Sayari Camp
Location - North western Serengeti close to Mara river
Accommodation - comfortable camp with 15 tents
Experience - Good game viewing (July to Oct), limited walking
Price Guide - $490 - 645 pppn
Sayari Camp is a 30 bed permanent camp in the Northern Serengeti, located close to the Mara River in the Kogatende area, where the wildebeest spend much of their time between late July and late October. Read more?
This is currently the only permanent camp in the area, although there are some excellent seasonal ones, including Nomad's Serengeti Mara camp which, whilst simpler by design, is much smaller at 12 beds and guarantees private cars & guides. Having itself been seasonal for its first two years of operation, Sayari has just undergone a major renovation and is now a properly established presence in the area. Strung along a fairly open ridge, the 15 huge tents all have long views towards the Mara river about a kilometre to the north.
The sleeping tents are all stylish and contemporary in design, perched on wooden platforms and all with king sized beds and small private balconies. The en suite bathrooms have flush toilets, power showers, double stone hand basins and even free standing baths so one assumes there's a huge and reliable water supply somewhere close by.
The central areas consist of a large comfortable lounge area with 'all day bar', a large dining area where people can eat seperately or join up with others as they please, a rock swimming pool, fire place area and two seperate chill out areas, set a little way away from the main hubbub. In an effort to retain a small camp feel, the camp is split into two wings (of 9 and 6 tents) each able to take over one of the chill out areas as a bar cum dining area and each bookable privately by small groups.
This area still has relatively little traffic and remains largely unspoilt. It changes character quite dramatically from the increasingly hectic dry season, when the wildebeest herds are almost certainly going to be within reach of the camp. With luck there will be a good chance of seeing them crossing the Mara river, with the attendant croc and vulture action that follows on from that.
Once the migratory herds move away, from late October through to mid / late June, the area becomes a lot quieter, in terms of both game and visitor activity, but there is quite enough resident game to ensure a fantastic 'exclusive' safari experience and the months of November to February should definitely NOT be ruled out. As well as the hippo and croc activity along the river, there are good numbers of elephant and buffalo as well as year round populations of predators in the area. Accessibility becomes a real problem between February and early May, and the long grass can impede easy game viewing a little in May and June, but this area pays back in other ways.
As well as game drives, there is the opportunity for fairly low key early morning or late afternoon walks in the area. One possible downside to be aware of is that, unless you drive in with your private car & guide, or pay a premium for one of Sayari's own private vehicles, you're likely to be sharing with others on vaguely regimented activities. This area also has a few tsetse hot spots but in most months its easy enough to avoid the major concentrations.
Location - Serengeti and Surrounding Areas
The Serengeti is the best known safari destination in the world with good reason. The proliferation of animal life here simply defies belief and in the company of a good guide, this can be like stepping into a wildlife documentary. We'd advocate building your safari in northern Tanzania around the greater Serengeti, but you do need to be aware that being in the right place at the right time is everything in this neck of the woods. It's worth understanding how the Serengeti works. Jump to page?
More articles that you might find helpful
Mobile Tented Safaris
Do I want a private vehicle and guide?
Light Mobile Camping in The Serengeti
How the Serengeti works
How Lions Hunt
For videos, articles, ideas and news from Africa:
Have a look at our blog at safarigeek.com
1747 898 104Do you need some help with this?
At Natural High, we've all lived and worked in Africa, so our knowledge is born of
hands-on experience rather than simply visiting on holiday. We can't over-stress how
worthwhile it is to take a few minutes to call us. We're not in the business churning
out thousands of packages so if you'd like to discuss things in detail, take a few
minutes and call Catherine, Fiona, Vanessa or Alex on 1747 898104.close
