Above a bend of the Mara River, in Mara North Conservancy, three timber-and-canvas rooms are taken whole by up to six guests. One of Alex Walker’s Serian camps, Kimya Kimya is booked as a single private retreat, so whoever takes it has the place, the guides and the river frontage entirely to themselves. Resident hippos wallow in the pools below camp.
A nearby salt lick draws zebra down through the day.
The river runs loud below camp. The hippos keep up their grunting well into the night, and elephants and giraffes pick their way across the granite boulders to reach the far bank. A nearby salt lick draws zebra down through the day. With only three rooms in this corner of the conservancy, the wildlife theatre below plays to a very small audience. There is no crowd to break the spell.
Alex Walker made his name guiding long, flexible safaris across Kenya and Tanzania before he founded Serian. Serian means peaceful in the Maa language, and the camp lives up to it. Kimya Kimya sits a kilometre or so north of its sister camp, Ngare Serian, and hands a family or a small group of friends their own patch of wilderness and a team that knows it intimately.
Routes follow that day’s light and the movement of animals.
Every booking comes with a private vehicle and a two-person guide-and-tracker team, drawn mainly from Maasai communities around the conservancy and long-serving among Walker’s guides. Routes follow that day’s light and the movement of animals. Evenings run to fireside drinks, mornings to bush breakfasts, the guiding highly skilled and never formal, the whole safari built around your own pace.
The main structure is a two-storey affair of timber and canvas, its bedroom raised above the mess to catch the river and the sunrise. It comes with an en-suite flush loo, an open-air shower and a bush bath set high enough to watch hippos and elephants move below. Behind it, two further tented suites rest on raised wooden decks, walled in canvas and mosquito gauze for a light, airy feel and an outlook of their own. Leather, worn wood and cotton furnish the interiors, comfortable rather than showy, and the whole arrangement runs on the understanding that six guests have the camp to themselves.
Mara North Conservancy covers a broad sweep of savannah and riverine forest, its rolling ground running west toward the Siria Escarpment. Elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard and cheetah range across it, along with the more elusive black rhino and African wild dog, all sharing the ground with the wildebeest and zebra that pour through as part of the wider Serengeti-Mara system. The range of animals rivals anything in the reserve beyond, watched by a fraction of the crowd. Private conservancy land, rather than the national reserve, is what opens up the wider range of activities.
The range of animals rivals anything in the reserve beyond, watched by a fraction of the crowd.
Game drives run by day and by night, off-road tracking is permitted, and guided walks lead out onto ground closed to vehicles, including a vehicle-free concession on the western bank of the Mara River. Fly-camping puts guests out under canvas in a temporary camp, and the days fold in bush meals, sundowners and river fishing. Visits with Maasai communities in the conservancy are arranged too. A private chef cooks for the group, and a lamplit dinner laid out under the stars is a regular part of the evening.
Kimya Kimya suits guests who have done enough driving and would rather watch the river do the work, with the odd walk and long, unhurried days. Children of all ages are welcome, and the exclusive-use format lets a family shape the schedule and the meals around younger travellers, though the layout best suits children old enough to sleep in their own tent a short walk from their parents. The nearest air access is Mara North airstrip, roughly a forty-minute flight from Nairobi, followed by a short drive to camp.
accommodation
Three rooms take six guests at most, always on an exclusive-use basis. The two-storey main suite rises above the mess, its bedroom raised, with an en-suite flush toilet, open-air shower and a bush bath over the river. Two tented suites on raised decks are walled in canvas and mosquito gauze, each with its own deck and outlook.
activities
Day and night game drives, off-road tracking and guided walks all run in Mara North Conservancy, including a vehicle-free concession on the western bank of the Mara River. Fly-camping, bush breakfasts, sundowners, river fishing and visits with local Maasai communities are arranged, and every group has a private vehicle and dedicated guide-and-tracker team.
conservation
Kimya Kimya operates within Mara North Conservancy, established in 2009 as a partnership between tourism operators and Maasai landowners, who receive monthly lease payments for dedicating their land to wildlife. Around 80 percent of the camp's staff come from neighbouring communities, and the conservancy funds anti-poaching and predator-compensation work.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
01
Maasai Mara
02
Maasai Mara
03
Maasai Mara
04
Maasai Mara
05
Maasai Mara
06
Maasai Mara
07
Maasai Mara
08
Maasai Mara
09
Maasai Mara
10
Maasai Mara
11
Maasai Mara
12
Maasai Mara
13
Maasai Mara
14
Maasai Mara
15
Maasai Mara
16
Maasai Mara
17
Maasai Mara
18
Maasai Mara
19
Maasai Mara
20
Maasai Mara
You fly from Nairobi's Wilson airport to an airstrip in the Mara North Conservancy, about forty-five minutes to an hour by light aircraft, and the camp meets you for the transfer to its stretch of the Mara River. We arrange the flights and timings, and for a fully private journey we can charter your own aircraft, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, so the flight is as exclusive as the camp.
The bush planes take soft bags of around fifteen kilograms per person including hand luggage, so pack a duffel. Because the camp is booked exclusively, your own guide and vehicle are waiting for you from the moment you land.
The Maasai Mara sits at around 1,500 to 1,800 metres, below the altitude at which malaria risk falls away, so both the CDC and TravelHealthPro treat it as a malaria area and antimalarial tablets are usually advised. The risk is lower than on the hot, humid coast but it is real, and it rises after the rains.
We do not make medical recommendations. We are travel planners, not doctors. Which tablets are right for you, whether they suit your own health or anyone else's in the party, and what is appropriate for a child, is a conversation between you and your doctor or a travel clinic. The practical side we can speak to is not medical: cover arms and legs from late afternoon and keep repellent to hand.
Days are warm and the mornings and evenings cool, so open-vehicle game drives at dawn can feel cold. The long rains fall roughly March to May and shorter rains around November, greening the plains; the dry months in between are clear and dusty.
Pack neutral colours, a warm fleece and a windproof layer for early drives, sun protection and a hat for the day, and a light waterproof in the green season. Closed shoes for any walking, and binoculars are worth bringing.
July to October brings the migration and the busiest crossings, while the green months around November and from March to May bring lush plains, calving and far fewer vehicles. Kimya Kimya sits above the Mara River, where resident hippos keep the pools below camp busy in every season.
With only three rooms taken by one group, the camp is quiet whenever you come, so the choice is really about migration spectacle versus a greener, calmer landscape.
The river is the camp's constant show. Resident hippos bathe in the pools directly below, loud enough at night to be the camp's soundtrack, and a salt lick beside the water draws zebra, elephant and giraffe down through the day, the bigger animals picking across the granite boulders to reach the far bank. The raised timber decks look straight onto all of it.
During the migration months from July to October, the wider Mara's wildebeest crossings are reached on game drives, though their exact timing is never guaranteed with wild herds. With only three rooms taken by one group, whatever unfolds below plays to a very small audience.
Yes. It is booked whole, up to six guests across three rooms, with its own guides, vehicle and river frontage, so your group has the place entirely to itself. That exclusive use is the point: the day runs on your schedule, and the wildlife theatre below the camp is yours alone.
Because it sits in the Mara North Conservancy rather than the reserve, the days also stretch to night drives, off-road tracking and guided walks. Tell us your group's size and ages and we will plan the stay around you.
rated five stars by our clients
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
