Serengeti Bushtops Camp

Serengeti Bushtops’ 12, high end, under canvas units offer the pinnacle of luxury bush accommodation. Each is encircled by vast private decks, creating a hundred and twenty square metres with which to sink into a deck lounger, soak in your private hot tub or gaze out at passing wildlife. Furnished in the classic East African style, each elevated unit boasts canvas hues of Cyprus khaki, complimenting the essence of the surrounding environment.

Each unit features an en-suite bathroom, a choice of double or twin beds, al fresco shower facilities and a host of complimentary amenities designed to elevate the guest experience, including a telescope for evening astronomy and your very own on-demand private butler service. Each tent sleeps two, but an extra single bed can be added for a third adult.

Amenities Include:

• En-suite bathroom
• Al fresco shower facilities
• Hot tub
• Balcony/ deck
• Veranda
• Double, twin or single beds
• Complimentary WIFI
• Pure cotton linen
• Comfortable furniture
• Safe

Perfect for larger groups and visiting families, Family Tents are comprised of two interlinked guest tents that combine to create the family suite. A short bridge connects Jackal 1 and Jackal 2, or a longer one creates a unit comprising Giraffe and Hippo tents. Furnished in accordance with guest tent specifications, each unit features their own private en-suite bathroom, al fresco shower facilities and amenities, furnished in the classic safari style. The family unit can sleep up to 8 guests.

Amenities Include:

• En-suite bathroom
• Al fresco shower facilities
• Hot tub
• Balcony/ deck
• Veranda
• Double, twin or single beds
• Complimentary WIFI
• Pure cotton linen
• Comfortable furniture
• Safe

Ready to dine like royalty? Look no further than Serengeti Bushtops Camp. Three meals are served daily, comprising a continental bush breakfast, midday picnic lunch (served between activities), sundowners, and a lavish three course meal served in the evening. Cuisine is prepared on site from the freshest local ingredients, incorporating local flavours for those who wish to sample authentic Tanzanian bush cuisine, and classic western crowd pleasers for those who favour convention. Dining is communal, with the options of under-canvas or al fresco dining, with the opportunity for private dining and honeymoon banquets for those guests seeking a more intimate dining experience.

All standard drinks and beverages are covered in the initial fee. With fully inclusive rates, you’re free to indulge in a mouth-watering range of alcoholic and none-alcoholic beverages at your own discretion. Premium and imported products are charged at additional fees.

Set off on either early morning or full-day game drives amid the sprawling, fertile plains of the Serengeti. Experienced guides, familiar with the lay of the land and the abundance of wildlife that roams it will lead you safely through the lush landscape in search of the many staple safari creatures that depart on mass during the cycle of the Great Migration, featuring particularly high concentrations of wildebeest and other migrating plains game. Exotic Big 5 game viewing awaits your gaze, with regular sightings of all the big cats and predator and prey alike as you survey the landscape in open 4×4 safari vehicles.

Guided bush walks will allow you to soak up the intricacies of nature while traversing the land at a more intimate and insightful pace than conventional safari game drives. Knowledgeable guides will discuss with you the features of the land while pointing out local flora and fauna. Watch birds, walk in the footsteps of a lion herd or wildebeest, stalk the movements of the Great Migration, unravel the stories behind animal tracks or simply enjoy the vistas.

The Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is one of Africa’s Endemic Bird Areas, featuring over 500 exotic species waiting for you to discover. Bird watching in the Serengeti is phenomenal year-round, but at its absolute best during November through April. Not only is this when European and North African migratory birds are present, but it is also nesting time for resident species. Keep your eyes peeled for the likes of the black-headed gonolek, Fischer’s lovebird and Verreaux’s eagle.

A visit to the closely situated Bisalalah school offers guests the chance to view first-hand the amazing contributions to local communities that’s made possible by visiting Serengeti Bushtops Camp. Tours are led by the headmaster or a teacher, offering an informative, memorable and often inspirational and enlightening experience as guests meet Tanzania’s next generation. The school is approximately 45-minutes’ drive outside of camp, with each visit lasting between 45-minutes to an hour. This activity is available at no extra cost, though must be booked in advance.

Take in the atmosphere of the tantalising Serengeti night sky while gathered around a cosy campfire in the company of friends and family. Untarnished by light pollution, the remote areas of the Serengeti bush provide the perfect arena for a picturesque star-gazing experience. Marvel at the infinite sky, which features the Big Dipper in the northern hemisphere and the Southern Cross and Pointers in the south.

Your private breakfast follows an early morning wake-up call, before driving through the breaking dawn to a scenic spot to view the sun rise. With only you present, plus a chef, driver and your choice of company, you can look forward to a breakfast experience as exclusive as it is delicious, featuring lavish array of sumptuous buffet delicacies. Book in advance prior to arrival.

Traverse the skies of the Serengeti for an exclusive birds-eye view of the Great Migration below. Watch as vast mammal herds pass beneath you as the morning winds direct your course from the vantage of a basket high in the sky. This truly unique game viewing experience draws to a close with a delicious breakfast spread in the heart of the Serengeti plains, after which, you can choose to continue your adventure with a full day game drive or return to camp for a leisurely morning.

Please note, hot-air balloon excursions are charged at additional fees and are accessible via external camp location. Hot-air balloon excursions must be booked in advance. Flights last 1 hour and includes a champagne breakfast. Pick up from Serengeti Bushtops at circa 4:30 AM. Activity is weather dependant.

A klipspringer dinner is an exclusive dining option that covers up to six people, though is often the choice of honeymooners. With atmospheric touches at every opportunity, the ultimate in lavish bush dining awaits you. The sight of an open bonfire, lanterns and candles flowing around a private table adds a timeless Bushtops memory to the joys of safari. Named after the antelope which gather among its rocky outcrops, Klipspringer offers an isolated dining location which features freshly prepared cuisine served directly from the restaurant. Klipspringer dinners are available at additional fees.

There are few better ways to conclude the eve of a riveting day’s safari adventure than a refreshing beverage while savouring the spectacular Serengeti sunset. Join your guide around the campfire as the lights begin to dim and exchange stories under stary skies, listen to tales of wildlife encounters and enjoy the atmosphere in good company. Enjoyed in-camp, by the pool, or have your private butler bring you favourite sundowner to the comfort of your own tent.

Simba’s Rock: Simba translating as lion, offers the optimum stop for lion watching while enjoying sundowners, allowing you to savour the theatre of the evening bush while game watching with your choice of refreshing beverages. Simba’s Rock sundowners are entirely private, exclusive to you as an individual, couple, family or group and available at additional fees.

Bushtops Camps manage local resources such as water, energy and waste – with the greatest of care. Mara Bushtops, for example, is powered by 32 photovoltaic solar panels and a large bank of special batteries that generate enough power and hot water to sustain the camp for an average of 20 hours per day. A back-up generator ensures seamless, continuous comfort for all guests. Biodegradable waste is composted, whilst other waste is sent for recycling. To minimise packaging, resources are supplied in bulk, with all goods transferred in reusable boxes. Bushtops Camps avoid plastic where possible and conserve water through wetland filtration and recycling.

Bushtops Camps play a constant, active role in local community affairs, working with local tribes to mutual benefit. Their contributions range from rent to conservation, but a highlight is support for local schools. With sponsorship from guests, paired with internal efforts has facilitated the education of hundreds of children at schools near all three camps. At Mara Bushtops, they have piped water from a spring six kilometres away, funded and refurbished a classroom to create and equip a computer lab, donated a new classroom within a new 3-classroom block and helped to fund the ongoing building of a new dining hall.

This direct involvement has ushered the assistance of local schools with teaching assignments such as food hygiene and preparation, the support of an environmental club (enabling local children to participate in game drives), tree planting and mentoring programmes, as well as promoting awareness about gender equality and balance in the community.

In discussion with village elders, Bushtops Camps have established protected areas, management plans and a code of conduct for the 10,000-acre Conservancy leased at Mara Bushtops (camps in the Serengeti lie within the national park so are subject to a different regime). Mara land is maintained in a way which balances cattle grazing needs with wildlife preservation. The rent paid for use of Mara Bushtops’ land helps maintain livelihoods, as does the employment they provide. Revenue from the Conservancy has enabled Bushtops Camps to fund healthcare and education projects and dam a water source for livestock.

Following the model established at Mara Bushtops, their sister camp in Kenya, Serengeti Bushtops and many Bushtops Camps guests support children’s education at the nearby village schools. This helps to provide everything from rainwater tanks to cement floors, windows, lights and school materials. Many guests also sponsor children through education, literally changing young lives for ever.

Environmental conservation is an essential part of the Bushtops Camps philosophy and daily good practice. Serengeti Bushtops draws on solar power and underground water sources to meet many of its needs. The intensely sun-kissed Tanzanian plains provide the perfect arena for solar energy production. Through the implementation of closely situated solar farms and cutting-edge battery cell compounds, Serengeti Bushtops Camp and other associated camps can sustain up to 20 hours of sustained green energy to power the camp and its facilities, greatly mitigating the use of conventional diesel-powered generators.

In accordance with Bushtops Camps ethos of sustainable operations and consciousness for the environment, camps such as Serengeti Bushtops and other associated camps are constructed from locally sourced, sustainable and recyclable materials. While treading lightly on the land on which they operate, in-camp fixtures and facilities such as accommodation, communal areas, bars and restaurants are constructed from locally sourced stone, teak and thatch, ushering numerous benefits other than aesthetic.

These locally procured building materials serve as great insulators amid the drastic heat and cold of the South African landscape, ensuring internal temperatures are continually pleasant, regardless of the weather. The utilisation of local materials negates the need to haul industrial quantities of construction materials long distances through ecologically sensitive environments and habitats, thereby protecting the wildlife and surrounding landscape.