Owners, Managers and Guides

SARUNI, Samburu

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.

Tom Hartley – Manager

• After a very successful first year as our manager at Saruni Mara, Tom is now the manager of Saruni Samburu, and is enjoying the remoteness and wilderness of this highly praised, design lodge.
• Tom also comes from a family with deep roots in conservation and hospitality. His mission is to take Saruni Samburu a step further in the service that we offer our guests.
• He can't resist repeating: "Oh, I love it here!", expecially when the herds of elephants come to the waterhole early in the morning and at dusk time and the wild beauty of Northern Kenya becomes irresistable.

GUIDES

Chris Lmariamu Letur

Chris was born in a small Samburu village called Lpus Leluai, he grew up surrounded by nature; the landscape became his class room whilst plants and animals were the focus of his studies and his teachers. Chris was one of the lucky few to attend school and for 12 years he learned to read, write and speak very good English. This helped him to study further and delve into the written works about plants, mammals and birds, becoming a keen botanist. Chris is a member of Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association (KPSGA) in the bronze category, he is a specialist in Samburu traditional medicines which can be extracted in all froms from plants, herbs and trees. He considers himself to be a man of culture, he is tramendously proud of his people and his hope is that they do not abandon their culture and identity in the face of westernisation.

Lepayon Lekoitip

Lepayon comes from a village within the Kalama Conservancy called Kiltamany and is the first born from a family of seven. Whilst he was never able to attend school, his main interest has always been in both animals and birds, what brought about this fascination was growing up surrounded by wild animals. Having herded domestic cattle, sheep and goats through dangerous terrain Lepayon quickly developed a keen eye for predators. He is currently working as a tracker, but he dreams to one day raise his standard to professional guide. Strong and muscular, proud of his Samburu attire, he is one of the most photographed members of our team.

Sambara Lengamuya

The gentle and always smiling Sambara comes from Kiltamany, he is the second born from a family of six. Sambara was unable to attend school but in his early twenties he was recruited and trained as a community ranger for the Kalama conservancy, his job was to patrol and protect the wild life. In his youth as Moran (warrior) he killed a Lion as part of his initiation, ofcourse times have changed and he learned to protect wildlife from human conflict. As a ranger, Sambara quickly became familiar with the terraine and developed a keen interest in all types of birds. One thing led to another and he begun working for Saruni as a guide. He quickly learned to drive which had always been a great ambition of his and he is now one of the top members of our Kalama team. He has an amazing understanding of nature and wildlife and is often called by our guests the best guide I have ever had.

Innocent Lekalaile