Reviews of Namiri Plains Camp
(97%) From 31 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
| 
Glamour in the Serengeti
We were delighted to discover that Namiri Plains had moved into their new camp just a few weeks before we arrived. The new bandas and lodge have a spacious, modern design ethic that took some time to get used to. It certainly doesn't have a traditional safari camp design, but the almost other-worldly appearance of the tents grew on us. Our banda had three rock walls and a screened fourth side that provided a private unobstructed view of the marsh.
The room was huge, and the well-lit bathroom had a large glass-walled shower plus an outdoor soaking bathtub. The room had a small refrigerator stocked with beverages, comfortable chairs, ample storage for clothing, a desk with charging station, and even a hair dryer. The lighting throughout was excellent. Besides the soaking tub, the deck had two lounges and a table and chairs.
Lunch was an excellent buffet provided individually at each table, with a variety of fresh salads and entrees. Dinner was served communally, but also presented as a buffet on the dining table. The guests gathered for cocktails in the lounge or around the campfire before dinner each evening. Game drives sometimes lasted so long that we went straight to lunch or dinner without going to our rooms first.
The two managers, Baracka and Brian, and our guide Manja were so gracious, welcoming, and knowledgeable.The game drives were excellent and we were able to find sightings of both cheetah and lions as well as many other species. The landscape is mostly vast expanses of open plains -- sometimes filled with gazelles, other times quiet. Because Namiri Plains is located in a remote east sector of the Serengeti, it is usually uncrowded. We did several game drives without seeing any cars from other camps -- heavenly!
Quiet spot
Namiri Camp feels a long way from other places- which it is- and we loved!
The area has far fewer vehicles trafficking it compared with the central part of the Serengetti.
The camp itself was very nicely appointed and again the staff were well trained, extremely knowledgable and friendly and the food was terrific.
Privacy on the Plains
Tucked away on the Plains, Namiri Camp was another excellent spot from which to experience the wide open vastness of the Southern Serengeti and the Kopjes which lie within. We were rewarded with good sightings of Lion and Cheetah. The grasses were high in anticipation of the arrival of wildebeest and zebra from further south. Where Olakiri sightings could be busy the seclusion of Namiri Plains made for very private viewings. An old guide friend of ours from Nairobi describes this are as his 'church'. I can see what he means.
If you head west toward Seronara and the Western Serengeti the sightings are 'radioed' in and so get extremely busy, a bit of a mud bath after any rains.
Nice to have both indoor and outdoor showers, the latter being a double.
Namiri Plains Camp review
Loads of big cats, but everything is extremely spread out so on most game drives you may go an hour or more without seeing that much. We had many cheetah, lion and leopard sitings as they promote. The facilities are nice but getting dated, they're building a more permanent lodge to open Summer of 2019.
Read more about the whole safariExcellent game drives at Namiri Plains.
A comfortable camp situated in the plains well East of Seronara.
As with the other camps, the facilities are good, the staff friendly and helpful, the tents and communal areas comfortable and the food good. My only reservation was that the light level at dinner was so low I could not see what I was eating, probably a function of the solar power so could be excusable.
Patena the guide was also a good spotter and knowledgeable about the game and birds.
All the game drives were very good indeed.
Namiri Plains Camp review
Another of our favorite camps and parks! Our guide Khahil was terrific and the wildlife sightings were fantastic.
We really enjoyed the camp manager Diana and the rest of the staff. Again, the food was so delicious.
We had developed colds and had to share a jeep with a loud talkative couple, so on our last afternoon we decided to slow down, get out of the jeep, and take a walking safari. It was such a good experience, finished by gin and tonics with the rest of the guests in the bush.
Namiri Plains
We saw so many lions, but many males were emaciated because the migration had not yet returned to the Serengeti. Out our front porch we could watch a heard of 15-20 elephants (including babies) frolicking in a spring. What a daily site.
We saw a good number of cheetahs, females with cubs, and males with a very recent kill. We also had perfect opportunity to see leopards close up, including a female with two cubs licking the blood from a wildebeest carcass hauled up a tree.
Our driver even heard about a black rhino and drove like hell to successfully show us. When we could get a good photo, our driver was very good about taking our camera and delivering a magnificent photo. Once we were surrounded by a pride of 21 lions all around our land cruiser. It wasn't scary at all, our driver seemed to sense the animal moods quite well. I was impressed that the sleeping lionesses didn't even twitch an ear, when the driver started up again. We liked the surprises of the sun-downer. Once we were following a pride of two lionesses and cubs, we got ahead of them at a small pool they were headed towards. When they came to drink we are all shocked when a hippo rose out of the water and warded them off. There was an alpha male lion nearby nursing a face wound, the females came over and licked him.
Namiri Plains Camp review
A first rate experience. The camp was comfortable, staff helpful and food delicious. The star of the show was the guide Patena who managed to locate animals as if by magic - the knowledge and skills of the guides never ceases to amaze. The hot water bottles for the morning drives were very welcome, and breakfast 'out' perfect. It's relatively remote location meant we saw few other vehicles, which was one of the things I wanted to avoid. I would heartily recommend and am keen to visit their women only staffed camp.
Read more about the whole safariNamiri Plains Camp review
Great food. Excellent staff. Really like the campfire sitting and watching the sunset.
The communal dining was fun. Enjoyed talking with other guets. Liked the lunch right next to the tent, and out by a tree overlooking the plains. Fantastic location away from it all.
One of the highpoints was the parade of elephants going through the camp while we were eating lunch. Beautiful sunsets. Fun drive from the park entrance to the camp.
Amos really ran a well organized camp.
Home of the Big Cats
Namiri Plains is located in a remote southeastern section of the Serengeti, and the camp itself is far from any other camp. This provides for excellent game viewing opportunities early and late in the day when other vehicles must leave the area to head back to their respective lodges. The camp is lovely, with each tent separated from others providing privacy. The common area is simple and inviting. It appears that the camp will be relocated next year, and new tents and commons will be constructed. Camp Manager Diana and Asst. Mgr. Amos made us feel at home. Staff was very friendly and attentive and food was excellent. Out guide, Walter, did a great job finding game and putting us in the right spot for viewing it.
Cheetah were not as easy to spot as we had hoped, although we were fortunate to see a mother and 2 cubs. Lions however were everywhere! Two large prides are nearby, and each pride has several males in a coalition. In back to back game drives we saw a total of 46 lions!
The open plains are spectacular, and the vistas go on forever. The wildebeast migration had moved north, but there were still thousands of gazelle around, as well as zebra, hartebeast, topi, eland, and other antelope.
If you want to experience the Serengeti without the crowds, Namiri Plains is the place to go!
