Fleewinter
There are 6 spacious marquees perched on hardwood decking - one of which is a family suite. Each is uniquely designed but all have a four-poster wrought-iron double bed flanked with wooden side tables and writing desks. The style is simplistic elegance with some of the finer luxury touches. En suite bathrooms offer a shower and huge bathtub, twin basins and flushing toilet - with privacy ensured with hanging swathes of cotton and canvas walls.
The thatched mess are offers a stunning view over the Mara River and the Siria escarpment and is the ideal place to indulge in a sundowner. Join your hosts by the fireplace to share the days adventures and watch the star filled night sky. This is your home away from home and guests are encouraged to completely unwind in a relaxed atmosphere.
The cornerstone of a safari experience at Serian is that each group has their own open-top safari vehicle, and dedicated guide and spotter. The freedom this grants you is key to getting the most out of your stay: go where the day takes you, be it a full day out with a picnic in the wilderness, or a lazy siesta back in camp before that ice-cold sundowner? The guides have an intimate familiarity with the landscape, and will translate and share their knowledge of the bush with you. The conservancy allows day and night drives as well as off-road driving which is a huge plus when wanting to be able to get closer to the animals (from a safe distance).
Serian Camp was the first of Alex Walkers camps, and it perfectly captures the essence of its name: meaning 'peaceful, calm, serene' in the Masai language, it was designed to be a retreat from the bustle of contemporary life, and a chance to experience untamed Africa in traditional tented splendour.
The camp lies in the private Mara North Conservancy, and the beauty of this location is that only 10 other camps have access to it - so the feeling of having your own personal piece of Africa is a luxury that you can experience here to the maximum.
From June to November, this is a hotspot for watching the wildebeest and zebra as they make their crossings of the mighty Mara River. Experiencing a crossing is truly breath-taking: the hum of energy is palpable as the herds start to stampede toward the river. Watching them explode across the water is deeply, fundamentally and primordially thrilling: the dust, the thundering noise, the panic and trauma as they struggle against the current, the crocodiles, and their own seething masses - all resonates with a primal core inside us, that instinctively quickens at the fight for life.
The rest of the year is no less thrilling: enormous numbers of big cats roam the dreamlike savannah, and the Masai Mara is often said to offer some of the best game-viewing in Africa - not for nothing has it been the stage for numerous BBC Big Cat Diaries and National Geographic documentaries. A word that often springs to mind here is 'lush': generous rainfall, sumptuous greenery, well-fed glossy flanks on the teeming herds of plains game - and an all-round feeling of richness, fertility, abundance.
The area also lends itself to great short walking safaris: set off with the first light with your guide, and tune into the whispering savannah silence away from the hum of a vehicle. As you ease into a slower pace, you'll notice your senses picking up on the finer details: the intricate perfections of a skeleton, a map of secret paw prints, a microcosmic universe in a termite mound.
Access to Serian Camp is possible with daily flights from Nairobi - it is also possible to do a road transfer, but it's a long trip and we do recommend the flight. Tie this in with a couple of nights either in Zanzibar or one of the beach locations along the Kenya coastline. Speak to us for the best way to include into your East Africa holiday adventure.