My home away from home! From the very first time I visited Kicheche Bush Camp a few years ago, I fell in love with this camp! As we drove into camp we were warmly greeted by Frankie (the doggy), Darren and Emma the hosts and the camp staff. We were introduced to all the other guests, breaking the ice and jumping into conversation about all that they had seen prior to our arrival. We settled into our elegant very spacious and comfortable tents. We met our tent attendant, waiters and guides and before we even introduced ourselves – they all knew who we were! It was just like coming back home after some time away.
Last year, as the world went into lock down, I was in the Mara experiencing the Kicheche Camps 5-night walking wilderness safari (what an incredible experience to walk across the Mara conservancies) The Masai Mara was emptying – tourists were leaving to get the last flights back to their home countries before the world locked down. It was so surreal to experience the Mara without any tourists!
Last year I visited Kicheche Bush camp 5 times! People ask me, “don’t you ever get tired going back to the same place and same destination.?” … The answer is a loud NO! If I was told to pack my bags and get there right now I would!
I’ve just recently come back from Kicheche Bush Camp after 5 incredible nights, and again I was asked…”Why do you keep going back there?” So, here’s why….
The Location & Wildlife
Kicheche Bush Camp is located in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy bordering the Masai Mara. Olare Motorogi is known as the ‘Big Cat’ Conservancy – it’s no wonder why the conservancy is also has some incredible camps and why photographers flock here. My recent trip was to celebrate my birthday and I was incredibly lucky to enjoy a “Cattrick” on my birthday – seeing lions, leopards and cheetahs all in one day! Even more special was seeing Fig – (the famous leopard) and her cub Faulu everyday! It was incredible experience!
The Camp
The Hosting & Service
The Guides
A Typical Day at Kicheche Bush Camp
It starts with a wake up call at about 5:30am, our tent attendant comes with our order of coffee (and also my extra order of coffee for my ‘to go’ mug). It’s still dark and our askari (guard) is waiting outside for us to flash our torch so he knows we’re ready to be escorted to our game drive vehicle, where one of our hosts is waiting to wish us a successful safari.
We jump in the camp safari vehicle and excitedly head out for the morning. Typically our morning game drive lasts about 5 – 6 hours and we stop for breakfast out in the wild. Breakfast could be set up under a tree with a scenic view or if we’ve come across an exciting wildlife encounter we’ll just sit in the car with our breakfast pack.
We usually get back to camp before lunch just in time for a cool pre-lunch drink. Lunch is usually set up in the garden, under the trees overlooking the beautiful wilderness. We indulge in a variety of salads, freshly baked sourdough bread and a hearty main after which we’re ready for a siesta! At 4:00pm tea and coffee is waiting for us, while our guides are packing our sundowner drinks. Back in the car for our evening game drive for a few hours, enjoying our sundowner watching the beautiful Mara sunset. We arrive back at the camp, freshen up and meet up with the other guests by the bonfire, as we indulge in pre-dinner drinks and share stories of the day’s sightings. Dinner is set up inside the dining tent where we enjoy a hearty, freshly cooked meal before retiring to our tent for the night, escorted by our askari who wishes us ‘lala salama’ good night!
Kicheche Bush Camp is best suited for enthusiastic safari go-ers and wildlife photographers.
Other Experiences
Besides the game-drives at Kicheche Bush Camp, there are a couple of other experiences that guests can enjoy. One is the Walking Wilderness 5 night walking safari from Kicheche Valley Camp in Naboisho Conservancy to Kicheche Bush Camp in Olare Motorogi Conservancy. This is a really cool and unique walking safari experience, through the conservancies. After a few hours of walking in the conservancies, guests spend the night in a fly camp overnight.
Another experience is visiting the Maa Trust Project. Approximately 5 minutes drive from the camp – this place has some of the most incredible leather and beadwork items that I’ve seen. Maa Beadwork is a community based organization consisting of almost 600 Maasai women. The Maasai women work together through self help groups and create beautiful high quality bead work products for guests to purchase. The goal of the project is to build the Maa Beadwork into a self-sustaining social enterprise and expand to include and empower the local Maasai women.
If you’re visiting the area (even if you’re not staying at Kicheche Bush Camp), it’s definitely worth a visit!
