Giraffe Hills Mara Camp — Hotel in Siana ward

Great stay at the camp. We stopped for two days as part of our safari in Maasai Mara and had our meals and slept there. It is what you can expect for rural part of Africa without spending your child’s college savings for a night. The beds are comfortable with mosquito nets, the toilet has running water and technically hot water (but don’t count on it). The meals were good, but not really catered for true African experience (mostly western meals). At night, they make a fire and we can chat a bit with the people working there.

Phoebe, the lady from the bar, was really kind and helpful. The beer was cold enough and she always had a smile on. Julius, the security guy, was super kind, and my friend even got some Masai shoes with him to support his wife work (1500 shillings).

Regarding the other staff, Calvin (the “son of the village chief”) cooks well, but was slightly harassing us. He first presented himself as a friend, giving us “gifts”, just to ask for money after. Then we also met Saitah, he is also a cook and was very nice in the beginning, but started asking for money in the end (not as bad as Calvin, but still slightly bothersome, telling me that “i promised” to give him money when i actually never did). I got specially disappointed because they seemed very genuine at the beginning, but turned quite...

We stayed here as part of a packaged safari tour. The meals were fine if sometimes bland, and the cook was open to working around dietary restrictions. There is only electricity and wifi for five and a half hours of the day. We had hot showers during our stay. Unfortunately, the first tent we stayed in had a big hole where the velcro didn't close properly, and so while we were at breakfast baboons broke in, took the few packaged snacks we had brought, and threw our toiletries all over the floor. We didn't lose anything valuable but it was disturbing. We were moved to another similar tent, where the velcro worked a little better, but the staff seemed more amused than anything by...

Abbiamo soggiornato al Giraffe Hill Camp in occasione del safari al Masai Mara. È stata sicuramente un’esperienza particolare, immersiva e caratteristica, ma personalmente ho fatto un po’ fatica ad adattarmi e probabilmente non la rifarei.

Il contesto è molto suggestivo: il camp è immerso nella natura, circondato dai suoni della savana, un’atmosfera che ti fa vivere appieno il legame con l’ambiente circostante. La sistemazione consisteva in una capanna con pareti in legno, tetto in paglia e ingresso diretto su un letto a baldacchino piuttosto datato ma con zanzariera. Le lenzuola erano pulite, mentre la pulizia generale della stanza era accettabile ma non impeccabile. Il bagno in muratura, con accesso diretto dalla camera, era dotato di wc, lavandino e doccia aperta senza tenda; non l’abbiamo utilizzata perché faceva freddo e non eravamo sicuri ci fosse acqua calda a sufficienza. Ogni camera disponeva di lampadine e prese di corrente, ma l’elettricità veniva interrotta dalle 22 alle 4 del mattino. Durante la notte i rumori degli animali rendevano l’esperienza molto autentica, anche se personalmente ho faticato a dormire.

I pasti venivano serviti in un’area centrale coperta, con tavoli in condivisione. Il servizio era a buffet, con piatti semplici e locali, non molto abbondanti né particolarmente vari. La sera faceva piuttosto freddo, dato che lo spazio era aperto e non ben riparato. Tutti i pasti erano inclusi nel prezzo del safari (bevande escluse), ma le bibite erano comunque molto economiche: 100 KES a bottiglia, anche per la Coca-Cola in vetro.

Nel complesso, il Giraffe Hill Camp offre un’esperienza autentica e particolare, ideale per chi vuole vivere la savana in modo essenziale e a stretto contatto con la natura. Nel mio caso, però, la difficoltà di adattamento ha influito sul giudizio: la considero un’esperienza da fare una volta, ma non...