Once we arrived Mara Ngerende airstrip, we were welcomed by 4x4 and lovely guide named Tbukhu. There we became instant friends and he was our guide throughout our stay, and he made sure we had a lovely safari experience with our children. Interestingly he knew a lot about Turkey, we even had a long discussion on politics, who would know:) He even knew some Turkish football players names, is not that something. Life always surprises me:)
There we had some cold drinks and hot minty towels to clean our hands and than we hooped into our 4x4 and next minute found ourselves in the middle of wildlife! After may be five minutes driving, we spotted rhinos and crocodiles on Mara river, and did our first quick safari right there! It was so amazing to see these huge animals bathing together.
Mara Ngerende is only 10 minutes away from Fairmont. There were total of 100 tents situated on each side along the river. The tent was exactly the way it was presented on Fairmont's website. It was spacious, unique and luxury. We kind a hesitated that it might be too cold at night, but surprisingly it was not. I actually found it very cozy at night, with warm bottle bags tugged into our beds:) There was a small veranda in front of each tent. Tents have nice distance from each other, they were neither too close nor too far. By the way, because it was not the rainy season there was not any mosquitoes at all!
Fairmont had only one restaurant offered buffet style breakfast and lunch, the dinner was fixed with few items changed during our stay. Breakfast served indoor, lunch was served outdoor, around the pool. Food was ok, I must admit I expected a better quality and more choices though...Waitresses were very helpful and attentive. There is also a bar, where you can get some drinks while you warm up in front of a big fireplace. In terms of entertainment, there was not much. On Friday night there was a Masai dance, which was interesting and fun, and on Saturday there was a Masai talk, it was short but informative.
Unfortunately, there was not any activities for children except the pool which was not warm enough. So be prepared to keep your kids busy, otherwise they can get really bored!
Best part was Safari, all guides were very knowledgeable, they were in contact throughout each safari we took, so if one spotted an animal, he would let others know. Fairmont offers two safaris a day, one is in the morning at 6:30am and second one is in the afternoon at 3:30pm. Getting up at dark was so much fun though! We were waken up by 6:15am with hot chocolates and cookies, can it get better than this?:) Once we got on our 4x4, we were again welcomed by Masai blankets, and started our safari. Tbukhu did all his best to show us all the animals in the wild, he tried so hard for cheetah and leopard, but no luck. The day we were leaving, he came and told, he saw them with a huge smile on his face. Wrong timing I guess!!!!
If you are not one of these wild life lovers but want to taste of safari and see these amazing creatures in their home Masai Mara is the place. I think depending on your expectations 2 or 3 nights would be enough. We stayed 2 full days and one half day and it was perfect for us and our children.
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