The Real Luxury of Staying At A Mobile Safari Camp in Tanzania

Tanzania’s wildebeest migration has been called “the greatest show on earth.” (Jose Cortes III)

One of Tanzania’s largest draws as a safari destination is that—unlike the other countries in Africa—it has no fences between its national parks and cities. Natural borders like lakes, mountain ranges and forests keep animals confined. There is also no wildlife management that monitors the numbers of big game like elephants to sell or cull them once the numbers go above the carrying capacity of the Serengeti. Tanzania chooses to leave things alone, believing that nature will make all the necessary adjustments—possibly in the form of drought or rainfall. People come here for the volume of animals, particularly for the wildebeest migration, which has been dubbed “the greatest show on earth.” As the Serengeti spans 14,763 sq km, each lodge has its own recommended period of visit, depending on its location and the migration path. But if you stay at a mobile camp, a visit at any time of the year is ideal as it travels to where the herds are at any time of the year.

My first East Africa experience was at a mobile camp, 

Serengeti Safari Camp (SSC), 

run by Nomad Tanzania. The camp stays in place for a few 

months at a time, then 

transfers to where the animals are in volume—offering an 

experience that’s both intimate 

and wild. “A mobile camp is the real wilderness.

You sit here eating your lunch and dinner, and then there are thousands of wildebeests grazing just a few meters away,” shared our SSC guide Emmanuel Njawa. “The migration is not a static thing; animals are moving in search of grass and fresh water. When they find out they are short here, they will move to another place but it doesn’t mean they won’t come back.”

Serengeti Safari Camp (SSC)’s mobile camps usually move four to five times a year to the
“middle of nowhere” to be in the best possible location to view the wildebeest migration
(Nomad Tanzania/ A2A Safaris)

The tents are as comfortable as can be—given that they are literally in the middle of nowhere. On its website, SSC accurately describes its camp as being all about “great company and relaxed comfort, not luxury for its own sake… to deliver a superlative experience of the extraordinary wildlife… without damaging the environment that has so inspired us over the years.” Small, intimate and simple, they have only six open-plan walk-in meru tents. As there is no running water, “faucets” come in the form of stainless steel pitchers of hot and cold water, and showers, which come in buckets, have to be ordered in advance. Since there is no electricity, they use hot compresses to act as makeshift heaters to sleep on top of. Lamps are charged during the day for use in the evening. Shoes and slippers are to be kept inside the tents at all times so the hyenas aren’t tempted to make them their own.

There are only six tents at SSC, each bedroom with an en suite bathroom. (Nomad Tanzania/ A2A Safaris)

Yes, there is no electricity (only the living room has electrical sockets for charging), no internet and no cellphone signal. In between game drives, instead of choosing which Instagram filter to post your animal of the day, you are “forced” to fix yourself a glass of South African pinotage or local beer (they say if you can’t climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, at least have the beer), play bao (a local mancala board game), read a book, or interact with your companions or other guests at camp in real life (Sorry, “liking” or commenting on photos on social media is not applicable here).

And it’s not so bad.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/cheryltiu/2014/12/07/the-real-luxury-of-staying-at-a-mobile-safari-camp-in-tanzania-2/