I have wanted to do this trip for over 25 years. My expectations were very high because of the reviews from others. We were not disappointed. My husband and I came with our parents and it was our favourite stop on our trip. Thank you to Richard and Jackson for making our stay so great. Masibo is a great leader for his team. We enjoyed his casual and friendly manner. We will be back!

I simply cannot overstate how welcome and at home we felt at bateleur camp and it is not an exaggeration when I say that each and every staff member went out of his way (we saw no women, except for the sous chef!) to make our stay truly memorable. That we were treated like family and not guests, is a testament to the hospitable staff and the perfection with which they carry out their work.

The primary goal of this holiday was for our parents to witness a river crossing during the great migration -- we accomplished that! Not just once, but three times in one day.

That we witnessed this incredible sight so many times, was purely due to the expertise of Timothy, our ranger. We have had some truly wonderful rangers and trackers on our stays with and beyond, and Timothy was one of the best. He kept all of us engaged speaking to us as a group and also by making conversation with each individual about what we saw, what we wanted to see, and just giving us general information about the region and the country. He struck a cord with each of us -- he and my dad discussed Kenyan politics, with my mum he talked about his village and his tribe, and, that he knew a bit about photography, helped me and my sister tremendously, as he knew where to position the car relative to the sun and the subject.

This warm hospitality was something that we received not just from Tim, but from each and every member of the bateleur camp staff. There was always someone around to help us with whatever we needed. The chef came to our table every meal to find out how we liked the food and if there was anything else that he could do for us. It was really quite endearing to listen to him and my mother exchange recipes and give each other culinary tips.

We escaped a minor accident at Bateleur -- one night, while being escorted back to our rooms, we saw an army of ants right outside our door. Our escort told us to stop where we were while he went to investigate the situation. After a quick inspection, he calmly but quickly escorted us back to the main camp where he explained to the Camp Manager, in Swahili, what had just happened. My Swahili is poor, but i picked up the word "siafu". Within minutes, staff members were mobilized to move our belongings to a new room and to take care of the ants. All of this happened so smoothly and calmly that if i hadn't overheard the conversation between the escort and the manager, i would have been oblivious to the gravity of the situation. I must also mention that our things in the new room were placed in a very similar way to how they were in the old room -- my things were on my side of the room and my sister's were on her side. If there was any doubt in our minds about the professionalism and attention to detail possessed by the bateleur staff, the siafu incident put all those to rest.

The only negative about the camp is that it needs to be renovated -- especially the main area of the camp - which is why this review gets 4 starts and not 5. Despite that, i am already looking forward to another trip to bateleur.

After 41 years we returned to the Mara and were welcomed in a most friendly way with the staff serenading us to the camp.
Our rooms were most comfortable with all amenities supplies.
Our driver Robert was fantastic as were Wilfred and the manager Esther.

Our only disappointment (and nothing to do with the camp) was the scarcity of some species of animald, the worst being rhinos - we only saw one whereas in 1974 when we lived in Kenya we would have seen at least 20.
Meals were great. Staff friendly and ready to help organize anything we needed such as a Balloon Ride over the Mara