SIANA SPRINGS

 

Just eight kilometres from the eastern boundary of the Masai Mara reserve, Siana Springs Intrepids offers a uniquely personal safari experience on the edge of the world's most celebrated wilderness.

 

Location
Situated at the base of the Ngama Hills, on the western edge of the Masai Mara National reserve. Siana Intrepids occupies a lush indigenous forest watered by the largest natural springs in the Mara ecosystem - Siana Springs, or 'the plentiful springs' in Maa. The camp's location in the heart of the Siana Group Ranch offers guests unique opportunities for the private bush walks and drives on the game rich plains and along the seasonal streams beneath the Ngama Hills. Siana sister properties in the Mara reserve also offer the prospect to break all day game drives with lunch, swimming and other activities in the middle of the reserve. Siana Intrepids is 240 kilometres southwest of Nairobi and the journey tot he camp involves a four-hour drive from the capital or 30-40 minute flight to the camp's own airstrip.

 

Accommodation
This luxurious tented camp offers 38 spacious tents situated in three secluded 'wings'; the Bamboo wing, surrounded by bamboo groves and flowering ornamental trees near the main camp, the Palm wing, overlooking a series of springs, lily-clad ponds and lush indigenous forest, and the Acacia wing, which occupies more open acacia woodland rich in bird life on the camp boundary. The tents boast the very latest in luxury camping, with large single or double beds, personal closets and writing desks and en suite bathrooms with flush toilets and steaming hot showers.

 

Public Areas
Siana Intrepids is centred around a large dining area with a beautiful open-air terrace that looks out across the camp's lush lawns to the open plains of Africa beyond. While the dining room has a large seating capacity, most guests prefer to take their meals outside, where they can watch Siana's famously fearless bushbucks, vervet monkeys and tree hyraxes during the day - and genet cats and mongooses during the night. Dancing and singing performances by the local Masai are normally held on this terrace. There is also a spacious bar and comfortable lounge area, a conference room with modern business facilities, and a boutique selling local handicrafts and safari essentials. In the middle of the forest, a beautiful swimming pool offers a soothing respite from the heat of the day.

Ecotourism
In keeping with the new 'green movement' of Kenyan tourism, Siana Intrepids endeavors to uphold the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility. The camp enjoys very close ties with its Masai landlords, who make up more than 60 per cent of its workforce. The local Nkoilale Primary School was built with support from Siana, which continues to fund the school's development. The camp is also supporting an initiative to develop a local conservation area, which will protect the area's rich game and limit degradation by livestock grazing. The camp itself is run on strict eco-principles with water heating fuelled by waste charcoal dust, biodegradable waste mukhed for compost, and all waste water recycled through the camp's extensive constructed wetland system.