The Keekorok Lodge - Comfort on the Maasai Mara

Located in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in south western Kenya, the Keekorok lodge is a comfortable place to spend time amid the beauty of the African plains. What it lacks in creature comforts it more than makes up for with location.

My trip to Keekorok began in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. From Nairobi, you have two options to get to the Maasai Mara, 5-6 hours of bumpy dirt roads, or a flight into the Maasai Mara's small airstrip. Our group chose the cheaper, bumpier route and took the majority of a day driving to the lodge.

Upon arrival at the lodge we were tired, and dirty from a long dusty day in a van. Prepared for this common occurrence, hotel staff met us with glasses of juice and hot towels to clean off the road dust, a welcome surprise. After a short check in process we were all headed to our rooms and ready to explore the lodge.

The main lodge building is a large building with a rustic hand-crafted feel. Inside, high ceilings rise above you, and natural wood covers almost every surface. Comfortable chairs can be found around every corner and several fire places do well to keep out the evening chill. The main lodge houses reception, the dining area, bar, and gift shop. A large patio area wraps around the back of the building, and is covered with tables.

The bar houses a standard selection of liquor, wine and beer, including wines from South Africa and Kenya's local beers, Pilsner and Tusker. In the dining hall you'll find comfortable seating with a hand made look, and a buffet of cuisine that tries to appeal to the many groups of people found at the lodge at any point. For lunch and dinner, the food includes local favorites such as chipati (a pan-fried flat bread) and various stews of vegetables and meat that are a staple of Kenyan cuisine. In addition to the more local flavors, there were other options such as various curries, a variety of meats and fish, and typically a vegetable medley. Alongside the buffet, a made to order pasta bar was also available. For breakfast, you were presented with a variety of bacons, sausages, and a large selection of pastries and breads along with a made to order omelet and pancake station. Overall, the food was very decent and plentiful. Nothing struck me as being overly terrible, nor did anything strike me as exceptional.

The gift shop, located just off of the lobby was well stocked, and reasonably priced. Unlike most shops in Kenya, it was fixed price (meaning you don't haggle over the price), and I used it as a rough guide for what certain types of items should cost. Later on when haggling with shop owners at various tourist traps along the road, I could haggle more effectively, knowing roughly what the item should cost. I could typically get slightly better deals than the gift shop, but only after shrewd negotiations.

Behind the main lodge is a fair sized, nicely landscaped lawn with several lounge chairs. Further back is a raised walkway through a rain-forest type area that leads to several secluded seating areas, and finally the gazebo overlooking the hippo pond. The hippos were relatively shy when we visited, staying at the far end of the pool, but even so, they were entertaining to watch.

The rooms at Keekorok Lodge vary widely. There are two buildings housing several rooms apiece, and 8-10 A-frame buildings housing a single room each. My roommate and I shared one of the A-frames and were pleasantly surprised. The front of the building had a small patio area with chairs, and inside, the room was a reasonable size and very decently appointed. The bathroom, like all bathrooms in Kenya, had it's quirks, but everything worked. Overall, it was what I expected, a nice room with a touch of Kenya (ie, a squeaky door here, strange plumbing there, etc.).

The true beauty of Keekorok Lodge is that it lets you stay within the boundaries of the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, just minutes away from fantastic views of lions, zebra, giraffe, elephants, and a host of other animals. Because the lodge has no fence, it is not uncommon for the animals to come onto the grounds. During the day we saw monkeys, mongoose, and a variety of birds. At night, the grounds filled up with gazelle, zebra, and even a few hippos, grazing on the lush greenery outside our room. While walking back to our room after dark one evening, we asked the night guard escorting us if lions ever came on the grounds. He replied that they occasionally do, but assured us we were safe, because if there were lions or jaguar on the grounds, the zebra and gazelle would be nowhere to be seen.

During our short, two night stay at the lodge, we went on three excellent game drives through the park. We saw a wide variety of animals on each drive along with some beautiful scenery. Our drivers (from Lindberg Holidays and Safaris) were very experienced and had a seemingly unnatural ability to find what they were looking for, whether it be elephants, lions, zebra, or giraffe. The only animals we failed to spot were cheetah and jaguar. In addition to driving, the the lodge also has connections to a service that provides hot air balloon and airplane rides over the Maasai Mara if you are interested. The lodge does it's best to help you have the best safari experience possible.

In addition to game drives, the lodge is also a short drive away from several Maasai villages. The Maasai are native to the area and still live in small herding communities, keeping many of the old traditions. For a small fee, you can take a tour of a village and learn the history of the Maasai people. On some nights after dinner, the men of one of the local Maasai villages come to the lodge and give a demonstration of their tribal singing and dancing to entice you to visit them. It was an impressive display, and the tour of their village was also a very memorable.

After two quick days at the lodge, we left for the remainder of our trip, which was focused on volunteer work. Our safari and stay at Keekorok was a nice way to transition from the long days of our travel from Colorado, into what would be an unforgettable experience in Kenya. The lodge itself lived up to our expectations, providing a comfortable base for our safari adventures in the Maasai Mara, and was a gentle introduction to life in Kenya.