Reviews of Greystoke Mahale
(99%) From 40 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Greystoke Mahale review
Considering the location the food and service was excellent.
The guides were extremely knowledgable and the ethos of betterment of the staff was very good.
A ranger borrowed my bird book on a boat trip and was improving his knowledge studying it and asking questions.
Magical chimp encounters
When we saw Greystoke, after a pleasant boat trip with an enjoyable picnic, we were delighted. The main rustic banda on a large sandy beach is definitely a show stopper. Our room was very pleasant again in a similar Robinson Crusoe fashion but there was a long walk to the en suite bathroom. The staff were all pleasant and the service good.
We preferred the one night when we had pre- dinner drinks around a fire on the beach to having them in the very dark bar at the side of the beach. This bar was pleasant during daylight but in our opinion was to dark with no view for pre dinner drinks, The stars of these occasions were the two excellent guides Mwiga and Butati who told hilarious stories about the chimps and previous encounters.
The meals in the restaurant where great where the star of this show was the camp Manager Julian who held center stage with his stories and experiences. These were amusing if slightly over the top, but it was not the normal guests chatting and sharing their experiences.
The afternoon boat trips were great fun with deep water swimming in the warm lake and fishing. Marcia again showed her fishing expertise as she caught four times as many fish as Mike. We had the fish as sashimi for a bar snack prior to dinner.
The real magic of our stay at Mahali were the chimps. We were in a party of four guests, the excellent guide Mwiga and a very pleasant, helpful and knowledgeable park ranger Hussain. We had great chimp sightings on the first two days and watched a big group playing, grooming and fighting on our first two treks. The hour we were allowed to view them each day flew past.One of the amusing highlights was when one of the chimps decided to sit with us when we were watching a group of other chimps playing. The treks were quire challenging especially the second day when we went right off path to be with the chimps and we were grateful to Hussain who helped Mike on the steeper bits .
On the third day the trackers struggled to find the chimps but we went on a less challenging trek and were rewarded with a sighting of a red tail monkey, excellent sightings of red Colubus monkeys plus numerous birds and other small species
Mahali was not an easy place to get to but it was definitely worth the travel to have a magical experience
Face to Face with the Chimps
To begin with a critical comment, an important fact is certainly not stressed, maybe not even mentioned in the descriptions of this place: as we were told by our guides (very good and very competent !!) it depends on the time of year how far up into the mountains you have to climb in order to meet the chimps.
However, we were lucky (and as amatter of fact fit) enough to make it to the chimps ( all in all a five and a half hours walk ) and we were very well rewarded !!! Meeting them up there in a rather unaccessable mountainous area was certainly one of the highlights of this whole trip !!
Julian, the manager of the place, tried hard to be a good host - he could, however, spread his attention more evenly to all members of the party. Guests from other parts of the world should be as well cared for as people from Australia......
The staff seemed not as well trained and not as ambitious as in the other places we visited.
A dream location - Greystoke
We finally got to Mahale National Park and the lovely Greystoke Camp with lake Tanganyika at our footstep. The camp has been described as a dream location and to large extent it was. Isolated own bungalows overlooking the lake and with all you need for a very relaxing and enjoyable break.
The highlight was of course the chimp trekking which we did twice, both times reminding us that it is not always easy to find the chimps. The plan was at breakfast around 08.00, we would know from our guides where the chimps were and then we would head out. The practice was that on day one we went out after lunch and on day two around 10.30 only proving that chimps tend to be further away from the camp during the rainy season. Anyway we saw chimps both day, in the trees or on the ground. The walking took about an hour, mostly in rainy conditions.
The camp manager (Julian) was very entertaining and the staff was simply excellent in providing service and caring for the guests. Being at the lake we took a boat out and jumped in 25 degree crystal clear water and afterwards did some fishing (which we had for dinner the same evening). The sunset and evening skies, one day with a distant thunderstorm was magical.
The food was good, nothing to complain about but nothing to be overly positive about either.
wonderful
This place has to be heaven on earth. Just wonderful in every way.
Read more about the whole safariGreystoke Mahale review
I was a bit worried coming to Greystoke Mahale. It seemed so amazing in its descriptions I was afraid it would be a bit of a letdown. Rest assured it lived up to expectations.
We had three chimp treks. The first was a bit quiet, but the other two progressed nicely. Chimp trekking is a bit more hit and miss than, say, a gorilla trek, as the chimps don't stay in a tight group.
Out guide Mateus was top-notch, very conscience and extremely knowledgeable. And eating freshly caught sashimi was not something I expected on an African Safari.
Magical Mahale
A truly magical place. Chimp viewing was an amazing experience.
The camp was the perfect base to do this and provided enjoyable additional activities and great hospitality.
Kate and Cameron were excellent hosts and Butati and Mathias were passionate and enthusiastic guides.
Great chimptrekking
We stayed three nights at Greystoke Mahale.
The camp is divine, the setting is fantastic. You feel as if you were on the seaside. It is remote and beautiful.
Chimptrekking was exciting, we had the opportunity to see so many chimpanzees and to walk alongside. Our guide Buttati was fantastic, so funny, passionate and kind. We loved to listen to him explaining us the behaviours of the chimpanzes and sharing so many anecdotes. We had the chance to see the chimps grooming, resting, walking,... The first day we had to walk long hours before to meet them as they had the idea to go far in the bush but the second day we met them only 30 min far from the camp.
We highly enjoyed too our trip to Katumbi, a nearby village, for which we had raised funds and supplies. We went to visit the school and the clinic which we wanted to support through the Nomad Trust and Packforapurpose. It was a great opportunity to meet the community and to discover their way of life.
We would definitely come back.
Unique.... The best.....
Ah.... Mahale..... Of our five weeks in the bush, it was the best, but it is difficult to compare with the others because of its uniqueness. Aesthetically, the buildings (and much of the furniture and fitments) are made of old dhows and are exquisite. Cam and Kate were consulate hosts and went above and beyond to make our stay perfect--including setting the entire dining table for the 12 of us on the beach on the final night. Happy hour at the bar on the point was divine.
Butate, our guide, was one of the most caring and lovely people I've ever met, to say nothing of his knowledge and guiding skills. He loves the chimps, that is clear. He also took us through his village, which was a wonderful experience. He is also a very, very funny man, and we spent an inordinate amount of time falling over with laughter.
Chimp trekking was fabulous, though my camera struggled with the light and shadow, and with the focus, because the jungle can be very dense. We had one very easy trek to see them, and one very tough one.
And then there's Big Bird, the tame pelican who, if truth be told, rules the camp. We guests had to fish for him, rescue him from a boat that threatened to cart him to the nearby village--where he would have ended up in the pot, and generally ensure that his life was bliss. He was the most wonderful bird I've met, and I miss him and worry for him. He is too friendly for his own good. Long Live Big Bird!
