Lamai Serengeti - spot the camp!!

"This is the most beautiful and sensitive camp I have ever seen - I mean look how it blends in - who designed it? Can I shake their hand?"

- Tanapa Assistant Warden
29th June 2011

Lamai Serengeti Opens

Unbelievable views out over the Serengeti and Mara River beyond

Hidden amongst the rocks in the kopje

Bedrooms you won't want to leave...

Bathrooms to wallow in...

Endless views from the mess...

Absorbing it all.

Asleep on the job...not likely!!

These chaps may look relaxed and half-asleep...

But for the rest of us it's all go in the final days before Lamai Serengeti opens up. So exciting to see the finished camp coming together; the team here are doing a fabulous job, everything works, everything fits, the rooms are looking stunning.  Our official photographer arrives tomorrow and we'll get those first few images out to all asap.

Life on the kopje is about to get a lot more exciting!!

We are here!

By Bas & Suzanne, Lamai Serengeti

Yes…finally!! Our very first ‘blog’ moment as the new camp managers of Nomad’s new camp, Lamai Serengeti, and what a privilege it is to share remarkable moments of our day-to-day lives around camp with you. Having arrived in camp nearly two weeks ago, we are really living the excitement of this new and adventurous challenge ahead of us.

That building is ‘something else’ in Africa we already knew, but that everything is as handmade as it is in Lamai Serengeti is new to us. True, some machines are involved but there aren’t many. And the result really is very different. The whole camp gently seems to portray the unique signatures of all the people who have been involved in building it; from moving huge granite boulders to wiring the office building, it’s great to see that the building crew is so enthusiastic about what they have just achieved. 

The spectacular surroundings of Lamai Serengeti is all around you, it is easy to be carried away by the thought that we are soon to host one of the ten natural wonders of the world: the largest mammal migration on earth.

And however opposite in many ways, it is an achievement of a totally different order that actually can be described as Lamai Serengeti’s wonder of today: with the expertise of two AFSAT (satellite) heroes from Arusha, today we were connected with the outside world. With the digital highway leading straight into camp, soon – and not surprisingly - we caught the very first people trying to catch a glimpse of how the rest of the world looks from this far flung corner.

Today suddenly this remote northern section of the Serengeti seems a little bit closer to the rest of the world.

Bastiaan ("Bas") Rosenkamp & Suzanne Scheffer have recently joined us at Nomad, both originally from the Netherlands. They were bitten by the hospitality bug in Europe, running a string of small luxury hotel chalets in ski destinations in Austria, Switzerland and France. In search of warmer climates, they moved to Africa and a beach lodge in Tanzania where the cool ocean breezes convinced them they were now definitely on the right continent.

After the beach came a stint in Zambia, working for Wilderness Safaris in one of their well known mobile camps. They realised, at this stage, that they were without doubt safari people rather than beach people, but also decided that it was Tanzania that had "stolen their heart" and so it was a return to East Africa, and Nomad. And they're now happily ensconced at our newest camp Lamai Serengeti, where they'll be regularly blogging about living in the most exciting new camp in the Serengeti.  

View from the Library

Elephants and the Mara beyond.

It all happens here

There are some very clever folk living around Usa River, where our Nomad HQ is located. And they're all busy on the Lamai Serengeti interiors. When this new camp was still in the planning stages, we determined that everything would be sourced locally - within Tanzania and Kenya wherever possible and that we would make as much 'on site' ourselves as we could.

Making rugs for the rooms

And putting the final touches to tables and desks

It's a hive of activity in every direction

Lamai Serengeti - as seen by "The Urban Nomad"

Lauren Scott - Nomad's PR in New York 

Well what can you say about Lamai. What an incredible, incredible spot this is. My first trip to the Serengeti and I may have already found my favorite part of it. While I am counting down the days to the grand opening on June 27th with mounting impatience and excitement, I think everyone else is happy to let the date arrive in good time. 

We flew in from Ndutu and, despite somewhat drizzly weather and huge rainclouds, it was hard not to marvel at the amazing view and just how quickly this place is taking shape. The excitement on the ground is palpable, the progress is steady and the whole site looking more and more impressive every day - with bemused elephant and baboon onlookers supervising progress from a little distance.

I was treated to a grand tour with the whole team, checking out every room, the mess, the private camp, the pool, secret spots in the kopje...a proper day of exploration and discovery.

Seeing a site through the eyes of the team behind the vision is a real and rare treat - with John talking us through the layout of each room and Jo bringing the interiors ideas to life with her mood boards and real art for helping you imagine a 5 star bedroom in what is currently a timber framework.

Each room is so totally unique with a totally different view across the landscape, you can see immediately that it will be hard to stay here just once.

There is something magical about to happen in the Serengeti and the fact that Nomad have been entrusted as guardians of this location is something of which the whole team can be very proud. Watch this space!