Robby and Marleen first met at a very special spot in Tanzania: Ndutu Safari Lodge in the Serengeti. Robby is a photographer and was travelling annually to Tanzania to work on a photographic art project, in which he captured the African animal world in a unique and authentic manner. Marleen was living in Tanzania and was Lodge Manager of Ndutu Safari Lodge, where she expertly ensured that guests were always comfortable. Robby is Belgian and Marleen is Dutch. They’ve been living permanently at Kimaro Farmhouse since 2011. By setting up this property in France, they’ve been able to mix their passions of the great outdoors and Africa into a wonderful cocktail. You’ll notice this in the holiday cottage décor of Twiga House and their luxury safari tents, which are dotted with African accents.
Kimaro is a word, which was inspired by the Kiswahili language, the language most spoken in East-Africa. KI is a prefix and MARO are the first two letters of Marleen and Robby’s names. Their dream has come true – setting up this Burgundian farmhouse, a heavenly place where you’ll find rest and space. Kimaro Farmhouse stands for quality and authenticity on a small scale.
Thanks to the tremendous success of Kimaro Farmhouse, it was possible to branch out with an extra cottage that offers accommodation for 6 people. They found a place barely a minute’s drive from Kimary Farmhouse, located in the atmospheric shire, ‘Le Châtelet’. It’s an authentic, romantic cottage, also stylishly decorated with African accents, and is called ‘Momella House’. It’s a picturesque spot with a lovely, spacious garden and a view of the gorgeous Burgundian hills - a view that might even convince you that you are no longer in France, but perhaps somewhere in the downs of East Africa.
'Momella' was the name of a farm in the vicinity of Mount Meru in Tanzania, and was the setting of the 1962 Hollywood movie ‘Hatari’. It was this film that awakened Robby’s passion for Africa in his youth. Over the course of his many safaris in Tanzania, Robby visited this picturesque place. Because 'Kimaro Farmhouse' is so interlaced with 'safari nostalgia' Marleen and Robby named the cottage in Le Châtelet 'Momella House'.
You’ll recognise a number of motiefs in ‘Momella House’ that hark back to the East African vintage period, where country living is associated with a warm, colonial style.