Pretty, stylish little lodge with a commanding view in a secluded part of the Mara
Guide Price: From: $460 To: $685
At Saruni, you'll get some first world comfort, without losing too much of that safari feeling. It would be ideal for a couple, for instance, where one partner didn't feel quite as gung ho for a true bush experience as the other. For a start, Saruni has a very beautiful location. As you approach on the track that winds its way up from the plains, it's barely visible until the last minute, with discrete thatched cottages perched on the side of a wooded slope in the Olokirasei hills.
This is a secluded spot in a grove of Ozoroa and acacia trees, yet the views are spectacular, with the distant Aitong plains framed in a V through the hillside pass. As soon as you arrive at Saruni, the attention to detail that has gone into the basic design is plain to see. Someone (the architect Mark Glenn) has thought very hard about how to fuse the concepts of camp and hotel - creating a stylish reinterpretation of bush living. It is chic and secluded, well brushed even to the point of formal.
There's plenty of game in the immediate area of the lodge - herds of buffalo were visible from our room in the morning on the short grass that spread out below like a lawn - we were there after a heavy fall of much needed rain. We heard elephant, and even a lone hippo in the dam for most of the night - the area is a natural amphitheatre so the smallest sounds carry. In the morning the sounds of bird song - yellow vented bulbuls, turacos, puffback shrikes and even the illusive Narina's trogon - fill your room as the sun comes up.
Normally part of the package at Saruni is the manager and part owner, Ricardo Orizio, an Italian ex foreign correspondent who was overcome by the Africa bug about five years ago, and has made Saruni what it is today: not least by building a very impressive library of Africana books. The calm styling in the architecture and decor is echoed by his hospitality.
6 cottages
From: 460 To: 685
Pretty, stylish little lodge with a commanding view in a secluded part of the Mara
Incl. FB, soft drinks, beer, house wine & spirits, laundry, game & night drives, bush walks, airstrip transfer, 1 massage per cottage, cultural visits, bush meals. Excl. Balloon trips, champagne & premium spirits, additional beauty treatments
The Mara Conservation Area surrounds the main Masai Mara Reserve. This land is owned by a series of different Maasai communities (although mmuch of it falls under conservation partnership ageements with the private camp-owners), and differs from the main reserve in a couple of important ways. First, the Maasai to whom this is home are allowed to use this area to graze their cattle. Second, because it lies outside the main reserve, walking is allowed in this area. While many of the camps located here - the likes of Kicheche Mara Camp, Ol Seki Mara Camp, Richards Camp and Elephant Pepper Camp are within relatively easy reach of the main reserve, we would council against using this area simply as a dormitory for visiting the main park. Like Loliondo in northern Tanzania the Conservation Area really offers another side of the Mara ecosystem. It's probably worth recognising that the game viewing may not be quite on the scale of the main park - and that for the major river crossings you'll need to make the journey. However, in our experience, game viewing here rarely disappoints and the added dimension of the Maasai involvement makes this an excellent place to spend a few days. Read more?
Kenya is the most established safari country, and consequently you have to step a little off the conventional route to find real wilderness, but it’s certainly there. Kenya also has much going for it as a family destination, and also a good number of very individual safari camps and lodges with a personal approach that makes your experience very special. Kenya also has a particularly diverse ecology which ranges from snowy mountains to true desert, rolling grassy plains filled with wildlife to craggy scrub intersected with dry riverbeds, sparkling beaches and volcanic ranges. Read more?
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Catherine's long experience of, and enthusiasm for Africa, makes her a mine of travel information. Add to the mix her vivacious character and inscrutable attention to detail and there are few people you'd rather have plan your holiday.
At Natural High, we've had long experience putting together trips in Africa that really work. Whether it's intimate bushcamps in out of the way places, or a private lodge in one of Africa's top-billing wildlife areas, light mobile camping or remote island escapes, we know there is a lot to choose from. We're absolutely confident that we can recommend the right places for you.
