Karen Blixen Camp

A must stay

If you're considering a stay in Masai Mara - Karen Blixen Camp (KBC) is the place to stay. I truly can't recommend this place enough.

It's beautifully located on the banks of Mara River, where a huge hippofamily is residing on a permanent basis.

From the garden in front of the maintent you can watch a vast variety of wildlife drink from the river and forage on the steep hillside across the river.

The tents are raised above the ground on hardwood-floors – all respectfully and deliciously decorated in keeping with the era of Karen Blixen, when she lived in Kenya. Every tent has it's own bathroom and an outdoor shower at one end - at the other there's a lovely veranda overlooking the above mentioned wildlife.

The staff is extremely friendly and accommodating. You are not expected to tip along the way , as the KBC keeps an appreciation box, where you can leave what you find reasonable at the end of your stay. The money will be distributed among all the staff, which I find to be a great idea, this way everybody is rewarded and not only the staff with direct guest contact.

KBC is not fenced, and being close to wildlife you'll be pleased to know, that a number of Masai are on duty in the dark hours to safely escort you, when you need to leave your tent. They'll know your tent by the specific sound of the bell, that serves as keychain.

Laundry: For a small price you can have your laundry done, most is handwashed. They don't do underwear, but there's detergent available in the tents.

There's a small shop - mostly it's KBC memorabilia and postcards. So be sure to bring all you'll need for personal purposes, there aren't any convenience stores in the neighbourhood.

Unique Quality: KBC is excellently located for gamedrives. As for the local safariguides, I obviously can't speak for all of them, but I warmly recommend Tony and Nestor for the task. Between them they have extensive knowledge about the area and the wildlife there.

Food: The restaurant is lovely and the food is tasty. And there's always room for special requests. Before the early morning gamedrive tea/coffee and biscuits/cake is offered in the maintent. You can ask to have it delivered at your tent, which will also serve as your wakeup call. I loved that. Free tea and coffee is available all through the day.

Library: There are referencebooks on wildlife and the area on the shelves in the maintent - and former guests have left books they finished while there. I left 'Saving fish from drowning' by Amy Tan on the shelf - so if you're there long enough, it's a good read.

Internet: If you bring a laptop there's free WIFI in the maintent, and it reaches to the closest tents (1 – 3) so make sure to book one of them, if you want to go online in 'private' – However know that you are in a fairly remote place, so do expect a fall out now and again - this also goes for general power-failure - quickly fixed though.

Ecofriendly: where it's practically possible KBC is solar panel powered. The Mara River is the main watersource, and they actually mean it, when they ask you to consider if change of towels or bedlinen is really necessary. Do ask for a tour – 'Behind the scenes of KBC' - it takes roughly an hour, and you'll be amazed to discover how well and efficiently this ecofriendly camp is being run.

Laundry: For a small price you can have your laundry done, most is handwashed. They don't do underwear, but there's detergent available in the tents.

Massage: a good massage could be exactly what you need between gamedrives - I didn't have any treatments myself - but testimonials from fellow travellers tells me, that KBC has employed a highly skilled massagetherapist, who works by the pool.