Reviews of Namiri Plains Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
45 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Namiri Plains Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Namiri Plains Camp review"
We really enjoyed the camp manager Diana and the rest of the staff. Again, the food was so delicious.
We had developed colds and had to share a jeep with a loud talkative couple, so on our last afternoon we decided to slow down, get out of the jeep, and take a walking safari. It was such a good experience, finished by gin and tonics with the rest of the guests in the bush." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar
"Namiri Plains"
We saw a good number of cheetahs, females with cubs, and males with a very recent kill. We also had perfect opportunity to see leopards close up, including a female with two cubs licking the blood from a wildebeest carcass hauled up a tree.
Our driver even heard about a black rhino and drove like hell to successfully show us. When we could get a good photo, our driver was very good about taking our camera and delivering a magnificent photo. Once we were surrounded by a pride of 21 lions all around our land cruiser. It wasn't scary at all, our driver seemed to sense the animal moods quite well. I was impressed that the sleeping lionesses didn't even twitch an ear, when the driver started up again. We liked the surprises of the sun-downer. Once we were following a pride of two lionesses and cubs, we got ahead of them at a small pool they were headed towards. When they came to drink we are all shocked when a hippo rose out of the water and warded them off. There was an alpha male lion nearby nursing a face wound, the females came over and licked him." See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania
"Namiri Plains Camp review"
"Namiri Plains Camp review"
The communal dining was fun. Enjoyed talking with other guets. Liked the lunch right next to the tent, and out by a tree overlooking the plains. Fantastic location away from it all.
One of the highpoints was the parade of elephants going through the camp while we were eating lunch. Beautiful sunsets. Fun drive from the park entrance to the camp.
Amos really ran a well organized camp." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar
"Home of the Big Cats"
Cheetah were not as easy to spot as we had hoped, although we were fortunate to see a mother and 2 cubs. Lions however were everywhere! Two large prides are nearby, and each pride has several males in a coalition. In back to back game drives we saw a total of 46 lions!
The open plains are spectacular, and the vistas go on forever. The wildebeast migration had moved north, but there were still thousands of gazelle around, as well as zebra, hartebeast, topi, eland, and other antelope.
If you want to experience the Serengeti without the crowds, Namiri Plains is the place to go!" See all these reviews: 18n in Tanzania
"Namiri Plains Camp review"
Honestly speaking, I would not advise this camp for travellers on their first safari trip ever, because the area does not offer the whole variety of wildlife you can encounter in central Serengeti. So if you visit Serengeti and you go straight to Namiri Plains, you might be disappointed because you see very little or sometimes even totally zero elephants and giraffes, and absolutely no hippos, and in general smaller numbers of all the common African wildlife that you expect to see and to photograph on your first safari trip, for which on the contrary the Seronera area is highly recommended, where the same company Asilia runs a very very comfy camp called Dunia, famous for being the one and only completely run by women (btw I had the big luck of having one of their lady guides driving me up to Namiri and SHE ROCKS!!). That said, you will wonder why go to Namiri Plains? Because Namiri is where the big cats roam. So if you are fond of (or like me slightly obsessed with) big cats, and you only want to see cats, and to hear cats all night and dream of cats and breathe cats and end up with all your memory cards only full of cats striking any kind of pose .. then a stay at Namiri is something you cannot miss.
Many highlights of my recent stay. First of all cheetahs, cheetahs and more cheetahs, all beautiful, looking healthy and well fed, literally thriving, was what made my heart sing. among the many, a cheetah mother appearing out of the blue that we followed to the den discovering that she had newborn cubs...Then, we have been under a real cuteness-overload attack with the local lion pride displaying repeatedly the 14 cubs of different ages very very near the camp (and there will be more coming in the next months, because I have seen at least 4 different couples of honeymooners mating). And furthermore, spending quality time with two leopard cubs was a super treat.
One remarkable thing, this year, was the weather. The green season is always a dare, because April and May are the months of the Long Rains, but this year I think I have seen 4 seasons in the same day. After the terrible drought of the past 2 years, April 2018 has been overly generous with water... so Serengeti was all lush green and in bloom, but also super muddy. Please keep that in mind if you thiink the chance of getting bogged somewhere is part of the fun and adventure; but if you don't want to deal with mud skip the green season and go for the dry one. The rains have visited us also during my stay (half may), with usual 30-minutes downpours in the hottest hours except one day, when we had like in 2 hours the amount of rain they usually have in one week .. The camp staff however handled the unexpected situation with the usual, lovely all-Tanzanian hakuna-matata attitude. Please notice anyway that every tent is provided with rainboots and umbrellas, so you don't have to worry about packing those things .. travel as light as possible: a safari is a good chance to practise a bit of declustering.
The rain season however has ist perks, and the main one is the Great Migration. More than a million wildebeests on the move, wandering around in pursuit of the rainbs and the best grass to graze. When the Migration comes, the plains are covered in black dots up to the horizon and it's not rare to have herds in the camp. One day I even had the fun of watching thousands of wildebeest running in front of me while I was sitting in my tent. Another morning I enjoyed my wakeup-call cup of tea sitting outside in the good company of a family of elephants (unique event) who were grazing the tender leaves of the thorny acacia in front of my tent. Not to mention the honor of hearing lions roaring every night while I was in bed: the coming of the Migration is a sort of Big Cats Xmas Time, that is well described as "feeding frenzy" ending up in very happy, very full-bellied cats.
No need to say, I absolutely want to go back and stay again at Namiri." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania
"Authentic bush experience with cats galore"
We were lucky enough for the migration to pass through and saw cheetahs attempting to hunt on several occasions. Our guide was excellent and went out of his way to make sure we found what we were looking for." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania
"Namiri Plains Camp review"
Please see my previous review of Namiri as it holds for the return visit as well. [Ed: see below]" See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania
"Namiri Plains Camp review"
Not only were our rooms spacious and comfortable, the staff was so gracious, the food excellent, and the company of other travelers a delight. Cocktails in front of a roaring fire at night (lovingly called "bush TV" by the staff), 3 daily meals under a tent or under the stars, the company of other travelers from all over the globe made Namiri Plains Camp an unforgettable experience for our family." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania
"Big Cat paradise"
Food and drink was universally great and they were keen to ensure I was 'tomato' free throughout.
Early starts with breakfast and sunrise were becoming part of our DNA and kevin proved to be phenomenal at finding the photo shoots. Cheetahs, Leopard and Lions galore.
Two days flew past, and we left with a slightly heavy heart, but we had more to see 'up North'" See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania
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