We stayed at the Ashnil Mara Camp from 14th – 17th September as two couples in their 50’s 60’s from England enjoying their first African safari.
Accordingly this review does not attempt to compare the Ashnil with other safari lodges.
We stayed at the Voyager Hotel in Mombasa before and after our safari at the Voyager Hotel which is the subject of a separate review.
We travelled to Ashnil Mara by air in a 12 seat single engine Cessna aircraft, from Mombasa using Air Safari Mombasa. The flight took about 2 ½ hours including a stop at Amboseli to pick up additional passengers.
We were lucky enough to have a good view of Mount Kilimanjaro and of Amboseli elephants from the air during the flight. The flight was full but there appeared to be plenty of luggage space available.
The camp is situated on the Mara River within easy drive of the Olkiombo Airstrip. We were allocated rooms (tents?) numbered 21 & 23 which were close to the swimming pool, overlooked the river and were about 100 metres from the main complex. The rooms are a good size with a nice bathroom with modern shower and toilet and an external terrace with furniture. At the times we wanted hot water it was in plentiful supply. The room has a safe for valuables and there is a cooling fan and sockets for charging phones and cameras. At night a hot water bottle was provided, which although not really necessary was a nice touch.
Others have commented on the considerable distance that the farthest rooms are situated from the main building and having walked there I agree that this could be a difficulty for those with any mobility issues.
Swimming Pool
The swimming pool was in a very good clean condition and well maintained, with towels provided for guest use at the pool. Around the pool are a number of sun loungers with parasols. At the time of our visit the pool was not at all busy.
Bars & Drinks
There is a well-stocked bar serving drinks at reasonable prices which are charged to your room or can be paid for as you go. The house wine was perfectly drinkable at KS450 a glass, with bottles of wine starting at KS 2250 for Mara white and KS 3350 for a Pinotage or Shiraz. A coke was KS200 and beer about KS 400 from memory.
Buffet restaurant
The buffet restaurant provides breakfast, lunch and dinner.
There was a good selection of breakfast choices, fruit juices, bacon, sausages, freshly cooked eggs, pastries, fruits, cereals and so on. Coffee and English breakfast tea (an essential!) are brought to the table.
The buffet area is quite small, but a reasonable number of nicely presented and good quality dishes were made available for lunch & dinner. There are a number of Indian style dishes served daily.
The restaurant size and staffing were suitable for the number of guests and we were allocated a waiter for the duration of our stay, who was very attentive. Some tables are available during lunch which overlook the river.
Drinks are ordered at the table and were provided promptly.
If the buffet choice is not to your liking, some a la carte meals are available at a reasonable price.
First thing in the morning coffee, tea and biscuits are provided. For an early game drive, when we would not be returning for breakfast, we were provided with breakfast boxes that were excellent. Water is also provided in the vehicle.
Having purchased malaria tablets and anti-mosquito clothing it was a relief not to see a single mosquito throughout our stay at the Ashnil and the only insect bites suffered were midge bites to the ankles when I went for a walk off the path in the Ashnil grounds.
Entertainment
A fire pit is lit next to the bar of an evening and there were educational talks given on things like Maasai culture. A number of guests had birthdays during their stay and the staff made a real thing of providing a birthday cake with very enthusiastic celebratory singing and impromptu music and dance.
Given the early start for game drives, lively late night entertainment was not what we were looking for and the quiet peaceful atmosphere was just right.
Gift Shop
There is a well-stocked shop selling a diverse range of souvenirs, jewellery, clothing, camera SD cards, books and maps etc. at what we thought were very reasonable prices.
Game Drives
We were allocated a six passenger land cruiser with our driver/guide Musa Senteu for the duration of our visit. We were met by Musa at the airstrip where we waited a short while for two other passengers to arrive.
We then set off on a short game drive to the Ashnil camp. We saw so many animals in that first drive, it was amazing. The vehicle was open on both sides and so we were glad that we had arrived dressed suitably.
Musa is a very knowledgeable and entertaining guide and we thoroughly enjoyed his company. I believe that Musa is going to retire at the end of October and so we wish him the very best of luck for the future.
Having checked in we had lunch before the afternoon game drive. We enjoyed a total of 7 game drives and were lucky enough to see lions, cheetahs, a leopard, hyenas, elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, ostriches, secretary birds, vultures, eagles, warthogs, antelopes, zebras, wildebeest and other wildlife. We did not manage to see rhinoceros or a migrating wildebeest herd crossing the Mara River; but we did see a herd of elephants make a river crossing which was truly magical. We also got to see the most fabulous sunrises and sunsets that I have ever experienced.
One option on offer was to visit a traditional Maasai Village which was interesting, if a little contrived; be prepared to pay a fee of about $20 per person, which we were told was to help fund the school, so it is for a very worthwhile cause.
Something to bear in mind is that the terrain in the Mara can be very rough in places and being in the vehicle for 5 hours or so in a day may not always be too comfortable, some people could find this a bit of an ordeal.
The weather conditions during our visit were very pleasant, with a slight chill early in the mornings (a fleece/sweater make things comfortable) and getting warmer but not uncomfortably hot in the afternoons. We were fortunate that we experienced only one short rain shower, otherwise the canvas sides of the vehicle would have to be dropped which I think would be very restrictive.
There are a number of different styles of vehicles that we saw in the game reserve, that ranged from small mini vans to large 4x4’s with some having lifting roofs that allowed for standing up for viewing. We saw a number of vehicles which had suitable bars or mounts for attaching long lens cameras. Our particular vehicle had a fixed canvas roof, windscreen, rear screen and open sides. Accordingly even though we had some clamps and monopods, all of our photographs were taken by hand holding the camera. If you are a keen photographer you may wish to research the types of vehicles that are on offer. As far as I am aware Ashnil only use the open sided land cruisers and they do not provide camera mounts or bean bag supports.
However the wildlife in general seems to be completely at ease with safari vehicles and we were able to get close to the animals, consequently a 300mm lens was all that was required to get some reasonable (for novice amateurs) hand held shots.
Ashnil Wildlife
The Ashnil has a terrace that overlooks the River Mara and there was a large group of hippos in close proximity to keep us entertained. There were also crocodiles in the river and lots of birds, some mongoose and antelope in the grounds to be photographed. At night the sounds of hippos and on one night lions and hyenas, could be heard which only served to intensify the safari experience.
Conclusion
The Ashnil Mara is a well-managed establishment that lived up to its publicity and delivered everything that we expected of it. The staff were efficient and friendly and we really enjoyed our stay. The game drives with Musa as our guide were truly spectacular.
