Reviews of Magashi Camp

"The location of the camp on the lake is absolutely breathtaking, this is probably the most beautiful camp we ever stayed at across South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and now Rwanda.

The staff was amazing and the food was the best we ever had in 25 years of safaris, including high-end camps in South Africa and Botswana. Game drives were great and our guide, Innocent, was amazing and we managed to see the Big Five over the three days.

While the game drives were overall a bit quieter compared to Botswana and South Africa, the level of privacy and seclusion is fantastic (we were the only vehicle for 90% of the sightings including the lions, leopard and an elephant swimming in the lake).

Would definitely recommend Magashi even for seasoned safaris travelers." See all these reviews: 7n in Rwanda

"A wonderful camp.

Staff is so very friendly and attentive. Superb accommodations overlooking the lake.

While the park here does not have the quantity of wildlife other parks might have, the number of very close encounters we had with elephants, lions, a leopard and white rhinos more than made up for it.

Our guide, Innocent, was terrific at tracking and spotting wildlife. And seeing the wildlife from both land and a boat made for interesting excursions.

I highly recommend Magashi." See all these reviews: 9n in Kenya; 8n in Rwanda

"Very high standard camp with excellent service. Food was very good and plentiful.

An excellent range of safari drives and the trips in the boat on the lake added great variation.

Excellent guides. Got to see the big five, although the lion sightings were brief. Excellent leopard tracking at night.

Fantastic area for birds." See all these reviews: 10n in Rwanda

"This was an excellent contrast to the hills and forests of the rest of our travels in Rwanda.

As a group of 4 we were with the same vehicle and guide for our 4 night stay. Our guide, Luke was a joy from the drive in to the lodge on our first day from the Park Gates to our departure 4 days later. His knowledge and experience, both of the Park, Rwanda and the wildlife and especially birdlife was outstanding. He was thoughtful and engaging for the whole of our trip - which included 3 boat trips on the lake, multiple game drives and 3 night drives.

Highlights included, watching an Impala give birth, Leopard sightings in the day and at night, Hyena, Lions, Elephants, Black and White Rhinos, Roan Antelope, Bushbabys and a variety of colourful birdlife - from Kingfishers to Fish Eagles.

The lodge itself was stunningly situated, with faultless service and friendly helpful staff.

The tented rooms were of a great standard with Hippos ever-present on the lake below our veranda." See all these reviews: 21n in Rwanda

"We arrived at Akagera National Park by private driver/guide, following a more than a three-hour drive from Kigali. At the entrance to the park our Wilderness Safaris guide took over. Actually we had two guides as a guide from a Wilderness Safaris camp in Zambia, Isaac, (the Zambia camp was closed due to the rainy season) joined our Magashi guide, Innocent, to learn the camp and roads ahead of guiding at Magashi. It was a real treat to have two such excellent guides. We had a nice game drive to Magashi Camp, which is located on Lake Rwanyakazinga, where we received a warm welcome from the staff and a glass of juice.

After a brief orientation we were led to our tent on a raised boardwalk. With Wilderness Safaris tent is always loosely defined, while it had canvas walls it was also a very luxurious. There was a deck in front where you could watch and photograph the birds along the lake out front. Occasionally an elephant walked by and there were always hippos. Inside were all the usual amenities, a comfortable bed, flush toilet, hot shower and a desk and coffee bar.

The food was great at every meal. There was plenty of variety and plenty of food. Each group of guests had their own table situated either under the large trees at the edge of the deck or under cover, but still open to the deck. In addition to the dining room there is a central bar and large reading area with comfortable sofas and chairs. This central area and each of the six tents look out over Lake Rwanyakazinga. There is also a pool and fire pit near the lakeshore. The location is beautiful with the lake views and the large trees and shrubs between tents. There were many birds and the occasional mischievous monkey in the trees.

Game drives were great especially since it was very green being the short dry season. This was the first time we have been in Africa outside the dry season so we amazed at how green it was. The mixture of terrain was a surprise too; everything from thick brush to wide open savannah.

As Magashi is built on the lakeshore we had a mixture of vehicle and boat game drives. The boat game drives were particularly nice, as we got quite close to the animals and there were a lot of different species of birds. There were buffalo, hippo (in and out of the water), elephant, black rhino and many more types of animals along with many crocodiles. One afternoon we did a boat safari and then a night drive in a vehicle back to camp. One day we were fortunate to spot a shy leopardess and on another a group of lions, one sleeping in a tree. At night we heard lions, hippos and hyenas and in the morning woke to the sounds of many birds.

Rwanda’s recovery from the horrors of its genocide are remarkable. Akagera National Park has made a similar recovery, which you will learn about during your visit. On the morning we left, camp staff gave us packed lunches, which we enjoyed on our drive back to Kigali with our driver/guide." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania; 10n in Rwanda; 8n in Kenya