diff --git a/test/kubemark/start-kubemark.sh b/test/kubemark/start-kubemark.sh
index 2ea5b6de2b1..d2248f70e47 100755
--- a/test/kubemark/start-kubemark.sh
+++ b/test/kubemark/start-kubemark.sh
@@ -217,7 +217,10 @@ rm "${KUBECONFIG_SECRET}"
 
 echo "Waiting for all HollowNodes to become Running..."
 start=$(date +%s)
-until [[ "$(kubectl --kubeconfig="${KUBE_ROOT}"/test/kubemark/kubeconfig.loc get node | grep Ready | wc -l)" == "${NUM_NODES}" ]]; do
+nodes=$(kubectl --kubeconfig="${KUBE_ROOT}"/test/kubemark/kubeconfig.loc get node) || true
+ready=$(($(echo "${nodes}" | grep -v "NotReady" | wc -l) - 1))
+
+until [[ "${ready}" -ge "${NUM_NODES}" ]]; do
   echo -n .
   sleep 1
   now=$(date +%s)
@@ -225,8 +228,17 @@ until [[ "$(kubectl --kubeconfig="${KUBE_ROOT}"/test/kubemark/kubeconfig.loc get
   if [ $((now - start)) -gt 900 ]; then
     echo ""
     echo "Timeout waiting for all HollowNodes to become Running"
+    # Try listing nodes again - if it fails it means that API server is not responding
+    if kubectl --kubeconfig="${KUBE_ROOT}"/test/kubemark/kubeconfig.loc get node &> /dev/null; then
+      echo "Found only ${ready} ready Nodes while waiting for ${NUM_NODES}."
+      exit 1
+    fi
+    echo "Got error while trying to list Nodes. Probably API server is down."
     exit 1
   fi
+  nodes=$(kubectl --kubeconfig="${KUBE_ROOT}"/test/kubemark/kubeconfig.loc get node) || true
+  ready=$(($(echo "${nodes}" | grep -v "NotReady" | wc -l) - 1))
 done
+
 echo ""
 echo "Password to kubemark master: ${password}"