Reviews of Lake Manze Adventure Camp
(93%) From 203 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Lake Manze Adventure Camp review
Excellent well-run camp. For us, it provided the perfect balance between being a proper camp with no electricity (except for charging) with wildlife frequently passing by, yet enough comforts such as flushing toilets and solar-powered heated showers.
On my first morning when having an early shower (a cold on at that time) two hyenas walked rights passed the tent looking up at me - welcome to the bush. Some more "up-market" camps would not enable this experience. Elephants munched on palm leaves around our tent at night. Giraffes, warthog, impala, baboons, crocodiles, hippos, bushbuck as well as countless birdlife could be seen from our tent alone which we loved.
The fact that my wife and I had a private vehicle with a guide and driver for all game drives was excellent and the guiding from Kalisti was top notch. Lake Manze Camp, from our limited experience of 4 nights in Selous, appeared to be in the best game viewing area. The boat trips on Lake Manze and the nearby waterways were wonderful and provide a different perspective, as did the the walking safari, and these give a great mix to usual game drives.
On our last night, Malcolm arranged for my wife and I to have a private honeymoon dinner outside of our (isolated) tent which was special.
Magic in the wilderness
Sean and his wife were remarkable - awaiting our arrival and from then onwards, unintrusive hosts who made our time absolutely wonderful. We felt Lake Manze was incredibly special. The communal eating outside in the evenings was a highlight, and Sean and his wife carefully deciding who should sit next to whom. The staff under their supervision were superb. Delicious meals always. Incredible how the food was presented and the standard of cooking very high. Sean and his wife run a remarkable camp and they and their staff are to be applauded. Exceptional.
Our guides Sauduro (not sure of spelling, but know Saudoro was Masai as we discovered this one bush breakfast time!) and trainee Lasuro, and driver Jimmy, were so good. By the end of our stay, after three days of drives with them, we felt close to them and had enjoyed interesting conversations as well as wonderful game drives. This was a real highlight, the fact that we stayed with the same guiding team throughout our stay. Such a great way to really get to know your guides and to interact in a far more personal way, and to learn more about the lives of our guides. Never expected this and we all really appreciated this. They went out of their way to find animals for us and to share their knowledge. The same with the boat safari guide. Brilliant guides. We would love them to know how much we appreciated them.
Tent accommodation was wonderful - three of us sharing really worked well. High standard of comfort and loved the views and the shower to the stars! Liked also the fact that Masai lead you to and from your tent.
We felt that other guests were all there for similar reasons to us; to be out in the wilderness, to feel close to nature and wildlife and we had some lovely conversations with our fellow guests over dinner each night. Genuine feel to everything. The fact that no electricity was great - having a drink by paraffin lamps and candle-lit dinners was just what we loved. Elephants roaming so close to the camp plus hippos and giraffe made it very special. Had total confidence in Sean's ability to deal with any animals roaming close! He is a one off! Love the fact he wanders around barefoot too.
I liked almost everything about this camp.
I liked the placement of the tents, the Masai walkers who escorted us to an from our tents, the food (delicious), eating at a long common table under the stars at night, the arrangement of the common area, the bar, the Selous!
My only comment would be the Sean pours out a huge amount of information the instant you arrive. You're jet lagged and it's a lot to absorb...too much to absorb in one sitting.
Then the "rules" feel inflexible (even though you can't really remember them). We were a group of six women who all wished for a softer touch upon entry and more access to information as we settled in.
Lake Manze Adventure Camp review
Lake Manze was wonderful! Expert guides with timely departures and warm greetings.
Very international flavor with many Europeans and Americans being part of Lake Manze visitors. Staff are helpful and very well trained, a reflection of the country’s effort to support tourism.
Guides on the boat safaris and land safaries are very knowledgeable and wonderful to share time with.
Great way to end our trip
Enjoyed activities - had initial poor guide which Sean dealt with immediately and hooked us up with excellent guide Samwell/ Daniel... drive me to my chalet every time,
Read more about the whole safariLake Manze Adventure Camp review
Staff, safaris and accommodation were great
Read more about the whole safariA memorable stay at Lake Manze Camp
I enjoyed every part of my stay at Lake Manze Adventure Camp, and found it to be the perfect base from which to explore the beauty of Selous Game Reserve.
The camp had a truly authentic, and rather rustic feel, and the local wildlife, including giraffes, elephants and impala would frequently wander through camp. My tent had everything I needed, and I slept very well despite being woken occasionally at night by grazing hippos, and the sound of nearby hyenas and lions.
Shaun and Millie were incredibly welcoming, and always sat with the guests at meal times, and entertained us with their stories. Dinner under the stars was wonderful, and we would see the resident genets and bush baby each evening. The food was always very tasty, and my vegetarian diet was very well catered for.
One thing that I especially liked about Lake Manze was that guests can choose their own itinerary for each day. You could choose a morning game drive with bush breakfast, come back for lunch and a little siesta, then go out again in the afternoon for another game drive. Or you could decide on a boat trip instead of one of these. Alternatively you could have breakfast at camp, and then experience an all day game drive with bush lunch.
I was lucky enough to be the only one on my safari vehicle, and was shown the wonders of the game reserve by my expert guide Kalisti who was very knowledgeable, and shared my passion for birds. He was ably assisted by my driver/guide Kamkumba, who pointed out plenty of wildlife, and negotiated the sometimes tricky tracks with great skill.
As a conclusion, I would thoroughly recommend Lake Manze Camp. The hosts and all of the staff made my stay a special one, which I will remember for a very long time. I had so many excellent wildlife sightings, and Selous Game Reserve is a stunning region of Tanzania. I hope to return one day!
Lake Manze Adventure Camp review
Sean and Millie were so welcoming. Truly wonderful driver and guide too. I had elephants visiting me regularly around my balcony. The food cannot be faulted. I thought the facilities in the tent were excellent.
Overall I had the most amazing experience and would definitely return. many people were coming for one or two nights whereas I stayed for four nights. I enjoyed feeling part of the place and could just enjoy being in the camp where all sorts of animals came through. Went on the boat safari but didn't enjoy it as much as the road ones. There were a lot of fumes from the boat and found getting stuck on the shallow part we went through quite scary although the driver had it under control.
I was travelling alone and found this no issue at all. Liked having my own personal driver and guide rather than being put with other people. The meals were good times to talk to other people. Loved how the masai people kept a watch over one.
Good location, less wildlife than Ruaha
Well run rustic camp with wildlife at very close quarters, sometimes just a few feet away. The camp offers numerous options for game viewing by vehicle, boat or walking. The bird life on the lake is exceptional.
Sean and Millie were friendly and helpful and we hope they manage to renew their contracts next year to continue running this camp.
We would have scored this camp higher had the accommodation been better but the water flow in the showers was very poor and also stone-cold most of the time. It is disappointing that even though we stayed for 4 nights and spent hundreds of dollars per night, they still charged us $2 for shampoo... it leaves a bad taste and seems unnecessarily mean.
Interesting camp. & location. Well managed
Well managed camp. Personable staff.
Good food, first class guides, none provided with binoculars to help them spot birds easily. - see previous review of Mdonya Camp
Expert Africa comments
Whilst we were glad that overall these clients enjoyed their stay, we were sorry to hear that their guide did not have binoculars. We contacted the camp about this and they informed us that it is standard practice for guides to carry binoculars, and they are sorry that this did not appear to be the case on this occasion. The camp works hard to source high quality binoculars, with their binoculars typically coming from South Africa. They informed us that they have a system in place whereby the guides contribute a little towards the cost of binoculars, and that these then become their own personal pair. This then encourages the guides to keep them in a good condition.
