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KICHWA TEMBO PICTURE LINK
The Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp is located just outside of the Masai Mara National Reserve on the northwestern
corner. It's located deep in the trees at the foot of the Oloololo Escarpment. They have a pleasant pool
with changing rooms that have bathrooms, a reception area, bar/lounge, gift shop, and an indoor/outdoor dining area.
The food is excellent,
and Kichwa Tembo is in fact rated as having the best cuisine in the Masai Mara! Breakfast was always a buffet
with a made-to-order omelette bar. Lunch was a variety of buffet themes, with one being a barbecue.
There was always a made-to-order pasta bar. There's an afternoon tea served in the bar/lounge from 4:00p.m. to 6:00p.m.
Dinner was a three-course meal (the soups were superb!) with you
making choices off a menu. It was somewhat formal and included a variety of themes. Jeff particularly remembers
that beer was cheaper to purchase than water -- go figure!
This fenced camp lies deep in a monkey-rich forest. We sat and watched these monkeys in the trees on
several occasions. In fact whenever you leave your tent, you are told to tie a knot at the bottom of the zip opening as
the monkeys are always curious to find out what you have left behind! There are 40 Hemingway-style safari tents here shaded by
the dense forest canopy which all overlooks the endless, game-filled plain of the Masai Mara. The land is
leased from the Ilkarekeshe Masai tribe, and many Masai even work here!
At this camp, they pay special attention to details. Each table in the restaurant was assigned seating,
and they were very accompanying in moving us as we were first seated in the smoking section.
When you're having dinner, they go into your tent
for turn down service and put a hot water bottle in your bed to warm it up. It made your bed nice
and cozy (I called this my new boyfriend!).
While we were having dinner, Sarah (camp hostess) came around to
each table and asked how your day had been, what you had seen, and asked if we had any questions or
problems. She then took our early morning drink order and the time we would like to be woken up
before the 6:30a.m. game drive.
The way it works is that each morning we were softly woken up by a room attendant calling good morning
outside our tent. He would then bring in freshly made coffee, tea, or hot chocolate and breakfast biscuits. We would
then go on our morning game drive and come back in time for a full breakfast. We almost always managed
a nap in the afternoon to make up for the early wake up call!
We participated in most of their activities at the camp. These included a Masai lecture, Masai dancing, a
visit to a Masai village, a
nature walk, and a slide show. You can also take walking bush safaris with a guide to see wildlife on foot.
Or you can go on a hot air balloon safari ($400 a person - ouch!).
We meet a lot of Americans here. Most of them were from California, including Santa Cruz and La Jolla (go
figure!). I would
go back to this place in a heartbeat, and we both highly recommend it to anyone! They have such
excellent hospitality. No wonder Meryl Streep and
Robert Redford stayed
here while filming Out of Africa!
To learn more about this
camp, check out their web site:
Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp.
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Copyright © 2002, Dawn M. Dalton.
All rights reserved.
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