Reviews of Mwagusi Safari Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
115 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Mwagusi Safari Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

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"Mwagusi Safari Camp review"
We had a very enjoyable 3 night stay with excellent guiding yielding several lion sightings, including a mating pair, a leopard and roan antelope. We also did a night drive and Mwagusi is one of very few camps in Ruaha able to offer this facility.
Mwagusi is one of the pioneer camps in Ruaha and is in a prime location for wildlife. The accommodation is spacious and comfortable. The food was good and the dinners at different settings in the dried-up river bed around the fire and under the stars were magical. The owner joined us for the communal dinners and has many interesting stories to tell." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania

Buffalo
6 sightings

Eland
2 sightings

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Hippo
3 sightings

Leopard
1 sighting

Lion
4 sightings

Roan antelope
1 sighting

Spotted Hyena
1 sighting

Zebra
10 sightings
"Mwagusi Safari Camp review"
Our guide Baldon was a top notch guide. He could easily spot things far in the distance. We did a night game drive here and saw an aardwolf. His knowledge and information he had to share with us was beyond belief. Gaspar was a safe driver and had a great sense of humor. The dinners down on the river bed with everyone else at the same table was a nice experience and a great way to meet new people that all had similar interests to ours.
Since Mwagusi was our last camp before heading back to Dar, we needed to make arrangements to get a Covid 19 PCR test so we would be in that 72 hour time frame for travelling. Trudie, the manager at Mwagusi, made sure that happened for us by making the arrangements with the doctor from Iringa to meet us halfway in a little village named Tunda just down the road a ways form the main gate of Ruaha NP. It was a fun diversion from the game drives to have Baldon and Gaspar drive us to the village to have our PCR tests done. They also helped us with a little shopping too while we were in town. It was fun and I think they had fun too.
Trudie, Baldon and Gaspar put in extra effort to help us out, and for that we are grateful." See all these reviews: 20n in Tanzania

Buffalo
3 sightings

Eland
2 sightings

Elephant
7 sightings

Giraffe
7 sightings

Hippo
3 sightings

Lion
4 sightings

Spotted Hyena
2 sightings

Zebra
5 sightings
"Fantastic location on the Mwagusi river"
The manager was very friendly and helpful.
Our guide was really excellent not only in giving us all sort of information about the animals and their relationship with each other and the the plants but with his trying hard to make us see a leopard, which we eventually saw, quite unexpectedly on our way to the airstrip. The driver was equally excellent. A truly strong emotion." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania

Buffalo
2 sightings

Eland
1 sighting

Elephant
7 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Hippo
1 sighting

Leopard
1 sighting

Lion
4 sightings

Spotted Hyena
1 sighting

Zebra
1 sighting
"Brilliant camp, accommodation was superb"
Chris and Judie made me most welcome despite the camp being very quiet. We ate together at night around the camp fire and I felt very privileged
The room was fantastic, well located below a baboon nesting tree, cool, very clean and relaxing, only problem was having enough down time to enjoy it fully.
Bladon my guide was great, very knowledgeable about the wildlife, birds, flora and fauna and we saw everything I wanted to see excluding the elusive cheetah and black rhino. I would return here again
Only draw back to drives was that you couldn’t go off track but I understand why. Bladon also gave me a night sky Southern Hemisphere lesson" See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania

Buffalo
Multiple sightings

Eland
Multiple sightings

Elephant
Multiple sightings

Giraffe
Multiple sightings

Hippo
Multiple sightings

Leopard
Multiple sightings

Lion
Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena
Multiple sightings

Wild dog
Multiple sightings

Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Mwagusi Safari Camp review"
"Mwagusi Safari Camp Review"
We got the impression that several of the workers were not happy with the tipping system as they only got their share every year. This put us in an awkward position. We feel the Guide, who spends hours each day with us, should be tipped separately, and the others should receive their share of the general tip at regular intervals.
It was wonderful to have the free laundry service and our houseboy, Kuno, tidied up beautifully each day.
We saw numerous sightings of animals including a beautiful female leopard asleep in a tree. Our guide spotted lizards or small birds as easily as elephants or giraffes!" See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar

Buffalo
10 sightings

Eland
1 sighting

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Hippo
1 sighting

Leopard
1 sighting

Lion
10 sightings

Spotted Hyena
2 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Excellent location in the heart of the bush"
We really enjoyed our time here and we were very fortunate that Jimmy was our guide throughout our stay. His intimate knowledge of the bush and the wildlife at Ruaha made a huge contribution to our overall very positive experience in this exceptional wild and remote area." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania

Buffalo
6 sightings

Cheetah
1 sighting

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Hippo
5 sightings

Leopard
3 sightings

Lion
8 sightings

Spotted Hyena
3 sightings

Zebra
4 sightings
"Unique Mwagusi"
Trudy, the camp manager had the personal touch that made us feel welcome from the minute we arrived - even took care of my wife on the afternoon she stayed back from our drive with a headache. All other staff were helpful to the point where on our last night we needed to be escorted back to our banda via a roundabout route when a bull elephant had blocked our normal path.
Our personal guide, Geoffrey, worked hard every day to find the animals we most wanted to encounter. He did manage to find the kill site where a leopard had disembowelled an impala, but not the leopard. I guess it saw us !" See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar

Buffalo
3 sightings

Elephant
10 sightings

Giraffe
10 sightings

Hippo
4 sightings

Lion
2 sightings

Zebra
10 sightings
"Mwagusi Safari Camp"
Our guide and driver were knowledgeable and good company.
Better lighting for reading in bed would be ideal, but we appreciate that camps in the bush are not known for great lighting and we did have our head torches." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar
"The real bush, but with flush toilets"
The highlight of my stay was seeing so many elephants, including a number of newborns. Given that elephants can be rather touchy when protecting their young, my guide was very skilled in judging how to manage our encounters so that we could get close to these animals in safety.
Personally I have to confess I found the situation a little too basic for me, which is not a criticism of Mwagusi as that is what they are offering. I chose to go in the hot season and I found the lack of a fan in the room made it a bit difficult to sleep - as largely only solar energy is used appliances beyond a electric light are not possible. I imagine this would not be a problem in other seasons . Given the quantity of biting insects at this time of year I was glad that the mesh sides of the tent kept them at bay.
Perhaps not my business but I was concerned about a couple of staff issues. Unlike any other camp I have stayed, the staff are required to be away from their families for extended periods. Tips are entirely communal and disbursed once a year - I prefer to reward my guide/driver personally and make a communal tip to the other staff." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania
Every camp in Tanzania has subtle variations in how tips are distributed. At Mwagusi the staff have decided on what they want between themselves, and opted to split tips between all team members, with the guides typically receiving a slightly higher proportion of these.
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