Quick report Masai Mara March '08

Oooh, trip report, fabulous!

Would appreciate any and all info on Serian as we'll be staying 5 nights there in August/September (can't remember exact dates).

We'll also be staying at the new Saruni Samburu camp as well.

Alex - You didn't tell me about the grappa!

And, that's the reason I travel in off-season!

Regarding gameviewing:
I was mainly intested in watching cats as long & much as possible and obviously unusual behaviour of other animals. At the beginning I experienced a very uenusual feast: 2 female lions eating a cub, we still havent gigured out the story and which cub or how but we watched the cannibalism from closeby. On 3 other gamedrives I observed 3 other females with an older and younger cub, fascinating. Also saw cheetah eating a warthog, lions chasing a warthog, no leopard although other guests have seen one.

My stay at Serian was fantastic, the tents are great, if you want the most spacious and luxurious tents Ngare Serian has slightly bigger and newer tents (only 4), wonderful. A fireplace at Ngare Serian will soon be built too. Main Serian does it for me though as there is slightly more movement which is better if you are on your own. Alex is fun to have around, he is very knowledgable and will make you feel at home the moment you enter the camp.

yes i was sad to leave....

Thanks for your report! I'm still at the "try to see as much as I can" stage though I do return to some favorites. One of these days I might be in the staying put camp. Serian sounds wonderful.

Though some posters here might not believe it, given the itinerary and places we've booked, accommodation isn't that high a priority for us. As long as the camp is small (the fewer fellow guests the better), and the actual tent is spacious enough to stand fully upright, fit all our luggage and has a proper comfy bed in it and an attached/ very nearby private bathroom that's fine! Of course, where we're not sacrificing the game viewing by opting for the posher accommodation we'll sometimes step up to the nicer camps but... then again sometimes not! So we've a mix of splurge camps like Serian and Elsa's Kopje and in other places we've picked for other reasons, so at the Ngorongoro Crater we've opted for the Sopa as the entry road to the crater should be less busy than the one used by most of the other hotels!

We went for Serian because of the small size and the private vehicles for all tents!

How are the tents at Serian laid out - are they in a kind of line with the public tent in the middle or is it at one end of the line or are they in a semi-circle? Are there particular ones we should go for or avoid?

Serian has the mess tent in the middle, in the mess there is the dinner table, a sun deck overviewing the Mara river and the most relaxing story telling corner around the fireplace. There are tents to both the left and the right tent of the mess tent, then close to the mess there is a Video/photo/Tv little area where you can charge up your electronic gear, watch your videos or simply watch tv some tents are being redone likewise Ngare Serian. I will go back soon so can update you on again.

Sandi: you made me laugh and got a point

Glad you enjoyed it. You had some unusual cat sightings although I'm a little surpised you didn't see more as we stayed in the next door camp to Serian a month ago and seemed to see the cats more regularly. The Talek fly camp sounds wonderful. how did you find the empty camp ? we had the same experience and enjoyed it after the first day when it was a bit bizarre ?

Phil

Empty camp at Saruni but that was only for 2 days, more guests arrived after i left, after all it was eastern and in Serian it was not empty. Empty means more attention from the staff + talking about more personal stuff, more related to the real thing, so yes i did enjoy it. I guess if i was with someone together i would have found it boring. Did you see leopard? I had quite some cheetah sightings.
Flycamping was all right, it rained so much I barely slept, rain, hippos, frogs, river etc kept me awake.

Alejandra, the cannibalism doesn’t sound too nice, but otherwise I’m extremely jealous of your trip. I have to ask some driver if I can drive for a while during a game drive! Did you see any big topi herds?

Nyamera, I did but i dont care about topi's so much...
I care about cats or other animals in action. Werent you the one that wants to move to Kenya someday? I start to like that idea, even for a year or so.

Driving the vehicle by Day 4! Enjoyed your report.

"2 female lions eating a cub, we still havent gigured out the story and which cub or how but we watched the cannibalism from closeby"

Well now, I don't read that every day! Thanks for your report; I am happy for you that you had such an interesting, good trip.

I know lots of folks dislike empty camps but actually, we have always enjoyed the times when we've been the only guests in camp as we've a) been looked after even more comprehensively by the staff and b) we get a guide and vehicle to ourselves allowing the drives to be tailored to our preferences. Bliss!

Thanks for the info on Serian!

If you want additional information ask me on madelza@hotmail.com

“Weren’t you the one that wants to move to Kenya someday?”
Yes, that sounds like me.

BTW, topis are more in action than lions are.