Ten tents stand above a valley east of Seronera, on water that holds through the dry months as the country around empties out. Resident lion, cheetah and leopard work this ground all year, not only when the migration passes. Each year the canvas comes down and goes up elsewhere, so the valley is never worn by long occupation. Guests fly into Seronera Airstrip.
Leopards drape themselves in the sausage and fever trees.
The Seronera River holds water across a wide stretch of the central Serengeti. Leopards drape themselves in the sausage and fever trees. Lion and cheetah hold the same ground for the same reason. Twice a year the migration crosses regardless, north roughly April to June and south again through October and November, so the resident cats and the seasonal herds overlap, one never standing in for the other.
The ten tents are spaced well apart along the valley edge, each with mesh windows, a wooden bed, a dressing area and a shaded verandah facing the water. Elephant, buffalo, giraffe and zebra come down to drink. Nothing here is fixed. The structures are canvas, timber and rope, made to be taken down each year. The bathrooms have flushing toilets and gravity-fed hot showers filled on request.
Elephant, buffalo, giraffe and zebra come down to drink.
One tent sleeps four, which suits families travelling together, and a photo den can be set up for photographers, fitted with charging points and work tables for reviewing the day’s frames. The camp runs on solar power. Tea arrives at the verandah at first light, lunch is packed for long drives, and dinner comes in the mess tent or outside under a clear sky.
John and Debbie Addison began by running mobile safaris, and the camp still works the way they started: light on the ground, moved rather than expanded. There is no concrete and no foundation anywhere on site. Each year the canvas comes down and goes up elsewhere, which is why the valley below the tents still reads as open Serengeti rather than ground camped on for two decades. East of the main Seronera tracks the position is a quieter one, and vehicle numbers stay thin at the sightings nearest camp.
Days run on game drives, morning and afternoon, in open 4x4s laid out with side seats only, so nobody sits in the middle. Bean bags and camera-resting arms come as standard. Inside Serengeti National Park the rules are firm: no off-road driving and no night drives, so the guiding depends on tracks, alarm calls and the way the plains game is standing, and a sighting is read out of the country long before it is reached. Balloon flights over the central plains can be booked ahead, lifting off at dawn and landing to a bush breakfast.
Hyena whoop across the valley, and a leopard coughs its sawing note in the dark.
Below the tents the valley holds water year-round, and elephant, buffalo, giraffe and zebra coming down to it can be watched from a verandah chair. The cats, though, are the reason most guests come. Because the Seronera River keeps its water as the surrounding country dries, leopard stay in the trees along its banks, and lion and cheetah hold the same ground through the year. For a few weeks in each direction the migration moves through, the plains fill, and then they empty again. Birdlife rewards the binoculars too.
Meals are eaten with the guides at the table, and that is when most of the day’s sightings get explained properly, the tracks read back, the calls placed. After dark the fire is lit and the talk slows to whatever the drive turned up. Sleeping under canvas means hearing all of it. Hyena whoop across the valley, and a leopard coughs its sawing note in the dark. Zebra crop the grass close to the tent wall, near enough to wake you. Ten tents is a small number, and the crew learns everyone’s name on the first evening.
accommodation
Ten tents in all, spaced along the valley edge and linked by sand paths, nine of them doubles or twins and one a four-bed family tent. Each has a mesh-windowed sleeping area, a dressing space, an en-suite with flushing toilet and gravity-fed hot shower, and a shaded verandah facing the valley. Beds are wooden, chairs wicker.
activities
Game drives run morning and afternoon in open 4x4s with side seats only. Inside Serengeti National Park, off-road driving and night drives are not permitted, so sightings are read, not chased. Bean bags and camera arms travel in the vehicles, and a photo den can be set up for photographic groups. Balloon flights over the central plains are bookable in advance.
conservation
A portion of every guest night funds the Serengeti De-snaring Programme, a joint effort between TANAPA, the Frankfurt Zoological Society and local operators whose teams patrol the park removing wire snares. The camp also supports Misigiyo School and the Give a Net programme, which distributes mosquito nets to mothers and young children in surrounding communities.
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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Scheduled light aircraft fly from Arusha to the Seronera airstrip in a little over an hour, with Coastal Aviation, Regional Air and Auric Air all serving the central Serengeti, and the camp is about forty minutes on from the strip. We can also arrange a private charter on a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12 to set your own timings.
Driving is a full day, around eight hours from Arusha, though many itineraries arrive by road from the Ngorongoro Crater in about three. Luggage on the light aircraft is limited to 15kg per person in soft bags.
It depends on the month, and we plan around that honestly. The great herds pass through the central Serengeti twice a year, on their way north roughly between April and June and again heading south around October and November. Outside those windows the case for Seronera is its resident game: the river here holds permanent water, so lions, leopards and cheetahs stay all year rather than following the rains. Tell us your dates and we will place you where the wildlife actually is, whether that is this camp or one of its seasonal sisters.
The Serengeti sits below the altitude line that TravelHealthPro and the CDC use for malaria risk in Tanzania, and both recommend antimalarial tablets alongside bite avoidance for visits here. We are travel planners rather than medical professionals, so the decision belongs with you and your doctor: book a travel clinic appointment four to six weeks before departure and they will advise with your medical history in front of them. In camp, long sleeves and repellent at dusk help.
Yes, within the realities of a canvas camp. One of the ten tents is a four-bed family tent, and the lounge tent keeps games and reference books for the gaps between drives. Tell us the ages when you enquire and we will confirm the right setup with the camp, along with drive lengths that suit younger attention spans. If a sunrise balloon flight is on the wish list, the operators here require children to be seven or older.
Layers above all. Dry season days from June to October sit around 26 degrees, but dawn game drives start genuinely cold, and cold fronts can push nights close to freezing, so bring a warm fleece and a windproof layer. In the green season months a light waterproof earns its place. Neutral colours, a brimmed hat and a dust-proof camera bag cover the rest, all in soft bags of 15kg or less per person for the flights.
The camp runs on solar power, with USB charging in the tents and in the lounge, and wifi in camp. Mobile signal out on game drives comes and goes, and it is best treated as a bonus rather than a promise, so tell anyone who might need you that replies may wait until you are back in camp. Bathrooms are en suite with flushing toilets and hot gravity-fed showers, and there is a dedicated photo den for working photographers.
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.
