Six Safari Cottages
Designed and built by Kenyan architect Mark Glen, Saruni has six large cottages, where one can experience both the elegance and safety of a permanent accommodation with the thrill of sleeping in close contact with nature. The rooms are furnished with colonial antiques, Persian carpets and African art. The atmosphere at the camp is informal but elegant. Each cottage has hot and cold running water, 220 volt electricity, elegant Italian bathroom fittings, polished wooden floors, and large bathrooms where the canvas front can be totally open to offer you an amazing "shower with a view". Decor is unique for each cottage and from the large verandahs one enjoys a unique view of the Mara plains and can watch the many wild animals that come to our waterhole. Your safari actually starts on our massive cedar beds, from where you can see in total privacy elephant, leopard, waterbuck, bushback and impala traversing freely and peacefully in the grounds of the camp. Kuro House is the common dining area and is a mixture of old-fashioned Africa and modern design. Its huge fireplace is the focal point of life at Saruni and it is here that our guests exchange memories of the day's safaris. While reminiscing they can start to savour the exceptional cuisine that is served around our long table and uses fresh, locally grown and organic produce in inventive ways. Alternatively meals can be taken in the bush among the wild animals, with birdsong and animal calls as a backdrop. By separate arrangement a candlelight dinner can be served on your own verandah. A unique feature of Saruni is its collection of books and its library, the most beautiful in the African bush. With thousands of rare books and its very private location, Saruni's library is a place where to meditate, to rest, to think. Saruni has a low impact on the environment thanks to the use of solar power and the recycling of waste.
Lemek - Koyaki Group Ranch, Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya
June - October; December - March
The best months for travelling to Kenya are June through the end of October and then December through the end of March. If you are wanting to see the Great Migration then the months of July, August and September are suggested. These are also the busiest times along with the Christmas holidays as this is when school holidays fall. If you prefer to travel when the game is still superb but it is not so busy then the months, June, September, October, November, February, March, April and May are recommended.
Game Drives in open Land Rovers with a Professional Guide and Tracker, Escorted Bush Walks, Bush Breakfasts, Lunches and Dinners, Bird Watching, Sundowners, Walking with Masai Warriors, Cultural Visits & Masai Well-Being Space.
For our safaris we use comfortable, fully-open Land Rovers, specially designed to give you maximum visibility over the landscape and the animals. On our foot safaris we walk, on the plains and in the mountains and hills, that surround Saruni. In the Land Rover you are accompanied by your professional guide and by a tracker, a team that will help you to read the book of nature. We don't rush while on safari and there will be time to observe the wild animals, to see how they interact and to study their behaviour and their habitats. Days can be hot or cold, sunny or rainy but the wildlife of the Masai Mara is always in action. We will not only take to the famous spots but also to the secret corners where you never meet another vehicle. It is the Masai Mara without the minibuses, as the first hunters and explorers discovered it. We'd love to take you to our secret spots, especially for bush dinner or bush lunch. Deep in the forest or by the river Mara overlooking a "hippo beach", a nicely decorated table is waiting for us, providing us with the thrilling experience of a gourmet meal in the middle of the bush. If you are passionate about birds, we are more than happy to help you identify new species among the 500 plus that live in the Mara. Our guides are birdwatchers by instinct and by training. They can recognise these beautiful creatures by their calls and songs as well as by their plumage. Above all, they share your love for birds.
On a game walk you will feel, touch and smell the trees, the bushes, the rocks and the tracks - and even the animal droppings - that make our area unique. To walk with the Masai warriors in the African bush is a fantastic experience and you will learn how they use the berries and the leaves, about their traditions and about their life. Wildlife is most active either early in the morning or in the late afternoon and evening. These are the two magic moments of a safari. After dawn, the light is perfect for photography and the sounds of the African bush start filling the air. This is the moment when we will explore the special, secluded areas behind Saruni, where no other tourists go. The only other people that we shall meet will be the Masai, armed only with a spear and bow and arrows, guarding their herds of cattle. Later in the day, just before sunset, we will stop and think about the day that is about to end while drinking a sundowner. We will be right in the middle of "nowhere" that is right in the centre of everything, surrounded on all sides by life and death, hunting and escape, sleeping and eating, mating and playing.
Many safaris are not focused on wildlife but on homo sapiens and are what some people call "cultural tourism". We call it "meet the neighbours". With you, we visit the Masai homes and villages and, because they are our neighbours and friends, we will be allowed to share moments of their life in a genuine way. They own the land we show you that we feel that it is important for you see how they live, why they protect the environment and in what way they are different from the other African tribes. They will ask you questions as they will be curious about you, too. It is an exchange of ideas and information.
Local Info
Although the 300,000 Masai are only about 2 per cent of the Kenyan population they are, by far, the best-known tribe. Beautiful, proud and colourfully dressed they are still very close to their traditional way of life. Always witty and genial the Masai are a Nilotic tribe of pastoralists who until very recently led a semi-nomadic life, which is exactly the opposite of the main Kenyan tribe, the Kikuyu.
The Masai arrived, in what is today Central Kenya, from the Sudan between 500 and 1,000 years ago. A fascinating hypothesis suggests that the Masai - warriors and soldiers by instinct - are the descendants of a lost Roman legion that either deserted or became lost in the southern fringes of the Roman Empire. A few details of their dress and habits support this theory. For example, the sword that every Masai man keeps to hand is identical to the daga of the Roman legionnaires as well as their shields and sandals. In addition, the red colour of the traditional Masai "shuka" is similar to what is believed to have been the uniform of the soldiers who were fighting for the Roman Empire.
Traditionally the Masai lived on a diet of blood and milk and no household is without cattle as they are the "money" and "bank accounts" of the Masai. For this reason cattle are rarely killed and eaten as they represent the owner's wealth. Goats and sheep are also important in the Masai life and economy.
The Masai house is a "boma" which is often a circular group of small huts built of mud and cows' dung. Around the entire compound there is always an enclosure to protect the cows and goats from the unwanted attentions of predators during the night.
The Masai have been deliberately slow in catching up with the modern world. Their attitude is one of respectful lack of interest towards many of the "necessities" that we regard as essential to modern life, from formal education to technology, from transport to access to the media. Of course, things are changing, but the Masai are not too keen to join in the rush for globalization.
However it would be wrong to think of the Masai as simple and noble "savages". Politics are a passion and also a duty for every Masai man, who is not afraid to spend long hours in sophisticated debates and meetings. The intricacies of Masai hierarchy, rivalries and internal disputes are as fascinating and as complex as the equivalent debates in Moscow, Washington or London. Tough negotiators and fearless fighters in real or metaphorical battle, the slim and elegant Masai are much more than a walking picture.
While on safari with us, you will be able to meet the Masai warriors and their families. Most of our employees are from the surrounding areas and are very keen to introduce you to their fascinating traditions. They will become your friends.
Owners & Hosts
Riccardo is the owner of Saruni (together with a group of brave friends), but is happy to admit that he's only the junior member of the Saruni guiding team. Having spent many years as a special correspondent, in 2003 he opted to make the transition from the news wilderness to the African wilderness. When guests ask him where he is from, he normally answers: "Italy, but it is not my fault". When they ask him "How often you go home?" he is happy to announce that this is home now! Having built and launched Saruni, his lifetime ambition is now to become a Kenya Cowboy as they are known. In his dwindling free time, Riccardo writes books translated in several languages.
