Reviews of Lake Manze Camp

"Friendly staff, good food, great location and definitely the best of the 3 camps for amount and variety of wildlife. Good range of activities with walking, boats and drives and a good variety of habitats so each day was different and interesting. Nice to be able to go out all day and not just early and late gain drives as in many camps / areas. Night drives would have been a nice option.

Our guide was friendly and keen, but in hindsight was not of the standard of the professional guide (Steve Roskelly) we had at Ruaha. Our guide new the animal and local ecology well, but some of the facts we were told were later proved incorrect. He could identify the common birds but was not good with their calls or the less obvious ones." See all these reviews: 15n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar

"We enjoyed our stay here very much. The whole camp is very informal with very friendly staff, from the manager Phil, who turned out to be a fellow Bristolian!, to the guides, drivers and camp staff.

Although advertised as a fairly basic camp, it was very comfortable and certainly adequately equipped. No electricity does mean no cooling fans, therefore in hot weather the tents stay very warm at night, and it was very hot during our stay.
Meals were very well prepared and we dined under the stars with everyone at one big table so we could exchange anecdotes and talk about our different backgrounds.

Although only here for 2 nights ,we had game drives, a boat trip on the lake and adjoining channels and an early morning walk.
Our guide Giovanni was excellent and knowledgable. We saw plenty of Elephants, Giraffes ( seemed at times to be one under every tree! ) Zebra, wildebeest, scores of Impala, baboons , two Lion prides , one of which had cubs of varying ages, and Kudu. We saw many Buffalo, particularly groups of males. In the camp we saw a genet at night. which came near to where we were dining. This being the start of the rainy season ( although we had no rain ) Insects were abundant including enormous wasps, bugs of all shapes , beetles, and moths at night. Also ,enormous millipedes!

We also saw several monitor lizards, both nile monitors and savannah monitors. and there were smaller lizards in camp.
On the boat trip we saw cranes, pelicans, geese,kingfishers, storks of all kinds, spoonbills and ibis. And of course large nos. of hippos and crocs. for me the highlight was a very good sighting of a Martial Eagle in a tree, which allowed us to get surprisingly close.

Overall a very good experience of this part of the Selous game reserve, and Manze is an excellent understated camp." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar

"We particularly enjoyed the following: great wildlife (both on the lake and in the bush), very knowledgable and friendly guides, very friendly manager, good facilities, interesting cuisine, communal meals under the stars.

The fact that there were only 12 tents made for a very friendly atmosphere." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar

"Feel that I would use a 'very' good rating if available. Managers, Sarah and Phil were friendly and helpful throughout. Excellent, knowledgeable guiding. Excellent tents - well spread out, comfortable bed, hot shower.

Really liked having the option each evening how we would like to spend the following day. Boat trips especially were fabulous. Food ok but not fantastic. Breakfasts plentiful and good but would not have chosen a hot lunch each day in temperatures of over 30c. Dinner always soup and then a fairly unexciting main course. Fully appreciate that one cannot expect a gourmet experience in the middle of the bush but felt there was a little room for improvement. Loved the fresh juices though.

Saw lots of game, especially elephants and a great variety of bird life. Full day safari including visit to the hot springs was wonderful. Amazing to have elephants, baboons, impala wandering around the camp and quite an experience to lie in bed listening to hyena very close by!" See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania

"river/lake and vehicle game drives very good, guides observant and keen to pass on information about what is being seen.

early morning walks are short on distance and duration but guide was well informed on what he was showing.

dinner was served late on occasion when followed with the early morning starts" See all these reviews: 16n in Tanzania

"please refer to the previous review on this camp [Ed: see below]" See all these reviews: 7n in Zanzibar; 6n in Rwanda; 5n in Tanzania

"Generally satisfied with this camp." See all these reviews: 7n in Zanzibar; 6n in Rwanda; 5n in Tanzania

"It was a really special experience at Lake Manze. The camp is right in the bush and it really does feel back to nature. The tent was comfortable and clean and we never got tired of sitting on the veranda with impalas and baboons close by, not to mention frequent visits from elephants.

The staff at Lake Manze were excellent - always friendly and helpful. Sara, the manager makes sure there is a great atmosphere and everyone is made to feel like part of a big family. The safaris were great, and we particularly liked the boat safaris, which were a new experience for us. We managed to see everything except the a leopard, but we did see a pack of wild dogs, which made up for it.

The food was better than we thought t would be given the remoteness of the camp, and there were nice little touches, like nibbles before dinner. The only (minor) quibble is that I would have liked a bit more lighting in both the tent and the main area. It was very difficult to see and candlelight gives me migraine!" See all these reviews: 4n in Tanzania; 2n in Zanzibar

"Lake Manze was the second stop on our first safari and very similar to Mdonya, if not a little bit more cosy in the communal area.

Again the the staff were fantastic, the guides very knowledgable and the managers were all very welcoming and friendly. Due to the location near the lake it was possible to see more animals within the camp itself which made for a very interesting walk back to the tent after dinner, however we felt very safe in the company of the experienced masai's.

Would thoroughly recommend this camp." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania

"We were really happy with our stay at Lake Manze and felt it was the highlight of our honeymoon. We were safari first-timers and would definitely recommend this place to others.

In hindsight a 3-night stay would probably be perfect here but to achieve that we'd have had to cut back on other parts of our trip to stay in budget, and 2 nights was very definitely worth it: we saw lions on five occasions, and even a hyena, along with countless giraffes, hippos and other animals. We really liked the 'no fences' style of the place, and it was amazing having elephants in front of our tent two days running (a bit scary too, but the Masai security were looking out for us).

Every member of the staff team came across as being totally professional, and gave excellent service without ever being pushy or smarmy. Our main guide and driver (Roger and Ally) were a great team (Roger very informative, Ally an excellent driver across difficult terrain) and seemed to have eyes like hawks! Sara the manager was very helpful in suggesting what trips were best use of our limited time.

The food was very decent - veggies and vegans will be well catered for, although hardcore carnivores will be a bit disappointed and a bit more choice might be better. Initially we weren't too sure about the communal dining but it probably improved our overall experience. We were impressed that the bar was very reasonably priced - out here it would be easy for them to overcharge if they wanted to, but it increased our confidence in the place that they didn't.

The tent was great - I was a bit concerned about the open bathroom as my wife doesn't like insects, but apart from the odd encounter it wasn't too bad and it was fun seeing elephants and baboons out the back. The lack of electricity was no problem at all as there were sufficient light sources in the tent and cameras could be charged at the bar, and sitting for a drink in the lamplight was quite romantic." See all these reviews: 7n in Zanzibar; 2n in Tanzania