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The place
After a delicious dinner at a private table in the mess tent – which has its own lounge, dining area, bar and library – we sit around the fire with the other guests, sharing stories of the various safaris we’ve all been on over the years. The crackling of the flames does little to dispel the sense of solitude here, this feeling of being out in the wild. Surrounded as we are by Serengeti grasslands, with a sky that’s covered in a dazzling array of stars, it truly feels like we’ve discovered the spirit of Africa at Serengeti Mobile Camp … in a way that’s different to permanent safari lodges.
Soon, we’ll be tracking the Great Wildebeest Migration from our own private vehicle, secure in the knowledge that we’re in exactly the right place to witness it firsthand.
The room
Ready for bed, we’re escorted back to our suite by a Maasai guard. We’d left the tent’s sides open, but unseen hands have carefully closed everything up after leaving our tent brightly lit with hot-water bottles heating our bed.
Each half of the camp (which is split into two independent sites for intimacy) faces opposing directions, and the natural habitat ensures privacy. As I brush my teeth, I admire the dark wood basin stand that dominates the en-suite bathroom, thinking how the hot-water bucket
shower doesn’t detract from the luxurious comfort at all.
Our bed awaits us, a plush king-size draped in mosquito nets and 100% cotton linen, surrounded by Persian rugs. Tired, but excited to be here, we talk late into the night, enjoying the night-time entertainment: the howl of a hyena, the roar of a lion and the quick flits of light from passing fireflies.
Waking to dawn light, I’m lured up by the smell of freshly brewed coffee. After our breakfast buffet, we set off on a game drive to track the migration. Serengeti Mobile Camp offers one of the closest encounters with the wildebeest, because they change locations three times a year to ensure they’re always in the right place at the right time.
Just a few kilometres away from camp and we see them, thousands of wildebeest, with herds of Thomson’s gazelle, zebra, eland and impala in their wake, chasing the rains and grasses on their loop of the Serengeti-Masai Mara ecosystem. It’s truly a privilege to be here.
PHOTOGRAPHY: LEGENDARY EXPEDITIONS
OPPOSITE: There's nothing quite like camping in the Tanzanian wilds.
Moving between the north, south and west Serengeti throughout the year, a stay at Serengeti Mobile Camp – a luxury Tanzanian safari lodge with
just 11 tents – guarantees viewings of the Great Wildebeest Migration, including wildebeest calvings, river crossings and hundreds of
thousands of animals in the grass plains.
MOVING WITH
the migration
by Melissa Andrews