Swala Camp, Tarangire National Park

Sanctuary Swala Camp - Tarangire National Park - (Tanzania)

Location:

Kusini and Swala, formerly owned by Mashado and before them Ker and Downey, are well known and popular by all clients and agents that had the opportunity to stay in them.

Small, low impact and beautifully sited, these very comfortable camps offer a chance to experience the African bush at its most exciting, in a setting in which en-suite baths and excellent meals complement the wilder pleasures of game viewing.

The camps are renowned for their location within the parks and offer luxury camping on par with the best in Africa.

This combination of tented accommodation, unrivalled luxury and prime safari location has given these camps the top class rating they have today among tour operators and clients. With the camps under new management, the decision has been made to invest further in them, by increasing the number of tents by three, developing a swimming pool and establishing a more permanent structure for the mess tent without destroying the feel of being out in the bush. This investment will take these camps even further beyond the competition.

Centered on the Tarangire River, Tarangire National Park stands on its own as one of the finest parks in Tanzania. It is a scenic gem with expansive views, in which wide panoramas of wooded savannah stretch in every direction. Its outstanding feature is its river, which is permanent. It is the only reliable dry-season source of water available to wildlife in a vast stretch of Tanzanias Rift Valley. It therefore attracts tremendous concentrations of animals. It is the only park in the Northern Circuit where visitors can expect to see fringe-eared oryx, or have the chance to view greater and lesser Kudu. The largest herds of elephants in Africa are also found in this park, with herds reaching up to 400 in number.

Accommodations:

Swala Camp is located under majestic umbrella acacia trees at the south-western part of the park, by the Gurusi marshes. It is 67km from the park entrance with access via two routes; Kuro Ranger post and Buffalo Pool both of which have good roads and it is approximately 15 minutes from its own airstrip. Elephants graze in the marshes while Impalas and other gazelle are seen daily around the tents. The only regular sighting of wild dog in 1998, were also at Swala. This combined with regular sightings of four of the big five, make game viewing excellent in a very private part of the park.

The tents have an en suite bathroom with hot and cold running water on demand and a flush toilets. Brass taps and shower fittings compliment the 'Out of Africa' style of furnishings. King-size single or double beds are used. The view from the tents is enhanced by being on a raised wooden platform and they are placed sufficiently distant to create a feeling of exclusivity. The tents are insect proof.

Facilities:

Access to the camps is very good, each with their own airstrip and good roads directly into the camps. The game viewing is excellent within the camps and in the surrounding areas.

Being situated away from the larger lodges has given the camps their own virtually private game drive areas offering the clients unique and exciting game viewing, without interruption from other tourists. Also, through their use of open vehicles and guided bush walks in secluded corners of the best game viewing areas, they combine the more intimate and interpretative activities reminiscent of Southern Africa with the exciting species and dense game population for which Tanzania is famous.

The image that will be portrayed by the camps will be that of a country house under canvas. The standards of cuisine, service and hosting exceed those normally expected in East Africa and are more comparable with camps in Botswana or Sabi Sands in South Africa. The format of the camps however is traditional and although the furnishings and details are of a very high standard the architecture is designed to blend with the bush not compete with it.

Game Viewing / Activities:

Open vehicles, walking and a virtually private game viewing area, achieve a more interactive experience than the traditional East African formula. Low host to client ratios also achieves a high level of interpretation and potential customization of each clients experience.

Tarangire is arguably, the best dry season refuge for big-game in Africa. The lifeblood of this park is the Tarangire River. This rises in the Kondoa Highlands to the southwest of the park and bisects the length of the park providing fresh water for game in the dry months from July to December.

This migration flows from the surrounding country of the Maasai Steppe, the Manyara and Lokisale areas into Tarangire bringing in vast numbers of plains game to swell the resident herds. An increasing number and variety of game are becoming resident due to a number of factors making Tarangire an all-year park.

This park is known for its elephant, Baobab Trees, and bird-life. The elephant have become mainly resident with large breeding herds of up to 400 in number concentrating in the central area of the park at certain times of the year. Resident bull elephants are to be found in the northern sector of the park. Tarangire has the largest known number of breeding species of birds in Tanzania. Both the exquisite Fischer's and Black-cheeked Lovebirds are seen in large numbers and at certain times of the year enormous flocks of Red-billed Quelea make their presence known by sheer weight of numbers.

The secretive Lesser Kudu and distinctively marked Fringed-Eared Oryx are two species rarely seen in other parks and yet can be spotted with relative ease in Tarangire which is an added bonus. They can be found mainly in the Sangaiwe and Kitibong areas adjacent t the camp. Also the more regal Greater Kudu has been sighted within a short distance of the camp. Again, another unusual occurrence to have both Greater and Lesser Kudu existing side by side. Herds of Buffalo numbering 300-400 at times, are seen on their way to slake their considerable thirst in the river. The sight of a large herd determinedly crossing a track is always impressive. The park has a good cat population with the three major species of lion, leopard, and cheetah being well represented.

Rates:	1 Nov to 15 Dec 09	1 June to 31Oct 09 16 Dec to 31 Dec 09	1 Jan to 31 March 10	1 June to 15 Dec 10	16 Dec to 31 Dec 10
Tented Room (GP)	USD 495	USD 650	USD 440	USD 610	USD 650
Single Supplement (GP)	USD 220	USD 250	USD 145	USD 220	USD 250
Tented Room (FB)	USD 385	USD 490	USD 330	USD 460	USD 490
Single Supplement (FB)	USD 220	USD 250	USD 145	USD 220	USD 250
GP: The Game Package rates are fully inclusive of all meals, all game viewing activities, laundry services, and all beverages (with the exception of Champagne). FB: The Full Board Rates are inclusive of meals, laundry services and all beverages (with the exception of Champagne). Swala Camp is closed between 01 April and 31 May each year.

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