Eight canvas tents face west across the short-grass plains behind Naabi Hill, ten minutes off the main road and hidden from it. The camp keeps company with the herds from December through March, and not a week longer. Each evening the sunset lands full on the canvas before the dark settles over the grass.
The plains fill with newborn wildebeest calves through February.
From January the herds spread across the Ndutu plains to graze the nutrient-rich short grass. The plains fill with newborn wildebeest calves through February, and lions, cheetahs and spotted hyenas follow them. Leopards keep to the granite of Naabi Hill, which doubles as a stopover for Eurasian migrant birds. Herd movement follows the rain, so the drives change from one week to the next.
Walking safaris are rarely permitted inside Serengeti National Park, and the southern site does not offer them: the camp’s licensed walks with an armed guide belong to its northern season. Mornings here go out by vehicle onto the short-grass plains, among the calving herds and whatever follows them.
Once the grass grows back, the plain shows little sign that anyone was ever there.
Everything here comes apart. Beds unbolt, tables and washstands fold, and the eight tents, mess, library and stores load onto a truck for the move north, roughly 180 kilometres away. A dozen people take about a week to strike the camp and raise it again. Once the grass grows back, the plain shows little sign that anyone was ever there.
Flights land at Seronera, and the drive in takes an hour to an hour and a half, longer if something worth stopping for appears on the way. Road access to the south is easier than to the north. The camp keeps to the calendar of the herds, behind Naabi Hill from December to March, then gone when the rains come. From June to October the same tents, beds and library stand at Kogatende in the northern Serengeti, under the name Esirai Camp North.
Eight tents shelter in the shade of large trees, all of them doubles or twins, with two able to interconnect as a family unit on request: two tents joined by an enclosed corridor, so a child can cross to the parents at night without stepping outside. Solar panels run the lights in every tent and the charging station in the library, which adjoins the mess and holds the field guides. Most meals are taken outdoors. At night the lions roar close enough to be felt through the canvas, not just heard. Dinner arrives under the stars, and the fire pit takes the hour before it.
At night the lions roar close enough to be felt through the canvas, not just heard.
The look is old campaign kit: canvas, mesh screens, folding timber tables and solar lanterns, with no theming and no spa attached. Bathrooms are en suite and plain, hot bucket showers filled on request and dry long-drop loos. Days are loosely set, a dawn drive onto the plains, a climb up a rocky outcrop for the view across the short grass, or a long breakfast and nothing more at all. Guides are trained in-house, and the emphasis falls on tracking, natural history and animal behaviour.
The calving peaks around the middle of February, when the plains fill with newborns and the predators working them. By the time the wet season sets in, the camp has been struck and carried north. Staff are drawn and trained from communities under-represented in the safari industry, women among them. Food, furnishings and building materials come from Tanzanian producers and cooperatives. The camp runs on solar power, and no concrete is poured for any structure.
accommodation
Eight canvas tents, all doubles or twins, with two interleading on request as a family unit linked by an enclosed corridor that sleeps up to five. Beds, campaign furniture and washstands fold for the move. Each tent has solar lighting, an en-suite bush bathroom with a hot bucket shower and a dry long-drop loo. All eight face west.
activities
Game drives run morning and late afternoon, with full-day outings when the vehicle allows. Walking is not offered at the southern site; the camp's licensed walks belong to its northern season. Sundowners and evenings at the fire pit fill the gaps. Balloon flights can be arranged in advance.
conservation
A mentorship programme trains people from communities long under-represented in Tanzanian safari work, women in particular, through on-the-job guiding and camp experience. Food and furnishings are bought from Tanzanian producers and cooperatives. The whole camp runs on solar power, and no concrete is poured for any structure.
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.
01
Serengeti National Park
02
Serengeti National Park
03
Serengeti National Park
04
Serengeti National Park
05
Serengeti National Park
06
Serengeti National Park
07
Serengeti National Park
08
Serengeti National Park
09
Serengeti National Park
10
Serengeti National Park
11
Serengeti National Park
12
Serengeti National Park
13
Serengeti National Park
14
Serengeti National Park
15
Serengeti National Park
16
Serengeti National Park
17
Serengeti National Park
18
Serengeti National Park
19
Serengeti National Park
20
Serengeti National Park
Fly to Seronera airstrip in the centre of the park, then an hour to an hour and a half by road south to the camp behind Naabi Hill; the camp's packages include the transfer to and from Seronera for the southern season. Coastal Aviation's timetable, valid to the end of May 2027, serves Seronera daily from Arusha with a stop at Lake Manyara, leaving at a quarter to eight and landing at five to nine, at a quarter to eleven landing at a quarter past twelve, and at three landing at a quarter to six, with connections from Kilimanjaro and from Dar es Salaam via Zanzibar; Auric Air and Regional Air fly it too. Ndutu airstrip on the plains is also within an hour of the camp, and we route there instead when the rest of the trip favours it, confirming the transfer with the camp.
We can also arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12, from Arusha or Kilimanjaro to either strip at a time of your choosing. The road from the crater is the other way in, easier to the southern site than to the northern one, and it turns the transfer into a game drive across the plains. Soft bags only on the light aircraft, fifteen kilograms a person including hand luggage.
Yes. TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, says there is a high risk of malaria in all areas of Tanzania below 1,800 metres, and the CDC draws its line at the same height, 5,900 feet. The short-grass plains behind Naabi Hill lie at about 1,600 to 1,700 metres, under the line, and the camp's season is the wet one, so both sources place it on the risk side and both list antimalarial tablets alongside bite avoidance among their recommendations for it.
We do not make medical recommendations, and we would not want to. We arrange travel; we are not doctors. Which tablets suit you, how they sit with anything else you take, and what is right for a child are questions for your own doctor or a travel clinic. On the practical part, dusk is the hour that matters, so long sleeves, long trousers and repellent are worth the packing space.
Children are welcome and there is no published minimum age for staying. The family unit is two tents joined by an enclosed canvas corridor, so a child can reach the parents at night without stepping outside, and it sleeps up to five. The camp is unfenced, lions call close by, and askaris escort everyone to and from the tents after dark; the library tent keeps board games for the middle of the day.
Game drives on the standard package are shared, two a day, so a family that wants its own hours books the package with a private guide and vehicle, and with small children we would. Tell us the ages and we will be straight about what fits, and whether the calving weeks in February, when the plains are full of newborns, are the right ones for them.
Green-season weather. December carries the tail of the short rains, January and February are usually a drier, warmer spell with afternoons around 28 degrees and nights around 15, and the long rains build from mid-March, which is why the camp packs up at the end of that month. Storms on the plains are mostly afternoon affairs, loud and short, and the grass they leave is what the herds come for. The calving peaks in the middle of February.
Pack for green-season plains: a light waterproof and a dry bag for the camera, closed shoes with grip for wet grass and the climb up the outcrop for the view, a fleece for the first hour of the morning, light neutral clothing and a brimmed hat for midday, strong sun cream, a torch for the walk to the tent, and binoculars. Soft bag, fifteen kilograms on the light aircraft including hand luggage; laundry is included in the packages we book.
No wifi, and no reliable mobile signal on the plains. The camp manager keeps in touch with head office and can pass a message to you in an emergency. Everything runs on solar, and charging for phones and camera batteries is at a station in the library tent rather than in the tents themselves, so bring a spare battery and charge over lunch.
One visitor's report mentions a weak signal in the main tents, so treat anything you get as a bonus. Download reading and maps before you fly, and tell us before departure if someone needs to be contactable so we can plan a night with wifi either side.
The camp is sold three ways, and the difference is the vehicle. The full-board package covers the tent, all meals, water and a limited list of house wines, beers, spirits and soft drinks. The game-drive package adds two shared drives a day, or one full day out with a packed lunch, plus the transfers to and from Seronera and laundry. The adventure package gives your party its own guide and vehicle for the whole stay, with a personal plan of drives and bush dining, the same transfers and laundry.
Outside every package are the park entry fees and the tourism levy, flights, balloon flights over the plains, which are booked ahead and flown at dawn, and drinks beyond the house list. We build the fees and flights into your quote from the start, and for a first Serengeti or a family we book the private vehicle; sharing suits a couple happy to go with the day.
rated five stars by our clients
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.
