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Ikuka Safari Camp
Ikuka Safari Camp
Ikuka Safari Camp
Ikuka Safari Camp
Ikuka Safari Camp
Ikuka Safari Camp
Ikuka Safari Camp
Ikuka Safari Camp
Ikuka Safari Camp
Ikuka Safari Camp

Reviews of Ikuka Safari Camp

Wildlife sightings and reviews

55 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Ikuka Safari Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Jun-2018, 45 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Ikuka Safari Camp.
Lion

100% success

Leopard

80% success

Cheetah

20% success

Wild dog

26% success

Elephant

100% success

Giraffe

100% success

Zebra

98% success

Hippo

79% success

Buffalo

75% success

Eland

67% success

Spotted Hyena

50% success

Roan antelope

22% success

Sable antelope

15% success

Striped Hyena

7% success

Aardvark

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Showing 21-30 of 55
Duration
Arrival date
Mr & Mrs H
Scotland

"Luxury lodge"

4 nights Arrived 8 Nov 2019
"We spent four nights at Ikuka. This is a well organised and run camp and maybe a bit more formal than others we have been to.

All staff were helpful and friendly and I was well looked after when I had to spend a day in bed with a tummy upset.

Our 'room' was the family lodge and was awesome. Huge, open and beautifully furnished and with a plunge pool, it felt very indulgent. The food was of a very high standard. Lunch at separate tables with a communal table in the evenings was a good formula.

We were unfortunate to experience some problems with the vehicle we were in. Three out our first four drives were spoiled by these problems. We took it in good heart on our first breakdown where we had to wait one and a half hours for help to arrive and get it fixed however by the third time we were a bit fed up with it. The manager did apologise and we were given a bottle of bubbly but it did detract from our overall experience of the camp. Perhaps this contributed to our slight disappointment in our wildlife viewing. While we are happy to soak in the landscape and were very interested in the many birds we saw we seemed to be unlucky with few sightings, although we did have a lovely viewing of a leopard in a tree, a large herd of buffalo and many sightings of elephant. The highlight of our drives was at Hippo Lake a beautiful area and well worth the journey.

Although I was aware at the time of booking that Ikuka was a twenty minute drive from the main wildlife area I had not fully appreciated that this adds up to eighty minutes per day. So although the views from camp are amazing they come at a cost. The last part of the drive to camp is particularly steep and bumpy.

Overall we were happy with Ikuka but I would probably book a camp nearer to the main wildlife area if I was returning to Ruaha." See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

8 sightings

Hippo

1 sighting

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

1 sighting

Zebra

4 sightings

Mr & Mrs JP
London

"Faultless stay at Ikuka"

4 nights Arrived 21 Oct 2019
"A beautiful intimate owner-run camp situated on an escarpment with wonderful views across the plains of Ruaha.
The rooms/tents are high quality, with expansive tented sleeping area (beds are vast and super comfortable) and open seating area. We had our our private plunge pool (no. 6) but it was a little cold so preferred the communal pool.
The food is immaculate - imaginative, fresh, light, delicious flavours and well presented (apparently the menu was re-vamped in July 2019). Dinners are communal and it was nice to swap stories of each days' events with fellow guests.
The game drives were superb and generous (5-6 hours in the morning and another 2.5-3 hours in the evening). The guides are very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. We were lucky to see lions on all 7 of our drives and leopard twice plus plenty of elephants, giraffes, cape buffalo, zebra, kudu, impala, ostrich, and the occasional waterbuck and jackal..
The service from all the staff (esp. Jake, Lilli, Davis) is completely on-point and there is nothing we could fault.
We highly recommend this camp and game park with its stunning landscape and which is more or less devoid of tourists. We hardly saw any other vehicles on all our drives. The only downside are the tetse flies (the ones here are not sleeping sickness carriers) but they do give quite a nip (even biting through clothing!)." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

1 sighting

Elephant

5 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

1 sighting

Leopard

2 sightings

Lion

7 sightings

Roan antelope

1 sighting

Sable antelope

1 sighting

Spotted Hyena

1 sighting

Zebra

6 sightings

Mr I
Abergavenny

"Ikuka at Ruaha"

4 nights Arrived 6 Oct 2019
"The location of the camp afforded fantastic views of the valley, however, it was 45 minutes from the airstrip. More importantly, each drive required a 30 minute journey through sparsely populated areas before any sightings could be expected. This extended the already long safari time, especially on the morning drive.

It should be made clear to travellers that they can expect to share game drives with one or even two other couples as the norm with no consideration of shared interests or stage of their stay. We had a bad experience in this regard but when queried with the manager, he was quick to resolve it. Furthermore, there was a huge difference in the two guides we experienced, though both were very knowledgeable, one was very passive, almost disinterested, whereas the other was passionate and engaging." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Average
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Average
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Average
Sightings Report

Eland

1 sighting

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

1 sighting

Leopard

2 sightings

Lion

4 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mrs S
france

"Amazing Ikuka"

4 nights Arrived 23 Sep 2019
"Fabulous location on top of an escarpment with stunning, far-reaching views from both communal and private spaces. Great, open design means the regular breeze keeps spaces cool. Accommodation was very spacious and comfortable and of a high standard. I would have liked part of the bathroom (sinks and toilet) to be included in the tented area to avoid the constant zipping and unzipping at night when getting ready for bed, but that’s splitting hairs!

Service was great, the staff are very friendly and open, and encouraged to chat and banter with guests which we found charming. As well as the manager Jake, and the owner Mark when he’s on site, The guides took turns to join the communal dinner which was a nice touch, and made for entertaining evenings.

The food was wonderful, fresh and innovative at every meal. Lunch comprised of a chilled soup, a buffet style main with lots of salads, and a light dessert, whilst dinner was a starter, main (which I found a little on the large side) and dessert. Everything was beautifully presented and very tasty. Ikuka also offered us a glass of juice retuning from our morning drive, and an Amarula returning from the afternoon drive...a lovely touch!

Activities were excellent, our guide Festo was brilliant, very friendly, open and extremely knowledgeable. Ruaha has such a variety of landscapes and terrains that there’s always something new to see, and we had excellent game sightings. We also did a walking safari with Mustapha, covering about 7km so we felt we’d had some exercise as well as learning a lot about the flora and fauna (and poop!) of our surroundings. And a fab bush breakfast to finish." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

2 sightings

Eland

1 sighting

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

2 sightings

Leopard

3 sightings

Lion

4 sightings

Zebra

5 sightings

Mrs J
Taunton

"Perfect"

4 nights Arrived 21 Sep 2019
"Great people.

Brilliant rooms: great views, spacious, good facilities, hot water and still feels fresh and new.

Food was imaginative and very well presented." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs G
Michigan

"High on a hill"

5 nights Arrived 18 Sep 2019
"We were thrilled to be met at the airstrip by our favorite guide, Festo. He had been our guide 5 years ago at a different camp. We love his vast knowledge and passion for the wildlife, as well as his humor. We headed up the hill to spectacular views from the lodge and our room.

The banda was spacious and had plenty of storage, and the deck offered complete privacy. There was a deep plunge pool, but found it a little too chilly to enjoy. The lighting wasn't bright enough in the evening for reading, but we kept so busy that there really wasn't time to read. While the banda was fully open during the day, at night they zip down a tent around the bed. To use the bathroom at night, one had to unzip the tent opening and navigate a step to reach it.

Food was good and plentiful. Lunch was a buffet of delicious salads and hot entrees. The communal dinner was served plated, and a manager and at least one guide joined the guests each evening. The open bar had a list of interesting craft cocktails available.

Wildlife sightings were memorable! We watched elephants chasing lions, a leopard trapped in a tree with his impala kill by a group of lions waiting on the ground below, lions feasting on zebra, buffalo, and giraffe. Birders would enjoy the sightings of Giant Eagle owls that our guide found several times.

This was our second visit to Ruaha, and we enjoy it because of the lack of crowds and great wildlife." See all these reviews: 15n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

1 sighting

Eland

5 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

1 sighting

Leopard

6 sightings

Lion

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

T & S
North Carolina

"Ikuka - Ruaha National Park - Magnificant"

4 nights Arrived 10 Sep 2019
"Quite a change from our last camp, Beho Beho, but it only gets better with the variety. High up on a ridge and a more casual atmosphere, Mark, the owner, and staff will greet you and make sure any accessory you didn’t contemplate you might need is at hand. Staff and guides join you which was wonderful. Lilly (Lillian) a true goddess who makes Ikuka conform to the laws of physics and humans, including knowing exactly when we needed a cold Zero Coke! And don't try to carry anything back to your cottage - you are certainly allowed to have it there, just not to carry it by yourself! Staff appear out of nowhere to accompany you.

Our guide, Festo, was a master of his guide craft for large animals and bird life. Respect that knowledge and if you have questions ask him, not your seatmate. Cats abound here and watching a young leopard move from one tree to the next to pull out his stashed kill was astonishing. We spent another morning watching a serval and the next day more leopards. Mongoose everywhere, baboons, vervet monkey, eland, serval, ostrich, buffalo, giraffe, including nursing babies, hyrax, zebra, including nursing babies, hyena, elephant, including nursing babies, black backed jackal, oribi, kudu, tiny dik dik that look like dogs and so many baobab trees (unlike Selous.) Apparently the history of low numbers of elephants allowed the baobab seeds to sprout and grow

A bush walk with Mark and his expertise is a life experience you will never forget. You can tell your friends how exciting it was even if you don’t run into a pack of starving lions; and you will be rewarded with a great bush breakfast at the end.

The food is fantastic in quantities that overwhelm. Lunch is buffet and dinner is sit down with everyone at a long table, inclusive of guests, staff and guides. (Should you prefer to eat any meal in your cottage, you only have to mention it.) We met a family from Britain that was so much fun, so intelligent, witty and diverse we wanted to adopt them!

The accommodations are huge tent - cottages overlooking the hill. The bed areas enclose at night separate from the bathroom/shower areas, patios and sitting room. Hot water bottles warm the beds and tea and coffee arrive at dawn. Taking an early morning or after dinner shower is not for the faint hearted as the breeze blows in off the ridge and makes it a bit if a challenge. “Bush Baby” hot water bottles are handed to you for your morning drives to keep you warm. There is a pool by the bar and dining area and a “loo with a view.”

We never wanted for anything at Ikuka except for more time to stay." See all these reviews: 18n in Tanzania; 2n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Eland

8 sightings

Elephant

8 sightings

Giraffe

9 sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

4 sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Striped Hyena

3 sightings

Zebra

8 sightings

Mr J
Basingstoke

"Astonishing view"

4 nights Arrived 8 Sep 2019
"Accommodation: Good with an outstanding view down from the ridge to the plain. Not quite as well designed as some as the bathroom area is outside the zipped tent - that together with change of levels (small steps up and down) across the sitting, bed, bathroom and deck areas made moving around a little tricky at times.

Food and drink: The food was super - but requires some self control not to overdo it. Wines were also good.

Staff generally: Slightly less good than Siwandu on attendance in the room, but generally more refined in the dining area. Staff were friendly and absolutely charming - a real pleasure to chat with.

Guiding: Our guide Geofrey was exceptionally knowledgeable and very good at predicting what the wildlife was likely to do next, meaning we were often uniquely well placed to view.

Vehicles and game drives: Very good - the vehicle was more comfortable and the roads much better than in Selous so that longer drives were quite possible.

Game viewing: Really excellent for elephant and lions as well as several very good sightings with leopards and a young serval. Geofrey's skill meant we were in position to see lions and leopard hunting. Although not great birders, there were some spectacular and colourful birds especially around the river environment. Some wonderful vistas with mixed herds of impala, water buck, zebra and elephant which created a marvellous atmosphere." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

4 sightings

Eland

1 sighting

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Leopard

4 sightings

Lion

5 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

R&K
Frisco CO

"Incredible guides, location, service in Ruaha"

3 nights Arrived 12 Jul 2019
"We stayed at Ikuka mid-July 2019 for 3 nights. We loved Ruaha for the uncrowded wildlife viewing it offered, and Ikuka knows how to make that happen. We had a phenomenal guide (Festo, aka "professor" by other guides) who grew up in the Ruaha bush and knows it.

The location of the lodge on an escarpment makes for incredible views from beautiful huts, each very private, all handbuilt by Mark and Chloe the owners. Their presence - and lack of big business - are clearly felt throughout.

The location with its view is about 20 min from the riverbed, but the drive back and forth did not get tiring. The large population of baobob trees add depth to the landscape. We will likely return in February just to see the area green. If you go, do take a walking safari for a half-day with Mark or one of the guides." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

2 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

6 sightings

Lion

6 sightings

Spotted Hyena

4 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

H family
Surrey

"Amazing place"

4 nights Arrived 1 Jul 2019
"Ikuka is a wonderful place - the camp is beautiful - the rooms very large, luxurious and secluded - the staff brilliant - food great

The wildlife is very good (lions, leopards, hippos, many elephants etc - no hippo in Ruaha) - not as many animals as the serengeti but much quieter" See all these reviews: 6n in Zanzibar; 5n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Showing 21-30 of 55
97%
55 reviews of Ikuka Safari Camp by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
49
5
1
0
0
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