Reviews of Mwagusi Safari Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
115 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Mwagusi Safari Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Fantastic safari at Mwagusi,"
Food at Mwagusi if fantastic. Breakfasts for us were all in the bush and were very yummy, particularly the cinnamon bread. Lunches buffet style - a meat dish, veggie dish and various salads. Different each day and always good. Dinners - taken in and around the camp. Drinks around the fire and then starter, buffet style dinner served from pots sitting in hot embers from the fire. Every dinner we had was excellent. Puddings finished off the evening. The bush dinners are a feature at Mwagusi and can not fail to please.
Wild life in Ruaha is very relaxed as the animals have absolutely no fear of humans. This means you can get very close to them to spend time watching their behaviour. We had an amazing encounter with a young leopard who used our truck as cover whilst staking out his prey! To make the trip even more memorable we also spotted a cheetah. How luck we were in the number of animals spotted - too many to mention.
What a wonderful camp in a great location this is!" See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania
"Magical wildlife experiences"
Our 2 boys were spending 7+ hours a day on game drives, but always came back looking forward to the next experience.
The staff were very good, making us feel incredibly special. Our 7 year old was taken on his own lizard hunt, our guide Jeme started a game drive an hour earlier than planned as a Cheetah had been spotted and the catering team were incredibly flexible dealing with our various dietary requirements.
I was unsure about group dinners, but they were each great experience with stunning locations and very amiable hosts in Yvonne and Simon.
We had one night without water in our Banda, but what can you do when an elephant decides to pull apart the plumbing!
We would love to go back again." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania
"Mwagusi Safari Camp review"
The communal dining in the riverbed gives you a real bush experience. The safari industry in Ruaha has been set up by the Fox family and you can see that Chris knows exactly how things should be done. The gameviewing is spectacular, especially if you are interested in elephants and lions." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania
"Mwagusi Safari Camp review"
Evening dinners were undoubtedly a highlight though; lamplit long tables in the dry river bed accompanied by the call of an African Scops Owl every six seconds! As you rightly say in your brochure, Chris Fox is passionate about Africa and Ruaha in particular and, together with his equally-knowledgeable sidekick Simon, stirred up some truly thought-provoking discussions every night. We really didn't want to leave." See all these reviews: 18n in Tanzania; 1n in Kenya
"Mwagusi Safari Camp"
The location of the bandas on the river was outstanding. We had terrific wildlife sightings from our veranda, including an elephant who came to visit our first evening (six words I never thought I'd hear myself say: "There's an elephant at the door"). The food was incredible, and the evening dinners on the river were so beautiful. But the game drives were the best of all.
The amount of game and its proximity to the vehicles was breathtaking, and far better than in the Selous. The animals never stopped appearing. There were so many, and they were so close -- I just couldn't believe it. To have a lion come and lie down in the shade of your truck is heart stopping. Justin was a fantastic guide. We liked having the same guide everyday. He knew what we had already seen, and we all got to know each other, which was very nice. The staff was great too. They addressed our concerns immediately, and were all friendly and warm.
We would go back to Mwagusi again." See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania
"Tanzanian Birthday Adventure"
The bandas are spacious with good en suite facilities with hot water on demand - heated by solar panels which also provide the power for lighting each banda. The Bandas are well spaced out and each one has a very comfortable open area ( enclosed by a low wall ) for sitting to watch the passing wildlife - some of which passes very close by - we had an elephant put it's trunk over the low wall - what an amazing experience!
The food is delicious with lunch in the main communal area and dinner sometimes eaten under the stars. Breakfast can be eaten in camp but we chose to take ours on the game drive.
There was a little confusion amongst a number of the guest, including ourselves, about drinks. On our last visit drink was included but this time we had to sign for every drink whilst some of the other guests were 'all inclusive'. We had been advised by you that drink was extra and this was not a problem but the two tier system did seem a bit divisive and could have been explained better by the staff. A number of guests were, initially, reluctant to take water on game drives as they thought that it was extra!!
The diverse habitats in Ruaha provide wonderful opportunists for game spotting. Our guide, Geoffrey, aided and abetted by driver Khalifan, was quite amazing pointing out animals we could so easily have missed. How he spotted the Serval we will never know - it was so well camouflaged in the long grass - it is difficult to spot even on the photograph! Thank you to both for wonderful guiding and manoeuvring so that we could get some great photos.
Although we knew he was unlikely to be at the camp we were a little disappointed not to see Chris Fox - his passion is so infectious and although the management team were good they did not have that enthusiasm or drive" See all these reviews: 17n in Tanzania
"Mwagusi Safari Camp review"
"Beautiful setting, wonderful guides."
Our guide Justin and driver Vincent were superb and could not do enough for us, anxious to know what we wanted to see and trying to tailor our drives to that. They were great company over our 4 nights at the camp.
We would have liked the guides to join us for dinner instead of just the management. There may be a reason for this here but at all the other camps we have stayed at on safari it makes the camp have a family feel.
A wonderful experience." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania
"Great camp and great wildlife at Mwagusi"
Geofrey was an excellent guide and he and Vincent (the driver), produced a number of trip highlights: four leopard sightings, two of cheetahs, three sightings of lions + one of them mating, elephants searching for water in the dry river bed, lion-elephant standoffs, vultures feasting and a multitude of birds.
Our accommodation was in a large well-appointed, spacious, thatched banda incorporating a sleeping tent, and overlooking the river (dry when we went). It also had a covered relaxation area with hammock. Behind the tent was a very large bathroom and clothes storage area. The laundry service was excellent and clothes came back folded unbelievably small - perfect for packing. There were a few niggles which didn't detract from our enjoyment and are only worth mentioning because of the overall high quality of the accommodationi: the floor in the bathroom/clothes area could be slippery and needed care, there was no plug in the wash hand basin, and the shower sprayed water over a rather large area (and needed a larger non-slip mat).
Staff were welcoming friendly and helpful. Communal dining worked well with good breakfasts, and lunch and evening buffets. Lunches were particulary good with an amazing array of salads. An unexpected birthday cake brought in by singing staff was much appreciated." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania
"Mwagusi Safari Camp review"
Alans only comment would be - the food was excellent but tended to be too vegetarian orientated and he would have liked a bit more meat!!!!!
After the incident the staff were very efficient and caring and carried on professionally and we were very impressed by their attitudes." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania
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