Kitchwatembo - Kenya
Overlooking endless, game-filled plains and shaded by dense forest canopy, this oasis of Hemingway-style tents nestles below the Oloololo Escarpment on the western boundary of the Masai-Mara reserve. Each luxurious tent affords total privacy and the privilege of sweeping views over the greatest grassland system on earth.
With the Ilkarekeshe Maasai tribe as its keeper, Kichwa Tembo offers a glimpse into these pastoralists' nomadic lifestyle and blood-and-milk diet, virtually unchanged over hundreds of years.
But it is the breathtaking sight of more than a million wildebeest and zebra braving the turbulent Mara River in their stampede towards the northern Mara grasslands each July to September for which Kichwa Tembo is most renowned. Witnessing this ancient and often tragic spectacle is a profoundly stirring experience.
Wildlife viewing is by no means confined to the migration, however. The black-maned Mara lions are resident, as are cheetah, giraffe, elephant, a host of antelope and interesting primates such as the red-tailed monkey.
Game drives and bush walks with resident guides and naturalists reveal the wonders of the Mara - as do bush breakfasts, visits to Maasai cultural villages, sundowners on the escarpment or candlelit dinners beside the Mara River. And to top it all, game viewing from a hot-air balloon allows vast perspectives of the horizon and the herds below.
