Reviews of Mwagusi Safari Camp

"One can feel that Mwagusi has grown over the decades as an owner-run camp, loads of character and and owner Chris makes an excellent host with plenty of stories to tell after over 20 years in Ruaha.

The best feature of the bandas may well be the sunken corner with big cushions - a great spot to relax and watch the action down in the sand river. Not that there wasn't plenty of wildlife outside the camp - guiding was excellent and one really noticed that each guide knows the different areas of the park very well.

In general, we really enjoyed the fact that Ruaha has such a varied landscape - everything from plains to wooded hills or rocky kopjes can be seen in good day's drive.

Dinner at Mwagusi is a real occassion - the camp has three different locations along (and in) the sand river which are lovingly decorated for dinner, making for a very special experience. While there were some issues around quantity at lunch, the food was fresh and of excellent quality." See all these reviews: 13n in Tanzania

"thank you annabelle and charlotte you are great. also sampson and moses and our super banda attendant.

what happens when the girls leave at the end of the season?:" See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania; 7n in Zanzibar

"We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Mwagusi, but overall we found the bandas very dark, you needed at least one more light in the bedroom area and probably more in the "wet" area - it was impossible to shave with the available light.

The size of the banda overall was amazing and the "entertainment" area which opened out on to the river bank was absolutely amazing - especially the double swing.

The public dining area was great and the concept of pre-prandial drinks round the camp fire led to convivial evenings.

The staff at the camp were excellent but were eclipsed by the brilliance of our guide who knew absolutely everything about absolutely everything to do with the park." See all these reviews: 4n in Tanzania; 1n in Zanzibar

"As activities we only went on Game drive. There were two incidents that we were disatisfied with. One morning there was a confusion about which guests were going in which Jeep for the game drive, this led to a delay of 45 minutes which was annoying since we got up very early in the morning to have an early morning game drive.

The second disappointment was that one afternoon we saw a Leopard hiding in the bush, it had caught an Impala and was hiding from us and waiting to go to it's food. We knew that the Leopard wasn't going to move as long as we were close by, the guide said that we should come back early tomorrow morning and see if the Leopard has gone up a tree with the Impala.

Thrilled and excited about this we went up bright and early the next morning only to find that we did not have the same guide to take us to the leopard, our guide from the evening before had explain where the leopard ought to be but still the new guide didn't get it right, no comment was made why we didn't receive the same guide as the night before.

Apart from that we always enjoy and appreciate it when the owner is also living in the camp, it adds alot of feeling and personality to the atmosphere." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania

"Everywhere was very green and the area is beautiful and Ruaha has become my favourite place in Africa to date.

The guides were the best that I have come accross in my 12 or more safaris. Each guide had a driver/spotter and between them, they seemed to see everything. We were allocated to a vehicle each day and therefore we had 4 different guides over the 5 days. I did not like this idea at first but now I think it is good to experience the skills of diffent guides.

There were 4 large prides of lion numbering 14 or more in each pride. Good lion sightings were a daily event during my 5 nights there. We had an amazing sighting of 2 leopards in a tree followed by one of them climbing into a large tree where it stood for 20 minutes before we left it alone.

It was rare to see another vehicle and any of the game drives.
There was a large population of elephant which produced some of the best sightings that I have experienced.
I saw 4 wild dog, Klipspringer and Lesser Kudu for the first time.
The variety of birds was excellent which kept us busy identifying well over 100 species.

The packed breakfast was poor for a camp of this quality but it did not spoil the long morning drives.

It has become my favourite place and I must return to see the dry season when more large game are likely to come down to the river." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania

"Difficult to rate Mwagusi accurately because some parts were excellent but the Management was appalling.

The food was excellent and the guides were the best we encountered on the trip. The rooms were very nice and very spacious but in view of the number of biting insects around it was disappointing that the bathrooms were not protected from flying insects. The bathrooms had a potentially dangerous step and the solar heating did not seem to work well for the hot water.

We arrived in a cloudburst. We had to carry our own bags from the plane and while other groups were met with waterproofs and a closed in vehicle our vehicle was completely open and we and our luggage was only protected by black plastic sheets. The assistant manager who met the vehicle was very patronising (he was on a holiday job) and did not introduce himself until we asked him who he was.

The manager had an ear infection and appeared after a day and once again failed to introduce himself and was very resistant to making conversation. No one asked us what game drives or walks we would like to do and we were just bundled into a vehicle with other people. There was no mention of a gamewalk (which we had requested before we left the UK) (and we didn`t press it, because the weather was a bit unpredictable). When we gave batteries in to be charged they were returned 24 hours later uncharged and when we left, no member of management was there to see us off or to ask if we had a good time. The vehicle arrived 20 minutes late to take us to the airstrip (but every cloud has a silver lining because on the way to the plane a leopard crossed the track right in front of us!).

Overall, we felt that the camp was not run for the benefit of the guests and we felt that we were a bit of a nuisance. Other people staying at the camp shared our disappointment and on the flight we met 2 people who stayed at Jongomero - they had stayed at Mwagusi the year before and vowed not to go back because of the unpleasant atmosphere.

The laundry did not come back very clean.

It was a pity because in many respects it was an excellent experience and Ruaha is a beautiful Park." See all these reviews: 15n in Tanzania

"We had a wonderful time at Mwagusi and could not fault it. This was our first time on safari and in Africa. Charlotte and her team made us feel very welcome and immediately relaxed. It was such a peaceful camp in terms of human activity, with any noise coming only from the wildlife. We loved watching animals come and go from the dry river bed outside our banda. Although the days were quite structured (as seemingly with any safari), the emphasis was on what we wanted to do. I imagine that the fact that it was low season with very few guests may have helped. What really shone through was people's enthusiasm for Ruaha and the wildlife.

Guiding: The guiding was the best that we experienced. Our guide was Daniel and his spotting and knowledge was amazing. We will never forget the 2 separate leopard sightings and the sandgrouse that Daniel identified from their flight pattern when they were miles away before we saw them close up to know that he was spot on. We learnt so much and had some fantastic sightings. It was particularly good to have a separate guide and driver (thanks Moses).

People: All staff at the camp were friendly and polite. Nothing was too much trouble. Waiters in the UK could certainly learn a lot from the Mwagusi team who were efficient and helpful! The housekeeping staff kept our banda immaculate.

Accommodation: Our tent under the thatched banda was great. The verandah, tent and bathroom were kept spotlessly clean. In fact, the housekeeping was some of the best and most thorough we had experienced anywhere in the world. The bandas were much smarter and more polished than we had expected having seen the photos on the website. The laundry service worked really well and was very welcome as we had packed light. Despite all the interesting animal noises at night, I had some of the best sleep ever!

Food: The food was much better than we had expected, bearing in mind the remoteness of the camp. We enjoyed breakfasts in the bush on each drive with Daniel and Moses always taking us somewhere different. The cinnamon rolls were delicious and we thought the breakfast selection was good. As we were eating so much for other meals, we did not need a big breakfast. Lunch, afternoon tea/cakes and dinners were consistently good. There was a good selection and it always seemed very freshly prepared. The vegetable dishes were particularly tasty. Eating dinner under the stars in different locations around camp was a great experience." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar

"A fantastic first safari experience.

Comfortable banda accomodation - dotted spaciously along the dry river bed. Even though they are quite open, with daybeds & a hammock & the bathroom outside, it felt really private with bush separating each banda. The openness has the added advantage of making you feel very close to nature- waking up to see the animal parade which unfolds in front of you (or the munching of elephants eating the banda itself!).

We experienced really good quality guiding from Joffray- a real advantage of having a driver plus a guide was that the guide could concentrate on spotting. On several occasions there were quite long drives with few animals spotted before coming to another area where there was a greater density. Thought that the driving was careful and in-tune with guests wishes - allowing plenty of time for photos etc.

Meals were very sociable - especially of an evening, meeting around the campfire. It was a really relaxed, welcoming atmosphere - and Chris's willingness to share some of his stories and years of experience added to the experience. The variable locations and the beautiful set-up made each night memorable.

As others have written, drinks were an additional expense and it would have been nice to have had an idea of the cost (e.g. a price list in the room information) or just paid a little extra per day & have had them all included. As it was - our drinks bill for 3 nights for 2 people (a couple of beers per person per day) was about US $100.

One comment about the tipping - there was no 'staff box' in the office where the bill was settled - and the tip (which I had separated from the final drinks bill) was just tucked into the top pocket of one of the camp managers with the money for the drinks. It didn't give me any confidence that it would be shared out with the guides or other staff - rather that it was a handsome tip for one person." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 1n in Zanzibar

"Very attractive and quirky accommodation - although would have liked netting across bathroom apertures to prevent insects when light on.

Food was absolutely outstanding - what a pity there was no fresh coffee. However the bush breakfast was a disappointment - both in terms of food and the lack of chairs and table. Sundowners ( except for one occasion) also disappointing.

Enjoyed the change of location for dinner under the stars. Camp manager ( Charlotte ) and Chris Fox made a great effort to mingle with guests and create happy atmosphere. Our guide - Samson - was exceptionally good.

Terrain - although lacking a river( full of water!!!) - was very varied and interesting.
We missed a swimming pool as a release from heat , having come from Impala." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar

"Magwusi is a great place to stay and we will probably return one day. The scenery, game and general location were really good. Our room was very comfortable in a beautiful location, with a wonderful view.

Over the 4 days we saw many animals/birds from our room/balcony. One very bad point which annoyed us and our fellow guests was that there was no 'drinks price list'. The drinks were quite expensive. I think this the first place I have ever stayed where there was no price list! We dicussed this locally to no avail." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania