An amazing Christmas surprise!

December 2019 | Sean McDermott

So, my wife booked me a safari as a surprise for Christmas and told me Christmas Eve! She had help booking from the amazing Wycliffe and, as we had been before, she contacted the best guide in the Mara: Julius, to let him know I was on my way. Having not travelled to Kenya on my own before, I was so impressed by the Gamewatchers team. My flight landed 40 minutes early, however, Kasoso and Keno were already there with the biggest smiles to greet me. When I arrived in camp the manager Victor was superb! The absolute stars of the Mara for me were not just the animals, Julius Mwangi was my driver and Julius Sairowua was my guide (and absolute legend): they treated me better than family. Then went out of their way to look after me and ensure I saw the most unbelievable wildlife. This was my second time visiting the Lion Camp and it was so good I will be booking my third. The Big Cats were plentiful and the guides knew exactly where to go. The reserve is amazing and I got to spend a lot of time with these amazing animals with no other vehicles around. I love elephants and the two Julius's got me into the best places to view them. All of the staff at the site were amazing and remembered me from my previous visit. The food was superb and the chef came to speak to me every evening. Finally, when there was an issue with my international flight (as it had been overbooked) the manager Victor sorted everything out and made sure I got on my flight, this was truly beyond his role and just explains how great the team are at Porini Lion Camp. This was the greatest trip of my life and I took some of the best pictures for my instagram page (@averagemephotography), however it was not thanks to my camera, it was down to Julius and Julius. I cannot wait to return!