If you can think of a destination more rich in wildlife and sheer stunning number s of such please let me know! I don’t say that in a tongue and cheek way. There is no place on earth that I am aware of that is anything like it.
I’ve had the good fortune to visit two years in a row now – pandemic and all! I believe you could go every year of your life and forever see different sites. Where the animals are and how they behave depends on so many variables and we are lucky recipients of such encounters if we happen to be in the right place at the right time.
Being in that place has MUCH to do with your guide and the camps you stay in. This year we stayed at Tangulia Mara and Serian – the original.
Tabgulia Mara is owned by two Masai and is the first camp owned and operated by people that grew up living the way their ancestors did in the Mara. Jackson Looseyia and Dominic Nchoe are those men. You may recognize Jackson’s name from the hit BBC series Big Cat Tales. We were fortunate to spend a night in camp getting to know Jackson and his fabulous crew. Dominic was not there this time so we will have to go back to meet him!
Our next stop in the Mara was Alex Walker’s Serian – the Original. Like Tangulia Mara, Serian is unusual in this day and age because this family of camps has not succumbed to a corporate buyout. These independently owned camps and lodges have a soft spot in my heart and are able to offer an experience different from the larger “corporate” families in my opinion. In this series of blog posts all the properties highlighted have been independent.
Alex is a fourth generation Kenyan and his vision of camps that are traditional and provide the truest safari experience in both Tanzania and Kenya are consistently voted some of the best there are. Our experience was no exception. The camp staff and management were outstanding, the accommodations lovely, the food to die for and our guide, James, was superb. We were even fortunate enough to spend one night at the chemichemi house – a new single accommodation along the banks of the Mara River at a game crossing slightly away from the main Original camp and Ngare Serian on the opposite side of the river. You can’t go wrong with a stay at Serian!
Serian the Original
The brand new Chemichemi house – what a pleasure and a treasure!
