You knew it wouldn’t last

You knew it was going to happen.  Safari 2025.  And it is going to be Kenya, of course it is.  But how it played out is so fortuitous, I almost don’t know how to process it.

I was getting a bit squirrelly because I was hearing that camps were selling out already for Jan-Feb timeframe.  I didn’t want to get closed out, so I reached out to my safari planner who’d put together the last two safaris for me.  I was certain I knew what I wanted:  Lewa Wilderness (a return to a camp from this year), Offbeat Ndoto (where I’d never been but sister camp to Offbeat Mara, which I love) and Kicheche Valley for the third time.  And Surprise!  It ended up being none of those.

I didn’t hear back from Richard right away, so I reached out to another safari planner a couple of friends have used.  I also heard from my friend Tom that the Wild Source, who I’d traveled with to Ping’s camp in 2018, were coming in with good itineraries and really good pricing.  When my Lewa-Offbeat-Kicheche itinerary came in way more than I’d hoped, I decided to scale back.  I had to get back to Kenya but maybe an all-Mara safari will help rein in the price.  A revised quote for Tangulia-Offbeat-Kicheche all in the Mara came in lower.

At the same time, I reached out to Wild Source and asked them for an itinerary combining Tangulia-Offbeat-Kicheche.  Their response was quick, remembering that I’d been with Ping at Enaidura when the camp first opened several years ago.  “Are you at all interested in Ping for the time you’re here, he’s available.”  It never even occurred to me to ask.  I assumed that first, he wouldn’t be available and second, having him as a guide came at a premium, which was not within my budget.  I didn’t hold out a lot of hope that I could afford him.  I also told them that I would love to go back to Olare Motorogi Conservancy, but not at either of the two camps most people would be sent to (for personal reasons).  Were there any other options there?  And I asked them to spec out my original request anyway, figuring for sure I wouldn’t be able to afford a Ping itinerary.

And as if the safari gods intervened, 6 nights with Ping (split between his camp in the Reserve and a camp in Naboisho) and 4 nights at Mara Plains (at Olare Motorogi) happened, and within my budget!  Holy cow.  This was too good to pass up, and no way was I going to.  Just goes to show that even when you think you know exactly what you’re looking for, you really have to be open to other ideas.  This could not have worked out better.

Then I set Google flight alerts for the fares I was interested in for my dates.  It took only a few days before I saw the dip that made Business Class as low as it’ll go.  I really need not to get used to that, but it makes the trip to Kenya much more comfortable and easier to hit the ground without feeling like a zombie.

So now it’s all over but the waiting.