Nestled in a treeline EPC offers a private and luxurious hideaway in the Masai Mara that brings you closer to nature than any other. At night we were escorted by Masai warriors from the dining tent to our accommodation tents with the elephants, lion and hyena nestled in the darkness only yards away. Nature here is tantalisingly close. By day expert safari guides, drove us in the most capable and most comfortable safari vehicles I have encountered in 6 safaris across Kenya, providing a wealth of knowledge throughout. The bush breakfast was mind blowing for its variety of food, and the style in which it was delivered, not to mention the game that appeared before us. Although this is an authentic bush camp, no stone is left unturned in the provision of an absolutely first class service. Hot showers, excellent food, and a pervasive welcoming atmosphere from the staff made this a wonderful experience for our mixed family group of 10, ranging from a 3 year old to grandparents. However the style and spreadout nature of the camp makes it equally ideal for couples or honeymooners. The camp staff are completely flexible and will move beds to accommodate children and groups of all sizes. In between game drives, the Masai warriors taught our children to make fire by rubbing wooden sticks together, and make bows and arrows for hunting. I cannot recommend it highly enough, and look forward to returning soon.

We had a truly wonderful time in Elephant Pepper, we stayed in early July in the honeymoon tent. Which has to be the largest tent it is possible to produce, all the tents look wonderful, but the size, seclusion and the views of the animals made this one extra special. I loved spending time drinking Tusker in the hammock watching the animals in the plains roam around – it was bliss. The tents are canvas, with that floor all tents seem to have, and they are decorated with rugs and furniture (eg bed, chairs etc). They are also eco friendly, with no running water. The toilet is like that in a boat and water to wash in is slotted in through flaps near the sinks (so no one need enter the tent – very clever). It’s a similar situation with bucket showers (someone tells you water is ready and you enter and pull a lever, very much like a normal shower, they were far nicer than I’m making them sound (the word bucket doesn’t help!) as the whole place felt very luxurious!). The place had that close to nature feel (it can be completely dismantled and so as not to scar the land), but with a luxury/colonial feel – a truly exceptional combination. There are no mossie nets, it’s too high for them to survive.

So on to the location, I spent ages weighing up where to stay in the Mara – and although it is outside the main park there is SO MANY animals in the area (we saw many animals close to the camp, even in the journey from the airstrip to the camp we saw two lions mating!). We did do a full day trip into the NP itself (to the river and around to see the migration) but if this wasn’t occurring I would have been more than happy to stay closer to the camp (as obviously animals don’t stay one section!). Francis, our driver, was incredible and we were lucky enough to hit a quiet time at the camp and have him all to ourselves, he taught us so much with his book on birds, and his knowledge of every animal, he was by far the best driver/guide of the trip (he also picked up litter in the park when he saw baby wipes had been left by tourists). Closer to the camp we often had sights to ourselves (prides of lions/Cheetahs etc) but even by the Mara River (which turned into a car park at the other lodges ‘game drive times’ he seemed to be able to magically get us the best view.

The best day of our whole safari was the full day drive, with picnic breakfast and lunch (everyday we had picnic breakfasts so we could have longer drives in the morning (4-5 hrs in the morning, 2-3 in the afternoon). Eating in the bush was a wonderful experience (eg watch hippos bathing in the river below whilst eating cereals etc). The drive to the river took hours due to the amount of times we asked to stop (what can you do when you see a hyena eating, the marsh pride and three different leopard sightings including one with two cubs)! When there I wasn’t prepared for the volume of trampling deaths, it was shocking, but overall an incredible natural spectacle – which comes with a roller coaster of emotions. The good thing about being out for the day, was when other people had gone back (I guess they were in nearer lodges so eating breakfast) we witnessed a much quieter crossing. Overall I think we would not hesitate to chose this quieter location again. Unless you are solely going to be by the river on every drive, then nearer could be better but busier (and I wanted to spend time seeing all the big cats too!)

Finally, I wanted to say thank you to Callum and Sophie (who are moving on to their own place next year in a different area – which would be worth hunting out), who were absolutely amazing managers and such friendly people. They completely made the atmosphere on the magical evening dinners in the Mess tent. And Callum’s incredible walking safari is not to be missed, finishing with a fantastic sundowner… it surely can’t get better than here.

Again a great a tented camp tucked in a small woodland area looking over a open savanna, run again by a husband and wife team with loads of experience. The tents were excellent a step up from others we have stayed in, as the shower and toilet was included in the “building” and it had wired in LED lighting just as though you were in a normal room! Very good. We were able to watch some great wildlife from our porch. The staff again were great always helpful, our guide out on safari including when we went to see the wilder beast migration was George, who was very good, he knew his birds and animals well and a great tracker – we wanted to find a leopard which we managed just about ( a face and a tail the males are very shy animals). The food was good and served at night by silver service which was a nice touch.

Stayed at ECP as part of our holiday to Kenya to celebrated our Silver Wedding.It was truly wonderful. Thank you so much Callum and Sophie and all your staff for makig our stay so special and something that will stay with us for the rest of our lifes. Please ask Francis if he needs to check the tyre pressure !!