Accommodation: 6 tents
Children: Best for 12+
Activities
- 4WD Safari Vehicle.
- Birdwatching.
- Cultural excursion.
- Fly-camping.
- Guided walking safari.
- Hot air balloon Safaris.
Location:
Ideal length of stay:
3-4 nights:
Directions:
Kicheche Bush Camp is reached via a 90-minute flight from Nairobi to Olare Motorogi Conservancy Airstrip. It is then a 15-minute drive back to camp, or longer when you inevitably pause to watch wildlife on the way. It is also only a 10-minute drive to the central Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Accessible by: Fly-and-Transfer
Kicheche Bush camp in Olare Motorogi Conservancy offers a convivial and friendly atmosphere. The camp is spotlessly clean, stylish, and comfortable, making it a top choice for bush camp enthusiasts. The main communal tent is simple yet stylish with no view, enhancing the bushy nature of the camp. Repeat guests make up the majority of visitors, which speaks to the quality of the experience.
There is a cozy lounge with cream sofas and plush cushions inside. A selection of coffee-table books, including one featuring Paul Goldstein's photographs, are scattered across a central table. It's a delightful spot to enjoy an afternoon coffee. On the other side of the lounge, two tables are typically arranged together to allow for communal dining.
These tables are situated indoors during cooler evenings, but they're moved outside under a shady tree for breakfast and lunch. A small tent adjacent to the lounge houses a shop where you can find unique items like jewelry, T-shirts, hats, and fleeces. This is also the only area in the camp where you can access WiFi.
The staff at Kicheche Bush Camp are very attentive and always ready to assist with drinks and requests. They go to great lengths to ensure that guests have a pleasant stay. The managers are friendly and approachable, and they host meals and welcome guests on arrival, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
The camp features six identical tents that are spread out, offering privacy to guests. The tents are spacious and more complex than typical safari tents, with canvas walls that can be opened up during the day to create an open-plan space. At night, the different areas can be separated to create a cozy bedroom. The lounge area at the front of the tent is furnished with comfortable chairs and a coffee table, where guests can enjoy their morning coffee or tea and relax during the afternoon.
The bedroom features contemporary and stylish pale-wood furniture, cream fabrics, and Maasai jewelry, reminding guests that they are in Kenya. The tent also includes practical amenities such as a decanter of drinking water, a radio for emergencies, and Wellington boots for wet weather.
The bathrooms can be separated by a canvas flap for privacy. They feature a free-standing wash basin on a white wooden table, a plumbed-in tap and mirror, hanging space for clothes, a flush toilet, and lovely toiletries. The shower is set over a beautifully crafted wooden stand.
Kicheche Bush Camp offers various activities, mainly focused on game drives in comfortable, open-sided 4WD vehicles with only four seats (there's also one six-seater). These vehicles have plug socket strips with inverters for charging batteries and are ideal for serious photographers, with excellent guides and superb wildlife viewing opportunities.
The Olare Motorogi Conservancy, which has few other vehicles around, is the primary destination for exploring the wildlife. During the migration season (July to October), guests can spend a full day visiting the Maasai Mara National Reserve to witness the wildebeest herds, for an additional charge. In the conservancy, drives can take guests off-road and extend after dark. Evening drives usually end with a short night drive and dinner at 8 pm.
Guests can also participate in nature walks led by a Kicheche Bush Camp guide and an armed ranger, which typically last two to three hours. For adventurous guests, an overnight fly camp can be arranged, departing from Kicheche in the afternoon and walking to a simple bush camp consisting of dome tents and a single bush shower and toilet. There is also an option for a longer walk, overnighting in a small fly camp and walking on to Kicheche Valley Camp the following day.
Kicheche Bush Camp is an excellent choice for both amateur and professional photographers, with many returning guests for the superb photographic opportunities offered by the conservancy. Guides are happy to offer camera tips and position the vehicles for the best shots. The managers have started a lens hire service that includes super-telephoto and wide-angle lenses, starting at around $30 per day.
Food & drink
- Usual board basis
- Full Board & Activities
- Food quality
- The food at Kicheche Bush Camp is exceptional, with a variety of tasty, well-presented dishes that exceeded our expectations. The managers' experience in running a restaurant on the Kenyan coast is evident in the quality of the food they served.
- The meals are not only delicious but also accompanied by a friendly and lively atmosphere. Breakfast is typically a picnic in the bush, offering boiled eggs, cold bacon and sausage, yogurt, fruit salad, coffee or tea, and fruit juice.
- At camp, a cooked breakfast is also available. Lunch is a hot buffet with spinach frittata, green salad, avocado and papaya salad, couscous and bean salad, fresh sourdough bread, cheese, and desserts. The homemade passionfruit ice cream is especially delightful.
- Dinner is a set menu with starters like caramelized onion and feta tart or tomato and mozzarella salad, main courses, such as chicken with mustard mashed potatoes and buttered green beans, and pudding options like homemade profiteroles with caramel topping.
Dining style:-
Group Meals
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Dining locations
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Indoor and Outdoor Dining
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Further dining info, including room service
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Kicheche Bush Camp can do room service though it needs to be arranged in advance.
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Drinks included:
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Most drinks are included except premium wines, spirits, and champagnes.
Special interests
- Solo Travel
- With its fun and unpretentious atmosphere and informal group dining, Kicheche Bush Camp is very good for solo safari holidays. Wildlife activities like 4WD game drives are shared with other guests and outside peak season, they charge a relatively low single supplement.
- See ideas for Solo Travel
- Photography holidays
- With keen photographer Paul Goldstein a major shareholder and frequent visitor to the camp, Kicheche is well geared to photographers. The guides are very good at using light in their positioning, and the vehicles have bean bags, tables to rest on, and bars to attach lenses.
- See ideas for Photography holidays
Children
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Attitude towards children
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There are no formal age restrictions at Kicheche Bush Camp, but they pointed out that, aside from a few games in the main area, there is little to accommodate children.
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Property’s age restrictions
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Usually 8
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Special activities & services
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With links to the MAA trust, Kicheche can arrange for children to learn how to bead, or to visit one of the local schools. The guides are also always keen to show children how to make fire and use a bow and arrow.
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Equipment
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Kicheche Bush Camp will do separate children’s meals and can fit a third bed in each tent, however, there are no specific family tents.
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Generally recommended for children felt that Kicheche Bush Camp is quite wild and better suited to adults. It is also a small camp and boisterous children would likely impact negatively other guests.
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Notes:
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Children are their parents’ responsibility at all times and will need supervision extensively. Any families with under-7s will need to book exclusive vehicle use.
