Reviews of Usangu Expedition Camp

"I can't rate Usangu highly enough. My 'tent' was beautiful. The 'front of house' staff were welcoming and friendly. The food was lovely although more than I could eat so I always skipped lunch. My guide, Sainingo, was so knowledgeable and I learned a lot from him. All the staff gathering to sing, dance and drum their farewell to me seemed heartfelt and not in the least bit cheesy.

But the real star was that part of Ruaha NP - it is what I imagine the Serengeti would have been like 100 years ago. Vast open spaces with huge herds of Topi, Zebra, Sable, Roan, Waterbuck, etc. And most importantly no-one else around. The downside is that the animals are not as habituated to people as in the north of Ruaha and there are few graded tracks and lots of little streams so sometimes progress in the truck can be slow.

Sainingo showed me animals that I haven't seen before (a monitor lizard hibernating in a tree, a clutch of ostrich eggs, a civet cat, etc). I set 4 camera traps at the start of my stay and viewed the results the day before I left - again seeing some animals that I haven't seen before (a honey badger, a spotted hyena, a common duiker, more civet cats, etc). Also the night drive using a night vision app was spectacular; being able to see animals (a scrub hare and a porcupine family amongst many others) without disturbing them with a spotlight was fantastic.

All these sightings are added to the on-site Research Station data to help work out what animals are resident and their population sizes. Leena, the young woman running the Research Station, is passionate about the work already done and how visitors can contribute to the ongoing research.

All I can say is Go Now whilst it is still wild; the inconveniences are more than outweighed by the spectacular wildlife viewing and 5 star camp facilities. I hope to return." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania; 1n in Kenya