In the far southern reaches of Ruaha National Park, the Usangu Wetlands run out towards the horizon, and this is a place to work as much as to watch. For long stretches there is not another vehicle in sight. Guests place the camera traps themselves, follow collared predators across the floodplains and add to research that is still under way, with the nearest camp some 60 kilometres off.
For long stretches there is not another vehicle in sight.
Miombo woodland rises behind the tents, which stand just beyond the seasonal high-water mark and look out over floodplains that turn from flooded channel to open grass as the dry months advance. The canvas and mesh is pitched on wooden decks, the power comes off the sun, and the scale is kept deliberately small. The feel is expedition rather than lodge.
Each of the six tents keeps its beds and chairs at the front, behind a mesh frontage that opens onto the wetlands, while an internal screen divides the bedroom from an en-suite bathroom with twin basins at the rear. The veranda is angled for morning light and evening drinks. The interiors are simple and functional, built around the view and not the fittings, so nothing competes with the plain beyond.
The hyena calls and lions sound in the distance.
A short walk from each tent, in its own clearing, stands a Star Cube, an open-air net tent for sleeping out beneath the stars. The hyena calls and lions sound in the distance. The wash of insects never quite stops, and the bush closes in around you until dawn arrives unfiltered over the floodplain, with the way back to the main tent kept short and easy.
Researchers at the on-site Douglas Bell Eco Research Station work alongside the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute and the national parks authority, assessing the biodiversity of a wetland system that remains little known, and guests are part of the work. Each is handed a motion-sensitive camera trap to set out in the bush, then returns to review the images with the researchers, watching to see which predators passed through the dark. Telemetry tracking follows those same animals across the plains, and by the end of a stay the fieldwork has become the holiday.
The wetlands take their name from the Sangu people, and it is their water that feeds the Great Ruaha River. Through the dry season, from June to November, the flood retreats and open grassland emerges in its place, drawing lion and leopard, elephant and giraffe, and the rarer sable and roan antelope down onto the drying plains. Tourism came here only recently. The wildlife of southern Ruaha is still growing accustomed to vehicles. The result is wilder and less predictable, sightings that come on the animals’ terms rather than the camp’s.
The wildlife of southern Ruaha is still growing accustomed to vehicles.
A private vehicle and guide come with every group, so the day bends to the guests and not to a fixed schedule. Mornings and afternoons go to game drives, and after dark thermal imaging picks out the nocturnal species that would otherwise stay hidden in the grass. Walking safaris cross the floodplains and the miombo woodland behind camp. When the water levels allow, boats open up the seasonal channels, elephants feeding in the shallows close by. Little here follows a timetable, and that is the point.
Meals are cooked over an open fire and eaten outdoors, by candlelight around the campfire beneath a sky free of light pollution. The chef works in the open, and guests drift in and out of the cooking as it happens. Sundowners are taken on the deck or down at the water’s edge, elephants sometimes crossing the plain in silhouette as the light drops and the fire is lit. The camp opens in June, at the start of the dry season, and closes in November for the rains, when the floodplains fill again.
accommodation
Six octagonal safari tents, each raised on a wooden deck with a private veranda facing the wetlands. An internal screen divides the double or twin bedroom, mesh-fronted and set with chairs, from the en-suite bathroom behind it, with twin basins and a shower. A separate open-air Star Cube near each tent allows sleep-outs under the stars.
activities
Game drives with a private vehicle and guide, plus thermal-imaging night drives within the park. Guided walking safaris cross floodplains and miombo woodland, and boating explores the seasonal channels when water levels allow. Guests deploy camera traps, join telemetry tracking and visit the Douglas Bell Eco Research Station.
conservation
The camp partners with the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute and the national parks authority on a biodiversity assessment of the Usangu Wetlands, run through the Douglas Bell Eco Research Station. Guest camera-trap images and tracking data feed predator studies. A per-night conservation contribution supports research and anti-poaching work in the area.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
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Ruaha National Park
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Ruaha National Park
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Ruaha National Park
This is the deep end of Ruaha, and the journey reflects it. You fly into Dar es Salaam, take a light aircraft into the park, a scheduled run of up to two and a half hours with stops, and then drive about two hours from Jongomero airstrip south into the wetlands. We plan the day so the legs join up, and a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, can shorten the flying considerably.
Soft bags only on the light aircraft, around 15 to 20kg per person depending on the airline, confirmed with you before you pack. The long transfer is itself a game drive through country very few people cross.
Yes. The Usangu wetlands sit well below the 1,800 metre line that both the CDC and the UK's official travel health advice use for malaria risk in Tanzania, and standing water is mosquito country by definition, so antimalarial tablets are recommended without hesitation.
The tents are mesh-fronted and netted, which helps at night. Confirm the current advice with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, and keep arms and legs covered once the sun drops.
The camp takes guests aged twelve and over. Younger children are not accepted, which reflects what the place is: a working research camp in genuinely wild country, with long drives, walking, boating and nights that run late around the fire.
For a twelve-year-old and up with real curiosity it is arguably the best camp in Tanzania, since the camera traps, tracking and researchers turn a safari into something they take part in. Tell us who is coming and we will say honestly whether it fits.
The camp runs June to November only, closing for the wet season when the floodplains drown the tracks. Early in the season the channels still hold water and the boating is at its best; by September and October the plains have dried to open grassland, the game concentrates, and the heat builds toward the rains.
Every week of that window works; the choice is really water against dryness. We suggest at least three nights, both because of the journey in and because the research activities need time to come back with results.
June and July bring surprisingly crisp mornings out on the open floodplains, with hot clear days; by October and November the heat is serious and the first storms start to build. It is a camp lived largely outdoors, so pack for sun and dust more than anything else.
Neutral colours, a warm layer for dawn starts, strong sun protection and closed shoes for walking are the core. Binoculars and a camera with a long lens repay themselves here more than at most camps.
The camp keeps a wifi connection running, satellite-fed and best used lightly, and there is effectively no phone signal in the wetlands, whose nearest neighbour is some sixty kilometres away.
The honest advice is to arrive expecting to disappear for a few days. If you need a reliable line out for work or family, tell us before booking and we will confirm exactly what the camp can support.
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our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
