Reviews of Oliver's Camp
(94%) From 41 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Great to come back to after fly camping
Our first tent, number 6 was excellent with good running water. Our second tent, number 9 was not as good. The location was not as nice, and the water flow was not as good. Same accommodations, but not as memorable as tent number 6.
Overall, four days and nights in the Tarangire was too long. Three days and three nights with one night of fly camping is sufficient.
Oliver's Camp review
Amazing location, with views out onto a river valley. Elephants and giraffes visible in the distance while having morning coffee, occasionally game wandering through camp (saw hyena, dik-dik, and lots of birds), running water inside the tents, plenty of hot water from the solar heater, excellent comfortable beds.
Food was tasty and plentiful, wonderful campfire and drinks every night before dinner, small number of guests and relaxing atmosphere was really nice. Short drive to excellent game viewing.
Common dining table was a nice way to chat with other guests and share the day's experiences. Staff seemed genuinely friendly and helpful and were very pleasant to deal with.
High quality camp and excellent guiding
Very high quality accommodation - we gathered that the 'tents' had been upgraded earlier in the year. Now each one is a very elegant thatched structure with the canvas tent underneath it - but with wooden floors and doors it felt quite solid. En-suite loo but outdoor shower which looked like a bucket but was actually piped water and easy to use. Also had a very nice deck area at front of tent with two loungers. Animals were around - we had a hyena outside our tent the first evening and I mistakenly left some socks hanging outside the first night - they were appropriated and half buried in the ground by the morning but luckily not damaged and easily washed!
We were fortunate to have Mesenga as our guide - he spoke really good English and had eagle eyes - he could spot things miles away! We saw more elephants and zebras than we had ever seen before, but also leopard, a big pride of lions, and small things like bat-eared fox, fish eagles, genet and porcupine (on a night drive). We also did a short 2 hour walk with Alex which was excellent - it was really good to get up close to plants and see signs of the animals such as dik-dik scent marks on the grasses.
The food was very good - barbecue on the first night was excellent.
One thing to note - if you want to do the night drive you have to pay extra for it ($60 per person). We decided to do it because there was an opportunity to use night vision binoculars which we haven't done before. However, in the event we found them hard to use and reverted to the standard spotlight method, so that was a bit disappointing although we did enjoy the drive. Actually, in the event, we didn't pay for the drive as there was a slight problem the next morning and we didn't get a wake up tea tray or proper breakfast so Barbara the manager waived the fee.
As others have said, the only slight disadvantage of the location is that you have to drive for about 20 mins before you actually see much in the way of animals...and if you go there do be aware of the tsetse flies - take Expert Africa's advice and take something that will repel them - we only had mosquito repellent with us which wasn't very effective against them and I wished I'd taken my Avon Skin So Soft!
Great experience!
The camp met and exceeded our expectations.
There is a lot to be said about the infrastructure of a permanent camp versus a mobile camp. The tent was more than we expected and the view was great.
The staff attended to your every need and the food was excellent.
Oliver's Camp review
A wonderful permanent camp with excellent service and location. Would recommend to anyone visiting Taranguire.
A night in the fly camp is a must as is a hike into the park.
Oliver's Camp review
Accommodation was very clean and comfortable. Managers helpful and friendly.
Great birdwatching at the main camp area.
Wonderful safari at Tarangire
We had an wonderful visit to Tarangire staying in Oliver's camp.
Our personal guide, Hari was very good, always polite and cheerful. He provided very good game viewing including 3 cheetahs, 3 leopards, a lion family on a kill, bat eared foxes and a gerenuk family, apart from the herds of elephant, buffaloe, zebra and wildebeest. We felt that Hari did his utmost to make our experience the best possible. We felt it was a shame he could not have dropped us off at Manyara airstrip on his way back to Arusha, which might have saved us some transfer time.
Olivers camp was very good, in a quiet section of the park which made us feel we were really in the African bush.The position of the camp being well down the park, meant that early morning viewings were undisturbed by crowds of other vehicles. We loved the tent which was spacious and comfortable, and Ken and Michelle were good hosts. The food was tasty and there was always a good campfire to help us enjoy pre-dinner drinks. We would certainly stay here again.
Expert Africa comments
As part of their feedback, these travellers noted that:
"The ratings choice on [our feedback] form did create difficulty in that there was nothing between Good and Excellent."
More elephants than impalas
Thanks to the Silale Swamp just north of Oliver's Camp, it is quite literally the case that we saw more elephants (hundreds at a time dotted across the swamp) than impalas in Tarangire - and there was no shortage of the latter. Oliver's is a well run camp generally and we were particularly impressed with the food - something with which camp managers Michele and Ken have clearly made a considerable effort.
During our 4 night stay we saw plenty of mammals - over 20 different species with buffalo, zebra and lion (in addition to elephant) in abundance - and the bird life is even more impressive (we identified nearly 100 different species). The southerly location of Oliver's in the park also means that there are few other vehicles despite the richness of the wildlife and the splendid scenery. Our guide, Jackson, looked after us extremely well from start to finish.
Oliver's also has the advantage of doing walks (Marcus is an excellent walking guide) and - unlike many camps in Tanzania - night drives, though neither is included in the basic cost (possibly because the majority of the guides do not work for the camp).
Oliver's Camp review
Great location near the swamp in the southern part of Tarangire. Very friendly and relaxed atmosphere, pleasant and helpful staff, good guides.
Really appreciated being able to do a walk as well as the game drives.
Oliver's Camp review
Over-all an excellent camp and experience.
The rooms were spectacular, food excellent and the location perfect.
The camp has an excellent selection of activities which aren't available in Ngorongoro and Serengeti including night drives and walking.
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
