Reviews of Olakira
(96%) From 49 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Excellent
The game drives were fasntastic and we saw far more than our expectations, especially crossings of the Mara river and cat life.
Read more about the whole safariOlakira Mara - Ndutu Camp review
Our hostess Anna was wonderful. Late one afternoon we had a torrential downpour lasting about 30 minutes as we returned to camp. Anna and her staff were very solicitous for the comfort and well being of the guests. She could not have done better. A bit of humor was the repeated efforts to keep our shower buckets ready for us even when we did not need them. Our guide Mesenga was great. Of our three guides his English was perhaps not as good, but this only provided more opportunity to converse. Nevertheless, his knowledge and patience with us was superb. We did establish, while waiting for the wildebeest to cross the Mara River, that the correct name for a gathering of many Land Cruisers/Range Rovers is a"clutch" as in a pride of lions or herd of wlildebeest.
Read more about the whole safari
Olakira Mara - Ndutu Camp review
The staff were very helpful, courteous and friendly. The food was very good and the chef worked miracles for me in terms of my allergies
The tents were very spacious although the piece of furniture for putting your clothes was minimal and much smaller than we had in tents everywhere else
The communal dining area and the camp fire were great. The coffee/tea station was adequate but the easy seating/relax area was not very inviting
Olakira Ndutu - amongst the animals!
Olakira is set in a lovely open position with giraffe, zebra and wildebeest wandering and grazing around and even in the camp. As the camp manager said, don't sleep too well because you'd miss the nighttime sounds of all the animals, including lion calling to each other. He was right - it was wonderful - and I was woken on the first night by zebra, munching and galloping around our tent. The front of the tent is mesh netting which allowed me to watch them in the moonlight, chomping just a couple of yards away from me.
Animals aside, the staff were wonderful, very friendly and chatty and the food excellent. During one camp lunch we had been asking about typical Tanzanian food and that evening the staff cooked us an extra dish of just such food (meat cooked with bananas!) for us to try. That gives you an idea about the level of willingness, attentiveness and service common to all 3 camps that we stayed in.
The tents and facilities were great, and very few flies or mosquitoes, in spite of the proximity to all that wildlife.
The game viewing in the area was superb and we loved being able to drive off road (it is in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and off road driving is allowed), and it made all the difference to our game viewing and photos as our driver/guide was able to get up close to a leopard lying in a tree with its kill, vultures annihilating a wildebeest carcass, a cheetah hunt and to drive right through the vast herds of wildebeest gathering on the plains.
Excellent all round safari camp
This place is a gem - we had seen pictures on the internet, but it far surpassed our expectations. Kindness, friendliness, efficiency, attention to detail - it all seemed to come naturally to Pascal and his team. Our guide, Baraka was excellent, informative, inspiring and fun to be with.
Saw so much game and even managed to see a little crossing - little being the operative work - watched and waited for 1000 or so wildebeast to cross from the other side, only to have 30 or so cross over from our side!! Managed to get up-close-and-personal to lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, topi, impala and so many other birds and animals, including the hippos wandering around the camp at night.
The camp was comfortable and beautifully equipped, with so many little touches that made it all work so well. The food was simply delicious and meal times a treat. Our thanks go to Pascal and the team for
(a) providing amazing specially made gluten-free foods, including cornbread and corn muffins.
(b) speaking with Coastal Aviation about the air sickness of one of us, which message was passed on all down the line so front seats were provided and the pilots being attentive.
(c) coping so well with the dripping wet guests when we had an amazing thunderstorm which lasted for 2hrs just as we were returning from afternoon game drives.
Would love to return.......
Comfortable and friendly camp
Lovely situation by the river.
Excellent and friendly staff
Olakira Camp review
Delightful Tented accommodation with a pleasant area for relaxing in before the evening meal or in between game drives.
Baracka our guide was excellent and I very much enjoyed his excellent and illuminating talks from Termites to family structures of different animal groups and we were lucky enough to see two amazing Wildebeest crossings as well as Black Rhino, Hippos, Big fat crocs etc etc etc Very different country again wonderful open plains and ancient Landscapes. Some amazing weather with Thunderstorms and lightening.
Great company again around the table.
Olakira Camp review
Northern Serengeti was amazing and Olakira and staff made it even more memorable and fantastic.
Accommodation was wonderful - plenty of water for the basics (sink and toilet) and bucket showers inside the tent were more than adequate. An intimate setting (only 10 guest tents) in the middle of great game viewing (including regular lions roaring, hyenas calling, elephants, giraffe, impala and zebras feeding all within sight and hearing of the tent and event sometimes right in the camp).
Food was plentiful and consistently delicious - excellent variety, fresh, tasty and great service. Common dining table for all guests meant that every evening was a chance to talk to fellow travellers and share the day's experiences. You'd be hard pressed to find higher quality meals in any restaurant anywhere in the world, and the fact that it was all prepared in a temporary camp in the middle of the bush was truly amazing.
Hot coffee, tea and biscuits delivered to the tent at wake-up call, hot water bottles in the bed at bed-time, highly experienced and skilled guides, lots of game (we saw many lions, cheetah, leopard, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, elephant, crocodile, hippo, and even rhino, plus tons of others too numerous to list). Saw a couple of wildebeest river crossings (one right down the road from the camp!).
An amazing experience, great friendly genuine staff, and something that we'll remember for the rest of our lives. Four nights felt very comfortable, we saw a little bit of everything in terms of game. Any less though and you'd probably miss out on something.
Olakira Camp review
A wonderful tented camp with a great location. The rooms, service and food were first rate. The staff attended to every request with great efficiency.
Would recommend this camp to anyone wishing to visit northern Tanzania.
