Reviews of Kigelia Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
33 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Kigelia 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-2019, 12 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Kigelia Camp.
Lion
92% success
Leopard
60% success
Cheetah
13% success
Wild dog
27% success
Elephant
100% success
Giraffe
100% success
Zebra
100% success
Hippo
90% success
Eland
80% success
Spotted Hyena
78% success
Buffalo
67% success
Sable antelope
22% success
Roan antelope
20% success
Striped Hyena
14% success
Aardvark
0% success
Pangolin
0% success
W Party
Chorleywood
"A proper bush camp"
4 nights Arrived 22 Oct 2017
"A real bush camp which blended perfectly with its surroundings. The forests of baobabs in this part of Ruaha are spectacular and we were impressed by the variety of habitats in the park.
Our preferred routine of early start and back for brunch was again organised for us.
Our guide, Husain, had very good eyes and was a good birder but had a tendency to ask us where we wanted to go, which wasn't really what we needed. He only had one speed of driving, which was slow so we didn't get as far in the park as some other guests but this is nit-picking as he was a good guide but I suspect he lacked confidence.
Our last night was somewhat spoilt by the arrival of a French VIP group, who rather took over the camp." See all these reviews: 16n in Tanzania
Our preferred routine of early start and back for brunch was again organised for us.
Our guide, Husain, had very good eyes and was a good birder but had a tendency to ask us where we wanted to go, which wasn't really what we needed. He only had one speed of driving, which was slow so we didn't get as far in the park as some other guests but this is nit-picking as he was a good guide but I suspect he lacked confidence.
Our last night was somewhat spoilt by the arrival of a French VIP group, who rather took over the camp." See all these reviews: 16n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr K & Ms C
Germany
"Good stay and activities"
2 nights Arrived 10 Oct 2017
"Park was a bit more crowded than I had expected.
Good lion viewing and bush walks" See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania
Good lion viewing and bush walks" See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Average
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Mr & Mrs R
Aberdeen
"Great stay and game viewing at Kigelia camp"
4 nights Arrived 31 Aug 2017
"We enjoyed our return to Ruaha and much preferred Kigelia camp to where we stayed last time. Kigelia camp was well run by Ken, very friendly with good service and the tents were comfortable and cool under a thatched roof, The meals were very good and varied.
We did not have the exceptional game viewing of our previous visit to Ruaha as this time the park was very very dry and the river had stopped flowing with little water remaining. However our guide Eliasat was very knowledgeable and worked very hard to give us really good sightings which included leopard, more than one pride of lions and wild dog. We also saw big herds of buffalo, amazing birds a python and numerous other good animal sightings. We had a good night drive seeing lions in love, hyena, jackal and civet. We also had a lovely walk along side the Great Ruaha River bed which had ponds full of hippo and crocodile catching fish.
We hope that the the Great Ruaha River water flow is managed and the park gets lots of rain in the next rainy seasons" See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar; 1n in Kenya
We did not have the exceptional game viewing of our previous visit to Ruaha as this time the park was very very dry and the river had stopped flowing with little water remaining. However our guide Eliasat was very knowledgeable and worked very hard to give us really good sightings which included leopard, more than one pride of lions and wild dog. We also saw big herds of buffalo, amazing birds a python and numerous other good animal sightings. We had a good night drive seeing lions in love, hyena, jackal and civet. We also had a lovely walk along side the Great Ruaha River bed which had ponds full of hippo and crocodile catching fish.
We hope that the the Great Ruaha River water flow is managed and the park gets lots of rain in the next rainy seasons" See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar; 1n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Mr & Mrs RG
Godalming
"Kigelia Camp review"
4 nights Arrived 3 Feb 2017
"For us, our time at this camp was made by the excellent range of game that we were able to view. Our driver/guide was outstanding.
With just six tents, the camp is small and in fact for most of the time there we were the only occupants. This was a contributory factor to the excellent and friendly service received, although it meant that there was a lack of atmosphere that is typically generated by a group of guests returning from a game drive.
The food was rather disappointing, probably made worse by the low level of consumption." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania; 7n in Zanzibar
With just six tents, the camp is small and in fact for most of the time there we were the only occupants. This was a contributory factor to the excellent and friendly service received, although it meant that there was a lack of atmosphere that is typically generated by a group of guests returning from a game drive.
The food was rather disappointing, probably made worse by the low level of consumption." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania; 7n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Average
Mr & Mrs M
Gloucester
"Amazing experience"
4 nights Arrived 24 Sep 2016
"With just 6 tents, this is a small and intimate camp. During our visit only 4 were occupied and on the last day only us.
The tents were simple with a bush shower on demand and the bedroom with a nice double bed and bedside tables and a simple storage unit for clothes. Food was taken in the main tented area and was excellent as was the service. We loved this camp with its simplicity and yet luxury at the same time.
The staff were great, our guide fantastic, and for the most part, ours was the only vehicle in the whole area. We saw lots of animals and birds of all kinds and came away very happy indeed." See all these reviews: 16n in Tanzania; 4n in Kenya
The tents were simple with a bush shower on demand and the bedroom with a nice double bed and bedside tables and a simple storage unit for clothes. Food was taken in the main tented area and was excellent as was the service. We loved this camp with its simplicity and yet luxury at the same time.
The staff were great, our guide fantastic, and for the most part, ours was the only vehicle in the whole area. We saw lots of animals and birds of all kinds and came away very happy indeed." See all these reviews: 16n in Tanzania; 4n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs F
Harrow
"Great bush experience at Kigelia Camp"
4 nights Arrived 29 Aug 2016
"We love real African bush experiences and this camp gave just that. The attention given to us by the camp staff was second to none. The phone contact in each tent worked very well. Any request was immediately taken care of and there was no wait for an escort to dinner.
Bush walks were very professionally carried out, informative and really enjoyable with breakfast at the end. We actually spent quite a while watching an 8 foot python slithering through a bush. None of the guides had actually seen one out on a walk before so this was an experience for them as well. The night drive was also really well run and we had great sightings of genets, bat-eared foxes, lions etc.
We had Ken as our guide most of the time. He was excellent, very knowledgeable, an excellent spotter and easy to get on with.
Accommodation was very comfortable, well serviced, private, with everything you needed. Hot water was provided any time you requested for a wonderful bush shower.
We had great experiences of elephant very near and round our tent, giraffe close by, a dwarf mongoose family coming to drink at our garden basin, a shy bush buck and a herd of elephant digging to drink water in the river bed in front of us. A great stay." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania
Bush walks were very professionally carried out, informative and really enjoyable with breakfast at the end. We actually spent quite a while watching an 8 foot python slithering through a bush. None of the guides had actually seen one out on a walk before so this was an experience for them as well. The night drive was also really well run and we had great sightings of genets, bat-eared foxes, lions etc.
We had Ken as our guide most of the time. He was excellent, very knowledgeable, an excellent spotter and easy to get on with.
Accommodation was very comfortable, well serviced, private, with everything you needed. Hot water was provided any time you requested for a wonderful bush shower.
We had great experiences of elephant very near and round our tent, giraffe close by, a dwarf mongoose family coming to drink at our garden basin, a shy bush buck and a herd of elephant digging to drink water in the river bed in front of us. A great stay." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Mr & Mrs H
Hammersmit
"Excellent camp, great guiding"
2 nights Arrived 6 Aug 2016
"Really lovely rooms, not over the top or fancy but they gave you everything you needed.
Extremely well run by Ken the camp manager and everything worked like clockwork, seamlessly. We never had to ask for anything and the little touches (like hot water bottles on your car seat on cold mornings) were wonderful.
The food was good, best breakfasts we had were here, and lunch and dinner were lovely.
The game viewing was excellent, we saw so much and with our fantastic guide, Joe, we learnt so much.
We wished we could have had another night!" See all these reviews: 16n in Tanzania
Extremely well run by Ken the camp manager and everything worked like clockwork, seamlessly. We never had to ask for anything and the little touches (like hot water bottles on your car seat on cold mornings) were wonderful.
The food was good, best breakfasts we had were here, and lunch and dinner were lovely.
The game viewing was excellent, we saw so much and with our fantastic guide, Joe, we learnt so much.
We wished we could have had another night!" See all these reviews: 16n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs G
Brockham
"only one night so no firm view"
1 night Arrived 17 Jul 2016
"Only spent one night at camp so difficult to have a firm opinion. Location by small river disappointing as river dried up. In fact Ruaha very dry and wildlife seemed much less than the last time we were there, though that was a different time of year. However as only spent a short time there perhaps not fair to have the above comment!"
See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Average
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Ms D
Ireland
"Fantastic 4 nights at Kigelia"
4 nights Arrived 6 Jul 2016
"Loved the authentic wilderness feel of the camp, very well organised, excellent service.
Remarkable guiding by Manager Joel: He has outstanding knowledge of fauna, flora, culture and history and a lovely way of delivering facts. He went out of his way to please and made my trip memorable.. The sightings were brilliant during day and night games drives, and while walking. The landscape is beautiful with plenty of Baobabs.
Really had a fantastic time & could have stayed longer!" See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania; 6n in Zambia
Remarkable guiding by Manager Joel: He has outstanding knowledge of fauna, flora, culture and history and a lovely way of delivering facts. He went out of his way to please and made my trip memorable.. The sightings were brilliant during day and night games drives, and while walking. The landscape is beautiful with plenty of Baobabs.
Really had a fantastic time & could have stayed longer!" See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania; 6n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr A
Great Falls
"Kigelia Camp review"
4 nights Arrived 4 Jul 2016
"This was my fourth Nomad camp, and while they were all excellent Kigelia seemed to raise the bar another notch. Joel and his team ran a very tight ship, with excellent game viewing and great meals. Pinny was extremely personable and granted some terrific insight into Maasai life and culture.
I loved the tents, and this was far and away my favorite bucket shower, with an open-air view over the river bed.
It is a bit colder than the other camps in the mornings and evenings. Guests would be well advised to bring some cool weather clothing." See all these reviews: 20n in Tanzania; 6n in Rwanda
I loved the tents, and this was far and away my favorite bucket shower, with an open-air view over the river bed.
It is a bit colder than the other camps in the mornings and evenings. Guests would be well advised to bring some cool weather clothing." See all these reviews: 20n in Tanzania; 6n in Rwanda
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
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Alternative places to stay in this same area.
Mdonya Old River Camp
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Mwagusi Safari Camp
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Kwihala Camp
Kwihala is a permanent tented camp in Ruaha National Park, offering a high level of comfort and guiding in a natural setting.
Ikuka Safari Camp
Upmarket and stylish, Ikuka Safari Camp is set high on an escarpment with spectacular panoramic views over Ruaha National Park.
Jongomero Camp
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Kichaka Expeditions
In a remote corner of Ruaha, Kichaka is a private mobile camp focusing on superbly guided walking safaris.
Ruaha River Lodge
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Kichaka Zumbua
Kichaka Zumbua is a small, luxurious camp offering on outstanding walking safaris in a remote area of Ruaha.
Jabali Ridge
One of Ruaha's most luxurious camps, Jabali Ridge nestles among kopjes and baobabs, with beautiful views of the surrounding area.
Jabali Private House
Jabali Private House in Ruaha National Park provides luxurious accommodation for private groups booked on an exclusive basis.
Jongomero Walking
Fly-camping and walking safaris from Jongomero Camp give you the chance to explore remote safari areas in Ruaha National Park.
Asanja Ruaha
Asanja Ruaha Ndembo is a smart new safari lodge in a picturesque setting overlooking the Great Ruaha River.
