Reviews of Stanley's Kopje
Wildlife sightings and reviews
6 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Stanley's Kopje and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
"Camp in Underrated Reserve"
The dining room is a steep climb up from the tents and the climb is not something we'd want to do on a regular basis. The food was fine, main courses being provided on a buffet basis.
We do feel that some improvements could be made for visitors going into the reserve. Breakfast was not available until 7am and there was no facility for coffee and biscuits for those wishing to leave earlier. There would seem to be no reason why these could not be provided in the reception area from (say) 6am. On the plus side, we were provided with coffee in our tent at 6.30am on the day we were leaving.
The Mikumi reserve seems to us to be very underrated. We saw lots of mammals and birds, including the only leopard we saw on the entire trip." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania
"Great guides, good food, beautiful settings."
I was very lucky that I was the only guest for most of my stay at Stanley's Kopje and as a result, I had both guides completely to myself. As all three of us love nature and have a lot of interest beyond the usual 'big 5', it was an excellent opportunity for me to dig into Humphrey's extensive knowledge of Mikumi and his patience for my many questions. Yes we saw lions and buffalo and all that but we also explored the park, discussed the various plants, birds, insects, all the 'small' things that so many safari goers usually neglect. Enjoyed the all-day drives, the picnic sites are good in the Park, there was plenty of time for everything and I just felt so lucky.
I loved the big tents. There is plenty of privacy and the coolness of the breeze at night blowing through the tent made sleep very easy. Whatever you do, don't zip down the door or window flaps, you will miss out!
I swam lots in the pool, loved the food, appreciated the ice in my gin and tonic. Kate was lovely company at dinner. Really couldn't wish for a better experience." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania
"Just an overnight stay"
Did not do any game drives with camp staff." See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania
"Stanley's Kopje review"
We were made to feel very welcome and were the only people on most of the game drives.
Our trip to Udzungwe mountains was really interesting. A long bus journey, but interesting to see the scenery on the drive. Some staff came with us on the bus in order to stock up on lodge food and drinks, so we had a short stop in the local town to do this. This was fine for us, and all added to the nature of the trip, but I can imagine some people would be a bit put out." See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania
"A good start..."
Activities were led by our Kerseley´s driver (Mr. Ezequiel), so we can not comment on activities led by the camp itself. The all-day drive, at this time of the year and with Mikumi so dry is a bit disappointing, as it started a little late (8AM), and from 10-11 am onwards, animals are just away and resting. By the time it finished (4PM) animals were starting to come up again. We do not know about the camp activities but we think they should start very early in the morning (6am?), specially with these field conditions.
Nevertheless these are just recommendations and we really have enjoyed the experience." See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania
"Camp Fired!!"
We were totally confident that Expert Africa had not been informed of the situation because we knew that if they had, we would most certainly have been informed. We gathered on our arrival at Vuma Hills that we were not the only guests that had not been informed - and quite naturally Karen the camp manager was very frustrated.
Having said all this it did not really detract from our enjoyment as the main point of the exercise was to have a driver/guide for a few days so that we could experience some of the countryside and see how communities worked - and this was certainly achieved." See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania
We have apologised to these travellers – and talked to the team on the ground in Tanzania to ensure that this never happens again. That said, we’re glad to hear that it didn’t impact too badly on this trip – which was clearly a great success.
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