Africa Travel Resource
 

Wife and I are going on Safari with ATR from Jan 9th to Jan 27.

Current plan is:

Land in Arusha and spend the first night at Moivaro Lodge
Then head to Olduvai Tent Camp
Next Ronjo Camp
Last Sanjan Camp
and then back to Moivaro Lodge to go home.

I was wondering if anyone has stayed at any of these camps and could provde photos of what to expect other than what is on ATR's website. Also any other tips like guide request or what to expect.

We have been on Safari in South Africa and other Southern counteries but I hear it is different in East Africa. HELP.

No photo's with me sorry but Olduvai is great, basic but wonderful location and the bucket showers are just fine; two single beds in each tent. Food very average but that is not why we were there, had great cheetah sightings.

Bwino,

I have now found more information on that Olduvai camp but thanks for the reply. I just can't seem to find information on the others. Did you use ATR and do you have any particular guide I should request?

Apparently ATR has a marketing policy to rename the camps they use! I do not understand why they do this, but it works for them!

In reality Sanjan Camp is called Suyan Camp and it is by far the most luxurious of the places on your list!

Pics and description here: http://www.go-safari.com/Serengeti/Suyan.htm

Ronjo Camp pics are here: http://www.go-safari.com/Serengeti/Ronjo.htm

Oldupai Camp pics are here: http://www.go-safari.com/NCA/Oldupai.htm

It's not a special marketing policy, ATR just don't update their website to latest developments. Suyan was once Sanjan Camp, before the merger of Oliver's Camp with Asilia.

It was a couple of years ago we were there, we used ATR and Godson picked us up in Arusha - he was a great guide and a terrific man.

climbhigh has a far better selection--much better photos, too--but here are mine for some of the camps you are visiting:

http://www.pbase.com/leelygoes/camps_and_lodges

Please post here when you return. Safari njema!

For information and pictures from people who have used ATR and stayed at their camps look in the East Africa Index at:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34860283

You can do a search on ATR in the index, or look for the following people who wrote reports (these are just some, there may be others)the links to the reports and pictures are mentioned in the index:

AMF Oct 2005
Sarvowinner Dec 2005
Bat Feb 06
Boston Gal Mar 06
Rocco Mar 06

and, as mentioned there could be others as well in there. Some of the reports are pretty detailed, and most have pictures too.

I stayed at Moivaro, Olduvai and Ronjo. Had a terrffic hoiday!
We stayed in the tent on top of the kopje at Olduvai, which was just wonderful.
Make sure you are clear what you want to see, and that if you want to get up early and get out your guide knows this.
The food was actually better at Ronjo than Olduvai. But we didn't go for the food! We had a lion in the camp one night at Ronjo, which was exciting - and drove some of our camp mates off to the nearest lodge the next morning!
I can recommend the walk to Oduvai gorge from Olduvai camp if you have the time.

Our photos are at http://tinyurl.com/2byafm.

Absolutely avoid the Moivaro Coffee lodge! The rooms were not very nice (poor lighting, cheap furniture, no drawers for storage/clothing, electricity shut off around 10 pm, no amenities, single towel, no washcloths provided), the pool was disgusting, the plumbing inadequate, the food was terrible and expensive (and due to remote location, you have no other dinner options), the location inconvenient, and high prices for all food, incidentals, laundry, etc because you're far from town so they can charge what they like. The staff was not very helpful. The only nice thing about was the gardens. I've posted about it previously, if you want more info. I recommend staying in town, gives you more dining options and shopping in case you find you forgot something important (one person in our group forgot her camera, and its a hassle going into town, taxis very expensive)
Impala hotel was just ok, but at least the food was good and inexpensive.

I stayed at the Moivaro Coffee Lodge for a few nights before and during my East African safari in 2006. Certainly it's not a 5-star hotel with all the associated amenities. However, the staff was warm and friendly and went the extra mile for their guests. For instance, we arrived around eleven o'clock at night and were told that the dining room was still open if we wanted something to eat. The next evening at dinner, they allowed us to provide our own wine (which we had bought at the Shop-Rite in town) and did not charge a corkage fee. When we were not keen to order the evening meal, no problem, they bought out the lunch menu and said we could order from it. Additionally, they stored our luggage at no charge while we were in the Serengeti. Yes, it's not a luxury hotel, but we were quite pleased with the service and helpful attitude of the staff.