Reviews of Mwagusi Safari Camp

"This was our last stay on our safari and although we saw much elsewhere, in some ways this was perhaps the best. This is the one place we did take a walk with armed rangers. Nothing spectacular on the walk but a great chance to see tracks, scat, and plants up close at a leisurely pace. Both this walk and the drives were all with Geoffroy, who was excellent. As with the other guides he rose to the occasion in showing pushy biologists far more than we might have otherwise hoped for. Had morning walk with the guide trainer Simon. Loved the walk and conversations with him, in which he clearly loved playing up his knowledge and wisdom of the bush. The two women who seemed to run the camp, Yvonne and Delray, were very attentive. It was a pleasure to meet and converse with the owner Chris Fox who gave us a very informative description of the trials, tribulations, and political realities of operating a place such as Mwagusi." See all these reviews: 13n in Tanzania

"I have no negatives about Mwagusi. The banda was wonderful - very spacious, decorations utilizing local wood, stones, carvings, etc. Hammock on the veranda was my favorite place every afternoon between lunch and the game drive. Really appreciated the solar lights which provided plenty of light to read in bed and write in my journal. The bed was comfortable and I slept well each night (after I got used to the elephant foraging outside my tent!) Bathroom was also spacious and seemed virtually like a house's bathroom.

The dining area was great since it stayed cool and provided a nice spot to sit and relax while watching the animals in the river bed. The food was quite a surprise since it had imaginative, sophisticated flavors - great salads at lunch featuring peanuts, carrots, fruit, and other vegs. Dinners under the stars were nice (although eating inside was nice too and less of a trudge to the river bed). Breakfasts in the bush were the best of the 3 camps I visited; i particularly liked the toast and the cinnamon bread.

Staff were helpful, knowledgeable and friendly across the board - banda team, restaurant and office. Appreciated their pride in Mwagusi and their role. My driver & guide (Immanuel and Isaac) were fantastic. They spotted and tracked animals extremely well, including a leopard and cheetah, and lots of birds. They had a great way of knowing which way the animals were going to go and then getting us in prime position to watch/photo them. They were both very knowledgeable about plants and terrain in addition to the animals, so I feel like I got a good sense of the overall Ruaha area rather than just focusing on the search for animals. It was also nice to talk with them and learn about their lives.

I was very impressed that Mwagusi offers English language classes to their employees, as well as driver and guide training, from 2:00-4:00 daily in their classroom building. The fact that they support employees and give them the tools for a career path is wonderful and shows that ownership carries through with action, not just words or marketing hype. (This was the only camp out of the 3 I visited that has an employee education program.)

I would definitely stay at Mwagusi again and will recommend it to others. Out of the 3 camps, this was the best from a facilities, food, and blending in with the eco-system perspective." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania

"Great camp with fantastic atmosphere and excellent service .

The camp is quite special and with somehow unusual design but the tents are very well lay out along the river with incredible views of the dry river bed and many animals coming to drink in the last small waterholes left.Tents are huge and very confortable , but also perfectly blended with the surrounding .

The best part of Mwagusi are the activities.They are very serious about the safaris and also flexible to accommodate your needs and preferences . You can be out driving all day if you wish .

We had and excellent guide that tried hard to find all the animals we wanted to see . Elephants are all over , as well as giraffes,zebras and buffalos . Predators are also plentiful , specially lions . We got to see them all five days we spent in Ruaha , one day we saw 23 of five different prides !! We had great leopard viewing also but we did not have luck with cheetah , a good reason to go back soon.

Ruaha is probably one of the best places we have visited for variety and quantity of antelopes .During our stay we had the chance to see impala , grant gazelle , kirk dik dik , waterbuck , bushbuck , greater and lesser kudu , klipspringer , eland , sable and roan !!!

Overall a camp that you should consider if you are a serious about activities and good guiding !!!" See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania

"After the two previous camps, we did feel that the facilities were showing some slight signs of their age, and the bush seemed to us to have been trashed by the elephants, perhaps to its long term detriment.

Connie and her staff were excellent, and all very concerned about my health after suffering a very nasty attack of "bush belly".

For those particularly interested in big cats, this was without doubt the best camp we visited,but it also enabled us to see a range of antelopes and smaller animals that we had not seen at the other camps.

Again I suspect that the bush telegraph had been working, as we were again delighted to have the staff bring us a golden wedding cake, whilst they danced and sang, thank you." See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania

"We had a perfect stay at Mwagusi and cannot recommend it too highly. The banda was fantastic and we felt sorry that we did not have more time to spend on our veranda looking at the elephant, giraffe and baboon which drank from the waterhole right in front of us. Game drives were exciting and we were lucky enough to get a perfect sighting of 3 leopard, to say nothing of the vast number of elephant and lion. Justin was our guide and he was enthusiastic and very knowledgeable.

The staff at the camp were all very friendly and efficient and the whole atmosphere was just what one hopes for in a safari camp. Food was great, particularly the cinnamon bread on the bush breakfasts and dinner under the stars." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania; 2n in Zanzibar

"Brilliant guides, great viewing, luxury accommodation, good food, excellent staff and management but just too big for us." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar

"Chris was generally in attendance whenever we were in camp and was a good host, interesting and informative.

The game viewing here was particularly good, with probably the widest variety seen, but unlike the other camps we visited, we did not have the same guide every day. We had reservations about our first guide who seemed keener to irritate the elephants on one occasion than to give us good viewing. We therefore appreciated having different guides on other days, who were excellent.

We thought the food - particularly breakfast provided on the drives - of a lower standard than the other camps, although it was perfectly adequate. We enjoyed the buffet evening meals on the river bed under the stars and with the odd elephant strolling about.

The tent was well planned and fitted out. Nights were cooler than in Selous and constant hot water not so much of a factor.

The service was excellent and we preferred the system of having a tip box for all staff, including drivers and guides." See all these reviews: 19n in Tanzania; 2n in Zanzibar

"Mwagusi was an unforgetable experience.The camp, and our banda were stunning. Everyone there from the manager, Chris Fox, to our driver and the young lady who cleaned our banda were friendly and helpful. Our dirty clothes 'disappeard' each morning - to reappear washed and ironed later that day.

Our driver and guide's 'spotting' skills were amazing. We saw leopard, cheetah and lion. We could just sit in the bush watching zebra, elephant etc - soaking up the atmosphere. I read an article describing being in the African bush as "spiritual nourishment" - I agree. I spent the time between an excellent lunch and the afternoon/evening game drive lying in the most comfortable hammock I have ever lain in.

The evening game drive was followed by superb food - so much choice - and very good company. Thank you all at Mwagusi." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania

"We had a wonderful stay at Mwagusi.

The staff were very friendly and helpful. We had the same guide, Issac, for the entire time we were there and did not share our car with anyone else which was unexpected but good. Issac was excellent. He was very unassuming. His knowledge was good but he did not bombard you with facts but tended to wait until you asked questions.

We were a little worried about the number of animals walking through the campsite to begin with but got used to this after a short time as it seemed quite safe. We were awoken the first night by a loud crunching noise which sounded very close to our tent. We shone our torch through the tent to find there was a large elephant eating the bark off the tree directly outside our tent!

Another day a leopard had her cubs in the service hut behind one of the bandas. It was amazing to get up so close to the animals on our drives. There was lighting in the tent provided by photocells. The hot water was also provided this way. There was no other electricity in the tents but the staff were very good at charging camera batteries in their office." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania

"We enjoyed Mwagusi - it has the neat trick of mixing a few luxuries with a bush atmosphere.

The number of guests means you get really personal service from the guides - you made up your own itinerary and the guides responded.

The food was excellent, and the settings wonderful. We especially liked the bush breakfasts and the dining under the stars" See all these reviews: 9n in Zanzibar; 7n in Tanzania