Guest Information |
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| Beverages: All beverages are sold in the lounge / mess tent & at the sun downer site. Your bar waiter will be handing a voucher / receipt to you for all drinks consumed on a daily basis. Kindly sign these and put your tent number on them. You will receive your final bill at the end of your stay just before your departure. You can then pay for these at the end of your stay. Bon fire: There is nothing like a cozy bon fire to end a fantastic day out on safari. Every day from 6.00 pm onwards, our camp fire is lit. You have a chance to review the day’s events while sipping one of our delicious cocktails. (pls. request our price list) Our camp fire nibbles (free of charge) will be served to you by our waiter team. Twice a week, our naturalist guide will be holding Maasai Lectures at our camp fire site. (pls. refer to our “Excursions sheet”) Camping & Bed night fees: Kindly note that your camp site & bed night fees are included in your package. We support the local Maasai Community & all bed night fees are 100% paid to the local Maasai Community who own the land where the camp is located. Community Support: Mara Bush Camp is eco-friendly in its power and water usage, waste disposal. However, it is also very important to support the local community. We pride ourselves in supporting the Maasai Community through bed & camp site fees on a monthly basis. Every client who stays at Mara Bush Camp therefore contributes directly to the welfare of the local community. Furthermore, we support a local school with items such as school uniforms, writing materials & books. Cow Bell: The cow bell fixed outside your tent, pls. ring it if you need any assistance. An askari should come to your tent shortly. Drinking water: In order to conserve the environment and cut down on our usage of plastic bottles, we have placed a beautiful glass carafe on your washing table in the bathroom. This is pure drinking water from a 20 liter minral water dispenser. The water is re-filled freshly on a day to day basis. All glass carafes are cleaned regularly. The water is 100% safe to drink, you can also use it for brushing your teeth. If you prefer small 0.5 sealed plastic bottles, we will be happy to supply you with these in addition. (05. liters per Person per day) Eco- Tourism: Mara Bush Camp is not a permanent camp and considered to be a mobile luxury camp. It is set up during the migration period and during other times when there is high demand (e.g. over Christmas) or exclusively for groups only. This ensures that the impact on the environment is kept as minimal as possible. As mentioned above, our camp lights purely operate on solar power. Check out our solar station or visit the back of house if you would like to know more about the camp. Future plans are to heat water for clients showers by solar & also to power all fridges / freezers at the same manner. Flush Toilets: Kindly flush your toilet sparingly. Every flush uses 12 liters of water which is drawn by hand from the spring. One truckload of water takes a full day of being fetched & transported to / from camp. Please do not dispose of any sanitary towels in the flush toilet but please use the bags that are supplied in our toiletry basket. Game Drives: For clients who have booked a flight package, all game drives are performed in the camp’s safari equipped Landcruisers at 06.30 am and 3.30 pm (usually early morning / afternoon game drive). Please note that the vehicle will be shared with other clients. Should you require the sole use of the vehicle pls. book it in advance. Kindly check your extra activities info. Laundry: A small fee of Kenya Shillings 100/- per item of clothing is being charged. Half the amount you pay will go to the stewards / Maasai for hand washing & ironing your clothes (with a charcoal iron). The other half is used to purchase laundry soaps & biodegradable detergents. Weather permitting the item will be washed / ironed the same day and returned to you. You can leave your laundry items in the tent (hand woven basket) and inform your Steward or Manager to have it washed before leaving on game drive. A detergent is provided in all tents for any personal items (e.g. underwear). Lighting: Mara Bush Camp is environmentally friendly. All camp lights are working on solar power. Therefore please switch off lights in your tent when you go for dinner in order to conserve energy. Your solar lights usually last up to 06 hours continuously. Therefore, if you wish to switch on your light at night, you are free to do so. All solar kits are re-charged the next day in our solar station. Location: Approximately 5 min. drive from Ol Kiombo Airstrip, in the heart of the Mara Game Reserve on the Olare Oruk River. Medical emergencies: If you have a medical emergency please contact our Camp Manager immediately. The nearest doctor is situated at Mara Intrepids Camp which is only a 10 min. drive from Mara Bush Camp. It is possible to arrange an emergency air evacuation from the airstrip to Nairobi. (only at day time as flights cannot land during darkness). This applies only in serious cases. Painkillers and simple medication are available in our office tent. Kindly again contact the Manager who has a well equipped medical kit available. Meals: All meals are served in the Main Mess. We invite all guests to the main lounge for pre-dinner drinks & bitings from 06.30 pm onwards. Dinner is served from 20.00 hrs (8.00 pm) in the main dining tent. (Main Mess) Your meal plan includes breakfast, lunch and dinner during an overnight stay. Extra lunches are payable direct @ USD. 30.00 per person. Payment for extras: Please note that we accept credit cards such as Master card / Visa Card or American Express. All credit card payments attract a 5% surcharge though on the total price. All payments for extras can be done in cash. Traveler Cheques are generally not accepted. (Kenya Shillings, Euros or USD) Picnic breakfast / lunch: Kindly brief your guide the day / evening before you would like to go out with a picnic breakfast or lunch for the next day. The kitchen can then prepare it in time. Power supply: Kindly charge your photographic equipment in our photo lounge which is situated right behind the main lounge. We recommend charging of your batteries between 18.30 hrs to 22.30 hrs as the Generator is on during this period. On occasion, we are happy to switch on the Generator also at lunch time for additional charging periods. Tea / Coffee: available for all resident guests all day long at no extra cost. Please feel free to help yourself from our coffee / tea station. Enjoy our afternoon tea / coffee. Shop: We run a small souvenir shop for hand made and hand crafted items for purchase to take home with you. You will also be able to buy Mara Bush Camp T-shirts, Fleeces, Bath robes at our shop. Showers: Because Mara Bush Camp is eco-friendly, we are offering “safari showers”. The water is heated by Paraffin. Water for showers / washing comes from the Governor’s Camp natural spring & is transported 30 kms one way to our camp. The water is treated and therefore completely safe for use. (please don’t drink it though) Pls. inform your room steward what time you would like to take your shower – the water is warmed for your comfort which takes approx. 15 – 20 minutes to heat and prepare. If you would like to shower early morning before going on your AM game drive, pls. inform the Camp Manager or your room steward the day before. Towels/ Bathrobes / Slippers: If you throw your towels on the floor, it means that you want them washed. If you want to re-use them, kindly place them on the rack. Kindly consider the environment when making this decision. We also provide you with a bathrobe for your comfort. If you wish to take it home, kindly purchase one from our shop in your favorite color. Our slippers are offered to you on complimentary basis and you are free to take them home if you like. Tipping Guideline: You are most welcome to tip any member of staff individually if you feel you have received special attention. In general we recommend that you leave your tip in the mess tent’s tip box whereby the money is shared among all Mara Bush Camp team members on a weekly basis. (except driver/guides which we request that you tip individually) As a guideline, we recommend approx. Kshs. Kshs. 500/- per client per day for the entire camp staff. Umbrella/ Torch: Every tent has an umbrella for each person staying & one common torch per tent. Pls. take the torch with you when you go to dinner. Waste Management: It may be interesting for our guests to know that Mara Bush Camp separates all waste. The biodegradable waste is thrown in a 10 meter deep bio pit away from the river and closed with natural soil after every season the camp closes down. All other waste (glass, paper, plastic etc.) is separated and bagged and sent to Nairobi on a weekly basis. Wake up call & morning coffee / tea: Your Camp Manager will check with you every day on your preferred wake up call time. Choose between early morning coffee / tea and hot chocolate which will be served on your tent verandah at the requested time. Your Safety & Surroundings: Pls. note that Mara Bush Camp is NOT fenced, hence vigilance is recommended. We have Maasai watchmen guarding the camp 24 hrs. Pls. do not wander out of camp alone under any circumstance (day or night) as you are surrounded by wild animals. During the day, it is perfectly safe to leave your tent and walk to the dining or lounge area. At night, however, we recommend that your askari (watchman) accompanies you to the dining / lounge tent & again back to your tent. PLEASE DO NOT WALK ALONE under any circumstance. Mara Bush Camp cannot accept any liability if you do not follow these rules. Your Valuables: We do not provide a safe where your valuables can be deposited. Kindly keep your money / jewellery with you at all times. The camp does not take any liability if anything gets stolen. |