Owners, Managers and Guides

Riccardo Orizio - Owner

• Having spent many years as a special correspondent, in 2003 Riccardo opted to make the transition from the news wilderness to the African wilderness. When guests ask him where he is from, he normally answers: "Italy, but it is not my fault".
• When they ask him "How often you go home", he's happy to announce that: "This is home now!". Having built and launched Saruni, his lifetime ambition is now to become a "KC", as the Kenya Cowboys are known.
• In his dwindling free time, Riccardo writes books translated in several languages. When guest ask him what the books are about, he always finds difficult to define them. A web site pompously called www.riccardoorizio.com explains why.

Richard Pye – Manager

• Richard Pye has taken over the management of Saruni and the newly renamed Saruni Wild (previously known as Campi ya Tembo).
• The 12 beds lodge and 8 beds tented camp are located in two of the most exciting spots of the Mara ecosystem and Richard, 27 years old and with an amazing background as hunter, conservationist, guide, manager, mechanic and even barman, is happy to be back where he guided and managed in 2005.
• Richard will be helped by his girlfriend Lorna and after having worked and studied in South Africa and Tanzania is now focused on his career in Kenya.
• Charming and very professional, Richard has been involved in tourism, conservation and hospitality since childhood, much of it spent at his uncle's property, Ol Donyo Wuas in the Chyulu Hills.

GUIDES

Riccardo Orizio

• Riccardo is happy to admit that he is the only junior member of the Saruni guiding team, having spent many years as a special correspondent.
• In 2003 he opted to make the transition from the news wilderness to the African wilderness.

William Partois Santian

• William was born around 1978 in the Aitong district of the Mara. Charismatic, great fun to be with, very articulate and a passionate story-teller, William's childhood ambition was to be a Naturalist.
  He started his career in tourism as a night watchman in one of the camps in the Masai Mara. He quickly realised that becoming a guide would fulfil his dream, so in 1999 he pushed to become a game tracker and then a guide.
• In 2001 he gained his Bronze level qualification from the Kenyan Professional Safari Guide Association (KPSGA).
• Two and half years later, William's great passion for animals, but also for trees, flowers, butterflies, birds (and snakes) enabled him to become one of the only two Maasai to gain the coveted "silver badge" KPSGA qualification.
• William joined Saruni in June 2005 and has been a welcomed addition to Saruni's guiding team. Not only does he enjoy educating the guests with information about fauna and the Mara's ecosystem, but he also enjoys teaching guests about the traditions of his culture and about Maasai life.
• William's favourite aspect of guiding is Kenya's flora. He can name all of the local trees in the Mara in English, Latin and Ki Maa.
• His knowledge and his wild stories about guiding keep all of the guests entertained at Saruni, whether it's as their guide or around the dinner table!

John Ole Nchoe

• John was born around 1975 (Maasai often have an approximate idea of their age, because they are born without birth certificates...). He grew up in Ngoswani, which is one of the surrounding areas of Saruni.
• John has had a typical Maasai upbringing, in what is a well-known clan of the Northern Mara region. When asked which is his favourite animal, he answers with a big smile: "Simba, of course!".
• 16 years ago, as a young Maasai warrior (Moran), John and 14 of his fellow age-mates took part in the Maasai ritual of killing a lion to prove their masculinity and adherence to Masai warfare skills. John was the first one to throw his spear, which was a symbol of bravery, and secured his status as one of the most respected elders within the area.
• In 1993 John traded in his Maasai spear and red "shuka" for a pair of Nikon binoculars and a kaki uniform, becoming a conservationist. He began his career working as a ranger in the Maasai-run Rhino Sanctuary within in the Olchorro Group Ranch, where he guided visitors and looked after six white rhinos.
• In 2003 John left the rhinos behind and joined Saruni. As one of the camps first employees, he helped with the construction of the lodge. Once the doors of the camp were open to guests, he became a game tracker, helping to design an innovative set of game drives and game walks.
• After two years it became obvious that his depth of knowledge, his charisma and his infectious laughter made up all of the qualities of an excellent guide. As John wanted the opportunity to become a guide, Saruni decided to sponsor him through the Koiyaki Guiding School to take the KPSGA's Bronze level qualification.

Saruni Kisemei

• Saruni is the Maasai adjective for the Provider or the Peacemaker, a mediator or one who brings people of different points of view together, which is probably one of the most apt descriptions of Leonard Saruni Kisemei. Saruni is a guide ever-ready to share his knowledge of both his natural and cultural heritage with persons from all sorts of diverse backgrounds.
• He was born Ol Donyo Orienga in the early 1980s and since an early age developed a keen interest in his surroundings whilst herding his father's livestock. After leaving school, Saruni worked in a variety of jobs. However his deep interest in nature, great confidence in the bush, ability to make guests feel immersed in the wilderness and easy charm, prompted our lodge to sponsor this bright young man at Koyiaki Guiding School. It's the first and only school for professional safari guides, and Saruni graduated with distinction, also winning the title of the "best smile of the year".
• Saruni was part of the very first team who assembled at the lodge site when the construction started, in September 2002. Since then he has bee a casual worker, a trainee waiter, a waiter, the head of the waiters. Now, as professional guide, he spends most of his time in the bush, where he feels most at ease. The feedback from our guests is already very positive and Saruni is now the happiest young guide in the Masai Mara.
• His specialty? Teaching our guests how to throw the spear and how to use bow and arrows

Wilson Lolpapit

Lemeria Nchoe

• It is difficult to describe who Lemeria is. He is the real Masai, the man who cannot only see animals, but smell and sense them, "feel" where they are and what they are going to be. He is the man who has killed lions and fought with leopards, who can walk for days and days in the bush with no food and no water. And no complains. He is the man who doesn't need to talk too much, even if his smile and his sense of humour are second to none. Old fashioned and reserved, capable of the most amazing sightings – how to forget when he found an aardvark in his burrow in the middle of the day and left the car to go and see the aardvark through the entrance – Lemeria started as a tracker and now he is a guide, even if his formal qualifications are.... few and far in between. When the going gets tough, Lemeria is the survivor. Some of clients claim that he has "supernatural" skills or that he understands the wild animals because, in a way, he is like them and has more empathy for them than for humans. If you love conversation, Lemeria is not for you. If you want to see extraordinary things, and get close to them, he is your guide.