Lemala Mara Camp

All I can say is that we were pleasantly "stunned" when we arrived at Lemara Mara.

The serenity of the camp environment and the luxury of the accommodations blew us away.

Add to this a wonderful quality of service, food and wine that I would have been happy to eat on any expensive restaurant back home.

The Lemala Mara camp is a luxury tented camp - our tent had wooden floors and the sort of bed you'd expect in a hotel (with the best pillows on our entire holiday).

Each tent has a dedicated member of staff to tend to your every need.

Other Holiday Hotels, Camps and Safari Lodges Nearby

The communal main tent has a lounge area with sofas (very comfy), a bar (all drinks included except top-shelf) and a dining table (where everyone at the camp eats at one long table).

Outside was a fire which people would sit round before dinner.

The tents were set out in an open V-shape, with the communal tent at the apex. Our tent was number 5 and was a fair walk from the main tent.

After dark we were accompanied by two members of staff - one with a torch trained on the path, the other with a torch trained on the grass-land in case of animals. Very atmospheric! Dinners were fairly rich - a bit of a change from the meals we had had on the majority of the trip.

We used the camp's open-sided 6-seater safari vehicle, along with guide and driver. The vehicle had a well-stocked drinks fridge, and the driver was highly enthusiastic.

The location of the camp (you can see the Mara river from the main tent) and the low density of accommodation in the area means that we saw an impressive river crossing (which was itself worth the expense of staying in the area), and saw many big cats up close without the traffic jams that occur in the Seronera area of the Serengeti.

We had a picnic breakfast and lunch on one of our safari days and I highly recommend it.

Sitting on a picnic blanket in the middle of the savannah eating still warm bacon, sausages and toast while sipping on a cup of tea, all served from a wicker basket, was just out of this world and terribly decadent.

The camp is really well run. Every evening the camp manager would ask what time and with which beverage we wished to be woken up, what time we required breakfast, what time we desired to start our game drive, and when we wanted to shower (bucket showers in the tents).

Please don't expect wireless here - you are in the wilderness! And the only place to charge your batteries etc is in the main tent - there are no power sockets in the tents (the small lights in the tents run off of solar power).

You are 9 kms from the airstrip, but the animals walk within 10m of your tent. One can hear the lions, hyenas and wildebeest during the night.

Under the main tent sits a dining room, bar area, and lounge with couches, but you really park around the camp fire for pre-dinner drinks. Staff was very hospitable, and each tent has a dedicated attendant who watches over you.