Reviews of Lake Manze Camp

"Our stay at Lake Manze was fantastic. We were greeted by Sean and Millie, who made us feel so welcome. The evenings spent eating together with the other guests at the lodge made for very interesting conversation.

The lodge was very quiet during our stay and we were lucky enough to have a guide and driver to ourselves for the duration of our time at Lake Manze. We had never been on Safari before and Shaun guided us through the options for each day and we soon got into the rhythm of the camp.

The wildlife was everything that we could have hoped for and more with each day unbelievably delivering more exciting encounters than the previous one. One of the joys of Lake Manze is the wildlife in the camp and we had elephants coming through, monkeys trying to steal food if it was left unattended, baboons wandering around and one night there was a hyena outside out tent. We were very glad of the Masai, who escorted us about. At night, the hippos, hyenas and leopards were all easy to hear - I got our guide to give me animal impressions, so i knew what was outside the tent.

Lake Manze is a basic safari. There is no electricity in the tents and no WiFi in the main areas. I know that some of the guests were annoyed about this, but for us it was all part of the experience and we were often able to grab a data signal when we were out and about. The reality is that we didn’t really have time to spend on our phones in the evening because by the time we had showered and changed, it was time for dinner and afterwards, we were so tired we fell asleep.

Thanks to Shaun and Millie for making us feel so welcome and also for finding our lost bag." See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania

"This was a different experience without drinks and laundry included but I was happy to pay as it was not expensive. It was great being so close to the wildlife." See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar; 5n in Botswana; 2n in South Africa; 1n in Zambia; 1n in Kenya

"A really lovely intimate no frills safari camp, the sort of place that appeals to me. There’s plenty of game roaming through the camp. With elephants and giraffes wandering across the front of the main lodge in the afternoon and hippos and hyenas roaming around my tent at night.

The game viewing here was really rewarding despite the warnings of not being able to see much in the green season, it’s really pretty and the bird life is amazing. My guide, Ali, was top class and really knew how to read the bush. We found a clan of 20+ hyenas squabbling over the remains of a young giraffe they had killed one morning. We also found a leopard with two young cubs, they were given away by a barking baboon pointing to an apparent abandoned kill hidden in the scrub one evening. The leopards did no show until the morning when we returned. We also had Wild Dogs, Lions and a Leopard in one day!

Food was excellent with the evening meals taken on a large table in an open area at the front of the lodge. We were often joined by a pair of Genets. I took breakfast in the bush everyday which was wonderful.

The only slightly negative experience was the boat trip on Lake Manze. There were 5 of us in the boat with me taking a back seat which was a little uncomfortable and claustrophobic with a limited view. I’m sure the trip would be wonderful if you had front row seats." See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania

"A beautiful lodge on the edge of the lake. Extremely welcoming hosts and knowledgeable and very competent guides/drivers.

Huge thanks to AK for driving us around the national park with a great knowledge of all animals and birds and an impressive range of bird and animal calls. Thanks to him we saw leopard, wild dogs and lion as well as all the other animals.

Very comfortable tent and communal area.

The only criticism could be an improvement in the food." See all these reviews: 13n in Tanzania

"This was our second visit to Lake Manze and we were sorry to miss Shaun and Milli but Malcolm was an excellent host and more than made up for their absence. Manze hasn't changed its ethos of simple tented accommodation with no mains electricity which we enjoy and reminds us of safaris long past. However the tents are very comfortable and well equipped with en suite bathrooms. There are facilities for recharging batteries etc in the central area. Everyone was given their own personal water bottle for drinking and cold water was always available for refills .A great idea to cut down on plastic.

We were met at the airstrip by JJ and driver Kucumba (Ali) who became our guides for the four days.They were very knowledgable, had amazing eyesight and were great fun to be with. We saw a wonderful selection of wildlife and great numbers of water birds due to the low water in the lake. Elephants, hippos, genet.leopard and lion roamed through the camp during our stay which was very exciting but we were glad of the vigilant Masaai guards escorting us around and keeping us safe.

The food was good and evening meals were eaten in the open with everyone sitting together. Our vegetarian daughter did feel that a little more protein should have been included in her meals.

Overall we had an excellent stay at Lake Manze and would recommend it to anyone" See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar

"Sean and Millie were very welcoming hosts. They prepared a surprise honeymoon dinner for us on our final night, which was a really lovely touch!

We loved the set up and the feeling of being among nature/the animals. Rustic, basic with comforts, which suited us very well.

Food was excellent and well-catered for as vegetarians/pescetarians.

Guide & driver for safari drives- both friendly and knowledgeable. Would have been helpful to know in advance so that we were prepared for tipping both guide & driver." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar

"We enjoyed our time at Lake Manze, with our excellent guide and driver. They went above and beyond trying to fulfill our wish-list of sightings. Watching a leopard stalk three impalas within 5 minutes of camp was so exciting and finding lion cubs well hidden under some bushes was amazing. There were plenty of elephants walking through camp and we loved watching them from our porch. The location on the water was a nice difference from previous camps and we enjoyed the sunset boat safari.

Our tent was comfortable with plenty of room to organize and safely stow items in case of baboon intrusions. (Luckily, we did not have any!) The solar powered fan was much appreciated in the middle of the afternoon and at night.

The main tent was nice for relaxing with drinks before dinner. The charging station is large and able to accommodate everyone's devices. There was a very small "store" with some local crafts for sale as well as toothpaste or other essentials you may have forgotten.

Dinner was served by the water with candles and bonfires. The food was average (lunch was better than dinner), but filling. Milly was very attentive to our son's dietary requests and always made sure to check the menu with him. Dinner as a group was a nice way to end the day sharing the day's experiences with other guests." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania

"Made to feel very welcome from the moment of pick up from the airstrip. Our safari certainly started almost immediately we were through the gate of the National Park. We were thrilled to see so many animals just on the way to camp.

Warm welcome from the hosts Sean and Milly at the camp and our adventure began. Very comfortable tent accommodation - plenty of room for our belongings and everything was spotless. We loved the lakeside location. There was always something happening and just watching across the lake with the binos from the comfort of the chairs in our tent awning was fab!

Our dedicated guides for the 4 days, Roger and Abu were friendly and so knowledgeable about the terrain and animals, birds and plantlife - every day was just a wonderful experience. Roger and Abu took us close to the animals spotted but in such a way that we were rewarded with the animals always remaining calm and relaxed around us.

Difficult to pick a highlight ... elephants in the camp, a hyena in front of the tent and the Masai gently persuading a huge hippo to move so we could get to bed!

The giraffes walking to a favourite pasture in front of the tents every morning and then coming back in the late afternoon... the sound of hippos snacking around the tent at night and the lovely genet who visited every night whilst we were having dinner ...and who knew bushbaby's could shout so loudly? Spotting wild dogs and watching them wake up from their afternoon nap, greet each other - then trot off presumably to look for dinner.. sleepy lions ...up close to hippo families from our boat trips .. That's just to mention a few..

The food was exceptional and plentiful.

Such a wonderful trip." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar

"From the very moment we arrived at the small air strip and were greeted by James Joseph and Kamkumba alis JJ & KK we knew we were in for the holiday of our life times. Both of these young men are a credit to the camp, their freindlyness, knowledge and experience was unexpected but very much appriciated because we had chosen a more rustic approach to the trip but at the same time we wanted a knowledgable experience.

The camp was run by Sean and Millie who personally met us upon our arrival. Again the same genuinely experienced and passionate approach by them both towards the animals the camp and their role as our hosts for the duration of our stay.

The tents were immaculate and comfortable. The food was excellent and underplayed and could be talked up more.

The activities we went on such as breakfast safari were very good and were a surprising addition to our expectations. Eating breakfast on a hill under a tarmerind tree looking out across the savannah was what it was all about for us.

As we involved ourselves in many activities such as walking out to experience tracking and the ability to spot animal prints and their dung, we were then able to use this knowledge with ours guides to spot animals ourselves.
The most exhilirating memories that we will take away from our experience would be when we spotted the animals ourselves. for example on our first morning out on sarfai Trudie and I spyed three lions laying several hundred metres away however went we got in close to them the pride was 14 strong and we were thrilled to spend twenty minutes of our lifes with them going about their normal business. The herd of giraffes crossing the lake at sunset and Elephants coming into camp in the evening either visting your tent or turning up for dinner would be just some of the highlights.

Overall Sean, Millie and their team's friendly approach made us feel part of their family for the few magical days we spent with them." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar

"Millie and Sean offer the warmest of welcomes. It was really like being in someone's home - they made me feel so welcome and comfortable. At this camp I enjoyed both land based and boat safari's with fabulous guides. Ali and Chombo were such fun to be with, so incredibly knowledgeable and worked non-stop throughout our safari's to bring me wonderful experiences. At this camp I saw lots of hippo, giraffe, crocs, the inevitable impala, water buck, buffalo, and an amazing sighting of a leopard in a bush - how did those guys find that leopard? I remember the guides and the managers at this camp with huge fondness." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania