Amazing Serengeti Wildebeest Migration Safari At Kimondo Camp

Below Review First Appeared On Our Google Reviews Page

I cannot recommend AfricanMecca Safaris highly enough. I have just returned from an amazing safari in the Serengeti (early October 2019). It was a last minute thing organized around a work trip and Raza pulled out all the stops to organize a truly incredible safari experience for me at very short notice.  He was very patient with my hundreds of questions, as I found it hard to know where to go in Tanzania and what choices to make. He provided a few sample itineraries with different locations and price ranges, and supported me with lots of information to ensure I was happy with my choice.

In the end I decided to visit northern Serengeti. My first night I stayed in Serena Hotel in Arusha which was lovely, though I arrived late and left early so didn’t get to see much of it. I then got a tiny plane up to Lamai airstrip near the Kenya border, stopping a couple of times on the way to drop off and pick up other passengers, which meant I got to see Lake Manyara and the flamingos and Ngorongoro Crater from the air. The little bush planes are an amazing experience in themselves – landing and taking off from dirt airstrips surrounded by zebra and wildebeest.

For 3 nights I stayed in Kimondo mobile migration camp, which I would highly recommend. It’s a beautiful camp run by lovely people – the camp manager Richard is great, as are Michael, the chef and the whole team of staff. They were all incredibly welcoming. They also had amazing guides – Moingo was my guide and he was so knowledgeable and gave us an amazing experience. I saw so many beautiful animals up really close like a few feet away – hundreds of elephants, about 20 lions, 2 cheetahs, lots of giraffes, zebras, hippos and many more (baboons, wildebeest, monkeys, warthogs, antelopes, ostriches, vultures, eagles, crocodiles, tortoises, impala, mongooses, hyenas, jackals…and I know I’m forgetting lots of animals).

This is partly because there is so much wildlife in the Serengeti but also because my guide Moinga and trainee guide Nang’ida were so skilled in spotting animals, knowing where they were likely to be, and knowing how to approach so you could get really close without interrupting or bothering the animals.  I saw three crossings in three days which were truly spectacular (thousands of wildebeest crossing the Mara river, with some zebras). I saw two kills – a crocodile killing a zebra drinking in the river and another crocodile a wildebeest during a crossing. One night a hippo came to visit my tent which was an amazing experience!

Kimondo camp manages to strike a great balance between luxury and authenticity – the food is incredible and there is a mobile bar serving anything you could want to drink at any time. You have an outdoor shower looking out in total privacy onto the wildebeest and zebra as you wash – an incredible experience! You eat together in the evening, so meet lots of interesting people both staff (management, guides, catering etc) and other guests. Kimondo camp is part of Asilia, and I was really impressed with the company – there is a real focus on conservation, the environment, education and giving back to local communities (demonstrated in terms of who is hired, and community outreach to local schools etc). Overall it was a truly unforgettable experience.

The customer service and support that you get with AfricanMecca Safaris is exceptional. I had an issue with the flight I had booked from New York to Tanzania which meant I landed in a different airport (Dar Es Salaam rather than Kilimanjaro as planned) and Raza was extremely helpful in quickly finding me a flight from Dar to Kilimanjaro and changing the arrangements with the team on the ground to ensure I got collected and made it to my safari starting point on time. He stayed in touch throughout the experience which meant I felt in very safe hands, which is particularly good when you’re traveling solo as I was.

I would wholeheartedly recommend working with African Mecca Safaris. The local knowledge and bespoke support was really impressive. Asante sana, Raza and team!

Flora Alexander
United States

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