My husband and I cannot say enough about our experience with Meektrails. From the beginning, Paul was great at providing information and creating a safari that worked within our budget.
We were met at our hotel in Nairobi by Paul and our driver/guide, Ben. There was a vehicle waiting for us with room for 6, and at the price we paid, we expected to be with at least one other couple. Nope! The vehicle was just for us. A private 7-day safari! We were thrilled!
We went to Amboseli, Naivasha, Nakuru and Maasai Mara. At each place we had great accommodation (don't be scared off by 'tented' accommodation - it's not like camping, they are permanent lodges and are great - we preferred them all to the one hotel we stayed in), a fantastic choice of food (I'm vegetarian) and each bed was super comfy. We slept very well.
Ben was a great driver - knowing when and were to stop for coffee/lunch breaks, pointing out places of interest and giving us a bit of history. He also knew not to talk all the time, which was appreciated.
By the end of the week, we had been to Amboseli twice, seeing over 200 elephants (I stopped counting after that) as well as giraffes, zebras, ostriches, cape buffalo, wildebeest, hippos, all kinds of antelope, a hyena and... a cheetah! That was only one park! In Naivasha we did a walking safari and came within a few feet of giraffes and zebras. We were both crazy excited! We also did a boat trip on the lake and saw a lot of the bird life. In Nakuru we biked our way to Hell's Gate with a guide and proceeded to walk to the gorge. Great exercise and amazing views! We stayed at Ziwa Tented Lodge. Fabulous! The next day we went to Nakuru National Park and things got even better! The black rhino and the lions made up 4 out of the Big 5. Another thing.... you cannot believe how close the animals get! They are often quite literally on the side of the road. A bit nerve-wracking when it's a big, male lion!
By the time we got to Maasai Mara we thought we'd seen just about everything. We had a lovely lodge called Zebra Plains, and when we went out the next day, at first it felt disappointing. The park is very flat. How would we see anything? But Ben is an amazing guide. I don't know how, but he communicated with other drivers and somehow managed to get us to places when there aren't any signs or major landmarks. We saw a pride of lions and many other animals we'd seen before. We had a picnic lunch (Ben brought a folding picnic table and our packed lunches) by a tree in the middle of the park. By the end of the day we had resigned to not seeing all of the 5. But close to the end of the day, Ben found a leopard! YAY YAY YAY! I was giddy and we had this beautiful creature lying in a tree in front of us for 15 minutes before another vehicle arrived. It was the highlight of our trip!
The next day was our last. We had to leave through the park to get to the Maasai village. As we were driving a hyena ran in front of the car and straight to a baby Topi, whose mother was trying to protect it. Hyenas came from all directions. And although it was sad, it was nature. The whole safari was like being in a David Attenborough documentary. I don't think you can do better than that.
On that first day at the hotel, Paul had said we'd love Ben as our guide. He was absolutely right. Ben was amazing! Both of us were 100% happy and would recommend Ben and Meektrails if you want a once-in-a-lifetime experience at a very reasonable cost. This was definitely a 10/10 vacation!