I settled on Tanzania for this return trip to Africa. I’m not sure entirely why, but I felt drawn to the open plains of the Serengeti. I wanted to see the great wildebeest migration but have since learned that yearning to see this is both problematic and disappointing. For starters, the animals migrate when they feel like it. There is no exactness to the dates or time frames of their movement. So if you book a trip to see them migrate you will almost certainly miss it. Secondly, it is reportedly hectic and smelly as carcasses build up from animals killed during the migration. This did not excite my senses.
We travelled to Tanzania on the 6th of January 2019. Getting anywhere in Africa is not overly easy but then again I’ve always believed that going anywhere that’s difficult usually means it is rather fabulous. We flew from Capetown to Livingstone, then on to Nairobi in Kenya. The lines in immigration in Nairobi were long and terrifyingly inefficient. We overnighted in a hotel in Nairobi, then flew the following day to Kilimanjaro Airport then on to Sasakawa airstrip, before being transferred by car to Sabora Tented camp, one of the three Singita properties adjacent to the Serengeti.
Singita, which means “place of miracles,” was founded in 1993 with a single lodge, Singita Ebony Lodge. This was built on family owned land in what is now known as the Sabi Sand Game Reserve in South Africa.
Today, Singita is the trusted guardian of a million acres of pristine land in Africa, on which it operates 12 lodges and camps in five regions across three countries in Africa. The company is dedicated to sustainable conservation and empowerment of local communities.
Singita Sabora Tented Camp is situated on 350,000 acres in northern Tanzania known as the Grumeti reserves. The intimate 1920s-style explorer’s camp is steeped in character and surprises guests with an opulence that is delightfully out-of-place with the rugged terrain of the surrounding savannah plains. Here, guests are immersed in the palpable pulse of the wild Serengeti, with the added thrill of knowing there isn’t much separating the comfort inside from the elements and wildlife outside.
From the moment we arrived I was in love with the lodge. Kim, our enigmatic guide leapt from the truck and shook my hand with warmth and vigor. ‘Jambo Jambo’ he shouted, which is Swahili for hi. He was over 6 foot tall with a quiet endearing energy. I came to learn that he had seven senses and no animal could escape him in the bush.
The camp encompassed 9 luxury tents filled with design elements of a bygone era.
The best way I can describe it is to suggest you play the 1985 film ‘Out of Africa’ starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. The entire scene was cut straight from the trailer. Pith helmets in the library, resting beside hunting trophy’s and croquet rackets. Cut crystal glasses, tarnished silver trays, and zebra hides evoked a feeling of quiet opulence and a sense of nostalgic adventure.
Outside the tent, however, was another matter all together. No fences and no walkways. Just us in the bush. The first discussion we had was regarding safety, and it was far from the rigidity we see in Australian society. The rules were pretty simple. If you step out of the tent at night you will likely die. Nighttime is when the bush comes to life. All sorts of animals wandered around the tent including mongooses, impala, warthogs and rather more worryingly buffalos. Buffalos, in case you’re wondering, account for more deaths in Africa each year than any other animal.
I asked if any of the big cats were spotted in the camp and Semeni advised me that guests had discovered a leopard sitting on their steps after dinner!!
Which brings me to remind you that these animals are not tame at all. They are predators in the strongest sense of the word. Completely wild and utterly unfamiliar with humans. The only rule seemed to be – stay in the tent after dark and if you wanted to go to the main tent for dinner an armed guard would walk you by a tiny torchlight with a bobbing rifle the 100 metres to safety.
This, as you can imagine was utterly terrifying, second only to the noises heard from outside the tent at night!!!