakfasts were taken on the early morning game drive and again the food was excellent and it was a good chance to stretch your legs. Back at lunch time for another excellent meal, then afternoon tea before going out again. Then sundowners and snacks on the drive. What more could we ask. We certainly never went hungry. The game drives were superb, we had Saruni and he was always pointing things out, spotting animals and birds and finding the necessary game to view. He was a great friendly guy always smiling and chatting with us. In fact your game drive starts from the moment you land at the airstrip. We followed Cheetahs after an Impala, chased across the valley to watch Hyenas take a Topi down. Gazed at Lionesses with their cubs and prides playing or sleeping in the sun. Elephants tramping through the river Mara. You name it we saw it except for the Leopard, but we did try. We did see a Serval one evening, how Saruni spotted it I don't know as they blend in so well. Lions in large numbers, giraffe, zebra, plenty of Topi, Jackal to name a few plus the great variety of birdlife which is fantastic.

Well where to begin in reviewing this trip? I guess at the start and it certainly is as advertised an adventure, and an adventure you will never forget. From the very beginning arriving into Nairobi airport everything was superbly organised and it wasn't long before we met up with our group of fellow travelers and we're introduced to our exodus team, consisting of our leader Patrick, our driver David, cook Wilson and helper Jessie, what a great team they were too so friendly and welcoming to us all. I don't believe that within the budget of this trip it would be possible to see so much of East Africa as we managed to see on our holiday. Through Kenya, onto Tanzania and then ending in Zanzibar, everyday spent marvelling at what each location has to offer, just as you think things can't get any better in the Massai mara you're into the Serengeti and even greater sights, and then to top it all off my personal favourite was a morning in the ngorrowgorrw crater. Along the way we were lucky enough to see the big five, a cheetah kill a hare, countless giraffes, elephants, wilderbeast, hippos, and so many other animals I can't write them all down. We slept in camps where you could literally hear the lions and hyenas and they sounded so close. We woke mornings to find zebras munching grass within touching distance of our tents, on this trip all this just seems natural, but when you get home you really think about it and realize how lucky you were to see it all. You will sleep in 2 man tents which are a little on the small side but you're so knackered at night you really don't care so long as you can put your head down and go to sleep. There is an awful lot of traveling, there has to be to cram so much into the trip, the truck is pretty comfortable and there is generally lots to see, but take a book or 2 as there are a couple of really long days of transiting destinations. I would thoroughly recommend this trip, indeed if you're reading this review you're obviously considering this holiday, I can offer one piece of advice stop considering right now and book it! I guarantee you won't regret anything unless you don't do this holiday it was for us the trip of a lifetime. Oh and last but not least I have to mention the food which we were a little concerned about before we got there, it was delicious, plenty of variety, and Wilson's soups were really tasty, don't know how he managed it but great cooking really enjoyed every meal.

A truly memorable experience with some long journeys along some very bumpy and dusty roads but the rewards of close encounters with so much of East Africa's wildlife made it all worth while. Our group was 17 strong with 4 crew who worked tirelessly to ensure that we were able to enjoy our trip to the full and the truck had plenty of room for all of us to be able to enjoy the wildlife and catch some magic moments on camera. Camping is a great way to enjoy and experience the wildlife and although some of the camp sites are very basic the location more than makes up for it together with the fact that often we were the only campers.

Very good trip overall. Have seen many animals and have visited many interesting places. Knowledgeable guide. Just before leaving for Zanzibar, we have wasted a day for driving and arriving to a camp site where we were like animals in the zoo for locals to look at and there was nothing to do, except attempt to rescue a beautiful wild bird that was locked up in the cage by the owner of the camp site. It would have been definitely better if we just flew and skipped that night on the continent, but rather spent it on the beautiful Zanzibar. Otherwise, a really nice trip.

Our family thoroughly enjoyed it

It was a great trip, wonderful to see the animals in their natural habitat. Some long days of driving but well worth it in the end. Erellah was great leader, pointed things out that we would've never seen without his help. Wilson, Sam and Esther were great assets to the trip and made it all the more enjoyable. It was my first trip with Exodus and plan on more.

The trip was as good as expected from the description except for some long, rough days travelling, arriving at some destinations too late to explore. The scenery and people of East Africa were fantastic.  The final few days of R&R on Zanzibar were welcome.

I'm very brown and really pleased with myself. I've done a safari and road trip - 2400 kilometres - in Africa. Zanzibar is a brilliant place for a beach holiday - loads of white sand and turquoise ,warm sea. The African sunsets and night skys were worth the trip in themselves. And that's before you get to the animals. And Kilimanjaro. I walked up the first stage of the mountain. Through rainforest. Uphill. Over very rough ground. Nearly killed me but I got there. We had to leave Kenya in a bit of a hurry because of fears of post election troubles. In the event nothing materialised but good to know that Exodus was looking after our wellbeing.   Camping wasn't much of a hardship though I'd definitely recommend paying the single supplement. The campsites ranged from well organised with a bar, to a fenced field with a guard with an AK47, to a night in the wilderness in the Serengetti where you have to have your wits about when you get up in the night. Erecting and dismantling the tents was hard work at first but we soon got the hang of it, helping each other. There were 6 of us.  The group worked well and we had lots of fun. The transport was fit for purpose with cool box, freezer, power sockets for UK plugs. It was comfortable enough. If group numbers meant you were restricted to just one locker each, there wouldn't be much storage space. The food is fine , given that it's cooked on just a couple of gas rings. There's plenty of opportunity to buy booze, though do plan ahead.  

This was one of the most fantastic holidays of my life. Crew on the truck were excellent and Clara the tour guide was a brilliant leader. The other guests were great and we all got on and they supported me as the oldest in the group. Unfortunately Zanzibar was not as good. After a hectic time on safari with early mornings and sometimes long drives it would have been better to go to the beach bungalows first to recover before going to Stone town which was so busy with it's narrow streets and always in danger of being run over by car or scooters. I would rather have had a day in Nairobi to recover from the overnight flight rather than getting off the plane at 4.30 am and being driven to Kembu Farm campsite. One day less in Zanzibar would have been good especially as it rained hard on the last day and we were just hanging around until 4.30 pm drive to the airport.

Great holiday, nice mix of game drives, culture & relaxing by the beach.