Reviews of Lake Manze Camp

We’ve heard back from the camp owners on these comments and while they are very pleased these travellers were very happy with their guide and had some good sightings, they are surprised and very disappointed that so much of their experience was not up to the standards they were expecting, and that the vast majority of guests experience.

The camp has explained that these guests got off the plane at Mtemere airstrip, rather than Siwandu (the airstrip that the camp routinely uses), which explains the confusion they experienced on arrival. This may have been poor organisation by the airline, as they were indeed booked and ticketed to fly to Siwandu.

This is certainly a busy time of year, and the camp was full, with two families from the UK. The staff deliberately seated these travellers away from the children, but they sincerely apologise for any shortfall in the meals, which certainly should have been mentioned at the time.

We are pleased to hear that the camp’s owners have instructed managers not to smoke in view of the guests. Smoking is only allowed by the firepit or at the bar, but this policy is constantly under review as habits change.

Bar charges over several days can be fiddly to check, both for guests and staff, but where there is no all-inclusive drinks policy, that is unfortunately inevitable.

The loss of elephants to poaching in Selous has been widely documented, but they do visit the camp – though these guests did not see any at camp during their stay. Tents 1 to 7 have better views, but fewer elephants while tents 8 to 12 are shadier, with more elephants, but can also be less breezy. Guests are always welcome to ask for specific tents, or to request to be moved if possible.

This camp does not have permanent access to the Rufiji River, only to Lake Manze itself, and unfortunately the water was very low at this time of year.

Once again, we apologise that these guests felt this was not the camp for them. We think some of their negative experience was down to the busy time of year, and some could have been improved by speaking immediately to the mangers. With hindsight, though, we accept that we may have suggested the wrong camp to these travellers.