BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="kitefarrago" data-source="post: 3161784" data-attributes="member: 91670">The campI was really fortunate here. I had picked the place, Brian Freeman'scamp on the Olare Orok River, based on reading a couple of positivereports, the fact that it's on the small side, that it doesn't chargesuper luxury prices, it's all-inclusive, and there's no singlesupplement. I also exchanged emails with the owner before booking,and I was very reassured by the answers I got to my questions.I was looking for a place where everything was secondary to wildlifewatching, and where outings weren't limited by fixed mealtimes, orwhere I'd be sharing a large vehicle with a lot of people who justwant to see the big five. I mentioned that I was interested in birds,and I was assured that this could be accommodated.It turns out that August is actually not that busy at Freeman's camp- most of his visitors are serious about photography and/or wildlifeand they tend to avoid August because it's a known busy period. Attimes there were only three guests in camp.I like the camp's cars; They all have a short wheelbase, with fourseats in the back, and they are completely open. This means it'spossible to get a 360 degree view, including overhead. When it rainsa canvas cover has to be pulled over the car, and these aren'tcompletely waterproof, but that wasn't a bit deal. There are also twocars available for special bookings which allow photographing from avery low point of view, but I never used one of those.I was further fortunate that I effectively had a private vehicle formy entire stay: Nobody else over my stay shared my interest in birds,and the camp was not that busy (although I appreciate that in otherplaces they would probably have put all of us into one vehicle and bedone with it). I ended up with their newest guide/driver, who was theone with the most interest in birds. He was entirely self-taught, andhe couldn't separate out the cisticolas or the pipits, but he was anoutstanding spotter, and he was very interested. At times it was morelike bird-watching with a friend as we were discussing finer pointsof identification of the less cryptic species.We explored a lot of the Masai Mara reasonably local to camp. We didoccasionally take advantage of other cars alerting us to theirsightings, and we spotted a few desirable mammals ourselves, but alot of the time we were off the beaten track, following rivers,looking for variations in habitat, and keeping out eyes and ears opennot just for mammals.We sometimes had some funny encounters, mostly with mini-bus drivers,who thought that if we were driving very slowly along a line ofbushes then this could only be because we had spotted a leopard. Whenthey finally stopped to talk to Simon, the driver, they looked at usas if we had to be crazy and took themselves off.It's not possible to bird on foot in the Masai Mara. One may walkaround in the camps, and since these are typically hidden in riverinevegetation, these can make for good birding spots. But one can'treally enter somebody else's camp, and this also means that manypromising looking bits of river frontage have no tracks along them.Unlike in for example Kruger one is allowed to leave the car forpicnics or calls of nature, but one isn't allowed to stray from thevehicle and, of course, there are good reasons for that.  Birding bycar has its advantages of course, but the smaller birds quite oftenwouldn't allow us to come too close.Back to the camp: Accommodation is in large-ish tents, with an extrabit bolted on for the bathroom, so effectively they are en suite.There is electricity, including charging points, in all tents. Theyare spaced out a bit, and I never heard my neighbours. Maximally sixtents were occupied during my stay. Showers are planned after theafternoon game drive around seven, and they do require water beingheated. Apparently it's also possible to request hot water at othertimes.There's a `mess tent' where meals are taken on a bluff looking outover the river. This was the coolest spot in camp at lunch time. Theguests would meet up outside that tent, where cold drinks would beserved and canvas chairs were available, and one could share eventsfrom the day. Everybody I met there was very much a lover of wildlifeand I had a lot of stimulating conversations with fellow guests. I'msure I'll return to the Mara in the future, and I'll definitely againstay at Brian's camp.My booking included everything: Drinks, meals, game drives, theflight out to the Mara, even laundry service. It was very reassuringto know that there wouldn't be any surprises. The staff in camp arevery friendly, and clearly there's been a routine that's beenestablished over the years, so everybody knows what's expected when.The camp is really well run, and apart from the occasional hiccup (ashower needing repairs, a meal being a bit later than planned)everything worked extremely smoothly. Indeed, in many ways this wasthe most stress-free holiday I've ever had: All I had to do was joinmy vehicle, and off we went. No planning, no moving around, noworrying about anything.I"ll write more about what a typical day was like in another post.Meanwhile some birds:1 and 2. Little Bee-eaters.3. Baglafecht Weaver.4. Lilac-breasted Roller.5. Purple Roller.Andrea</blockquote>

Verification