Serian Kimya Kimya

some of the best hippo action in the Mara

Serian Kimya Kimya is located in the Mara Confluence sector of the Maasai Mara of southwest Kenya.

Set on the Mara River, just 1 km (0.7 miles) north of the sister camp Serian Mara Ngare, this very small and intimate property is intended to serve as a relaxing extension to a safari in this region, ideal for guests who have done enough driving around and are now ready to relax, watch wildlife from the decks and maybe head out for an occasional walking safari.

It is particularly lovely for groups of 3-6 guests, who can take the whole place and enjoy a real home from home.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Serian Kimya Kimya is in just three rooms …

• Mess Suite : x1 : Above the mess building, with spectacular views of the river (which can be very noisy at night with the local hippos).
• Bush Suite : x2 : Away from the river, but with views over the surrounding plains.

Activities

Serian Kimya Kimya provides the following guided activities, not all of which are necessarily included in the room rate …

• Vehicle safari
• Walking safari
• Bush meals
• Cultural interaction
• Night vehicle safari

At this and all related properties under the Serian name, all groups of guests are provided with a private vehicle and a two person driver and guide team, usually both from the local Maasai villages, which is very cool. It is hard to overstate how much this upgrades the overall safari experience.

The Maasai Mara tends to feature in almost all safari trips to Kenya. As well as being the best known reserve, it is also the most productive for wildlife.

The usual stay duration is 4-8 nights split between two camps, less frequently 3-4 nights in just one camp.

Seasonality

The best time of year to visit is generally considered to be the Jul-Oct dry season, when the weather should be reliably good and the wildlife concentrated around the permanent water sources.

The Nov-Jun green season may be much less dependable for weather, but remains really strong for wildlife viewing.

Visitor traffic is less of an issue in this private area, but you can expect the camps to be fully booked during the Jul-Oct and Dec-Jan high seasons. So there can be slight advantages to visiting during quieter periods.

Getting around

You’re most likely to arrive into the Maasai Mara area via the regular light aircraft services that operate from Nairobi, which means that you will travel around the area with a guide and vehicle from the camp in which you are staying.

If you’re staying in more than one camp in the greater Maasai Mara then inter-camp transfers are usually operated by the departing camp and generally pass through wildlife areas for most if not all of their routes.

It’s also possible to travel down from Nairobi to the Maasai Mara by road, which is quite a long and tiresome journey, but not without interest. The trouble is that the better lodges in the Mara will offer you no discount for having your own guide and vehicle along, so you end up paying for both, which works out more expensive than flying down.

one of the three best private concessions in the Mara