Surana Buffalo Springs

Hotel review

The Surana Camp in Buffalo Springs was built just two years back, finished in 2024, and its modernity shows in all the little things. The rooms are smartly designed, modern, spacious and well-lit; every one of them comes with its own plunge pool (sizes vary) and an overhead fan to keep you cool through the night. The main building with bar, restaurant and comfortable seating is open-plan and provides spectacular views that are shared by the main swimming pool nestled just below. The food is good without, arguably, being overly ambitious, but the service is top-drawer. The staff take a real pride in their jobs, whether waiters, gardeners or the engineers who helped me fix a flat tyre!

The camp is perfectly positioned, immediately above a ninety-degree bend in the Ewaso River, with a floodplain that regularly hosts a plentiful assortment of wildlife looking for a drink. Several animals, like the reticulated (or Somali) giraffe and the Grevy zebra, far more handsome than the regular model, are rarely spotted anywhere else; this place is renowned for "The Special Five", which also includes the Gerenuk, Beisa Oryx and Somali Ostrich.  Far more common were the ubiquitous elephants. At one point, twenty “ellies” crossed the river right to left, older mums helping the teens through the deeper bits, and a little later an enormous bull went the other way. All this activity can be enjoyed from the comfort of the main lodge if you are feeling especially lazy! A decent pair of binoculars is recommended. 

One huge advantage Surana has over rivals is that if the wildlife is bashful, the surrounding scenery is never less than stunning, and the sundowners atop a small hillock with the plains of Africa stretching into the distance were the best way to round off an eventful day. 

The Greek manager was on leave, but when asked, his local assistant Maggie argued that what Surana offered was not being the Mara! The surrounds are, relatively speaking, untouched, and if you are fortunate enough to come across a lion kill, you will enjoy the spectacle on your own, rather than share it with 100 other tourists. “Small treats and open skies” were her entirely appropriate parting comments. A drive with a guide on the final day ended with a sighting of a young leopard of breathtaking beauty preening itself in the undergrowth. Another highlight of a camp with too many to mention.

Iain Morrison