Mawe Ninga Camp

a particularly good base for elephants

Mawe Ninga Camp is located in the Tarangire area of northern Tanzania.

This property is owned and operated by MKSC, a partly French-owned safari company which is actually the oldest of its type in Tanzania.

Set in a superb elevated position in the heart of the reserve, this is a simple but cool and comfortable camp.

The place is largely hosted by authentic Maasai warriors, which definitely adds a sense of authenticity and depth to the experience. These guys can be quite shy and their English can be quite limited, but if you make the effort then you will no doubt find them excellent and easy company.

The camp lies around 5 km to the west of the central river valley in the heart of the reserve and is approached along a small dirt track, which climbs up to a small vehicle turnaround.

Walking through large boulders we suddenly emerge onto an area which is dramatically raised up above the westerly plains and with vast views towards the Rift Valley Escarpment and the Ngorongoro Highlands.

The main building is a simple open-sided affair containing bar and dining areas. Out front is a modest seating and campfire area on the rocks.

Animals in camp

The camp is renowned for the rock hyraxes that scuttle about across the granite domes. Although they look like large rodents, they are actually of the order Hyracoidea and are famously related to elephants and manatees.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Mawe Ninga Camp is in sixteen comfortable tented rooms, some of which are very dramatically perched between enormous boulders, all of which have private balconies.

The relatively modest bathroom facilities are adequate for most visitors but do attract a little bit of negative feedback amongst people who would prefer more pressure in the shower and faucets rather than the jug-and-basin arrangement.

Activities

Mawe Ninga Camp provides the following guided activities, not all of which are usually included in the price …

• Vehicle safari
• Walking safari
• Balloon safari : not included
• Bush meals
• Night vehicle safari

Tarangire tends to feature in a relatively small proportion of trips, mainly because there are so many locations to compete for nights in this greater Serengeti area. You usually need to be on safari for at least 6-8 nights before this becomes an option.

The usual stay duration is 1-3 nights.

Seasonality

Tarangire is conventionally considered best during the Jun-Oct dry season, when the wildlife gathers along the river. These conditions often continue through Nov-Feb, depending on the short rains.

The whole of the Mar-May green season is generally considered less appealing due to the more difficult wildlife viewing, but the park is pretty and visitor numbers are low.

Getting there

The vast majority of visitors to Tarangire arrive by guided overland safari, so they travel to their lodge and around the reserve in their private vehicle.

Around 5% of visitors to Tarangire arrive by light aircraft, almost always into Kuro Airstrip in the south of the reserve, to stay in one of the more remote and higher quality camps down there. In this case they travel around the reserve with a vehicle and guide from their camp.

an optional extension to a Serengeti safari