Serengeti 23' - My Most Successful Failure (Olakira & Namiri)

[Athene]

@Riccardo Milesi  very informative trip report and lovely images, I especially like the hyena cubs.

Namiri plains seems to be a wonderful place and I am very much looking forward to be there at the end of November. I think the other camp you mentioned is

Olmara Camp (former known as Ehlane Plains camp) by Nasikia. I did not know that there will be a third camp in the area, which is worrying to hear.

 

[ricmiles]

Thank you @Athene. I hope the wildebeests will have moved there by that time. 

 

You are absolutely right, it was Olmara Camp. I've checked their website and It seems like it is owned by Entara, not Nasikia. Unless the former is owned by the latter without mentioning it, which is possible. I hope @madaboutcheetah and I are both referencing to Olmara and I simply got the distance wrong, creating some confusion. Otherwise, I am afraid the area will lose its current exclusivity. 

 

With the risk of sounding like a broken record, I highly suggest you request for Moinga as your guide. Best of luck!

[madaboutcheetah]

Not the olmara.... I meant a brand new one right by namiri.   Will get the name from someone in the know ....

[ricmiles]

@madaboutcheetahIf there is a plan to increase the number of camps, then we have a problem. The area is huge so I don't think this extra camp will compromise a significant number of sightings, but it still is bad news.

 

 

[madaboutcheetah]

https://www.nathab.com/accommodations/serengeti-plains-camp/

 

There goes .......  The problem is, it's literally round the corner from Namiri.   

 

Hopefully, they stay shut during the rains ....... UGH

[ricmiles]

@madaboutcheetah I do wonder if in 5 years we are going to have multiple new camps. I see two problems with that. The first, in the medium term sightings will be shared with many other vehicles. The second, in the long run, the cheetah population will be under severe stress by the additional number of vehicles harassing them. The ability of cheetahs to hunt and raise cubs will be impaired and there is no scenario in which this ends well for their population, for us as guests and for the Serengeti ecosystem as a whole. 

 

Among the parks' organization and foundations such as Serengeti Cheetah Project, there should be a significant increase in monitoring activities. The behaviour I have witnessed by some drivers was appalling. These people need their licenses revoked forever and their guests should pay severe fines. The money can then be used to increase the monitoring activities. 

 

On a side note, I tried sending you a message but seen you cannot receive any. I was interested in knowing if based on your experience, there were any other areas in Africa that come close to Eastern Serengeti for Cheetahs. Any suggestion would be very much appreciated. 

[madaboutcheetah]

Hmmmm - not sure why my messenger isn’t working. I tried sending you a message just now - it said “try again “ 

[Paul B]

On 10/30/2023 at 2:11 AM, Athene said:

@Riccardo Milesi  very informative trip report and lovely images, I especially like the hyena cubs.

Namiri plains seems to be a wonderful place and I am very much looking forward to be there at the end of November. I think the other camp you mentioned is

Olmara Camp (former known as Ehlane Plains camp) by Nasikia. I did not know that there will be a third camp in the area, which is worrying to hear.

 

Unfortunately, there are two others not far from Olmara Camp. Mawe Tented Camp and Serengeti Sametu. While Namiri was the first camp in the area, TANAPA has been quick to allow several others in a relatively short period of time to be added. Very similar to the Kogatende area. For several years, Sayari was the only permanent camp with just a few seasonal ones in the area, now there are more than you can count. Asilia has a tremendous reputation for taking financial chances on areas on that are in need of a presence for conservation sake while other operators follow once the area has been proven successful. Rubundo Island and Usungu Camp are other examples of investments being made by Asilia. Hopefully the money these additional camps bring in will result in more conservation investments, however, I am more than a little skeptical and believe most good things get over exploited. We will see.

[Athene]

Thanks for the info  @Paul B that doesn't sound good.

[ricmiles]

Very much appreciate the contribution @Paul B. I tried having a look at the camps and it seems their location is somewhere in between the Seronera area and Namiri, which might explain why I literally saw no other vehicle for a while by going out soon every morning. Unfortunately, it still shows the clear intentions of TANAPA for the area. 

 

 

[Paul B]

My reference was to Olmara which is roughly 4 miles north and a little west of Namiri. The two other camps are roughly 2 miles west of Olmara. The times that I stayed at Namiri, the majority of the game drives were to the south towards the Gol Kopjes and then east along the Ngare Nanyuki river. Those are vast areas which due to distance very few outside safari companies go to. If you go north and west, this is when you would start to see other vehicles. In my past trips to Namiri Plains the only time we ever went in that direction was to head to the airstrip.

[Miss Biscuit]

I do love the cheetahs. You saw so many! 

Those hyena cubs were adorable - such a special moment!

I love the photo of the 2 cheetahs on the termite mound at sunset. Just lovely.

[ricmiles]

@Paul B In my case, we did spend quite some time going west because of how dry and little activity there was in the places you mentioned. Most of my sightings there were in complete privacy. Ironically, the Gol Kopjes area is exactly where I had a bad experience sharing the cheetah sighting. As you said, those cars were all from outside safari companies, mostly in the middle of a transfer between Seronera and Ngorongoro. I did not explore the area around the Near Nanyuki River. Clearly, I have to go back when the wildebeests are around. 

[ricmiles]

Thank you @Miss Biscuit. On this safari, I realized how fun Cheetahs can be. And those hyena cubs... they were something else. I had never spent so much time at a sighting before, but it was simply impossible to leave.

[madaboutcheetah]

I only go to Namiri in April .... Fewer vehicles and amazing game with the possibility of many cheetah kills especially when the young wildbeest calves move in from Ndutu.  I seldom go towards Semetu area because that's usually where the vehicles from Seronera push down to.  In any case, I never go beyond Semetu towards Sero except to the airstrip.

 

My go to areas are - Gol and Barafu and there's likely next to no one there except very ocassionally late in the morning.  You also need a permit to visit Gol (which we get for all days of our visit) - TANAPA come down there mid morning to check if you have the valid paper work.  The vehicles from Sero seldom book this permit ( although very inexpensive) .....  and oh ... with even a bit of a drizzle, the vehicles from Sero are afraid to push down towards the Namiri area for fear of getting stuck  

Edited November 2, 2023 by madaboutcheetah

[ricmiles]

@madaboutcheetah Very valuable information. Will definitely follow your advice.

 

I wonder whether the coalition of 7 might move towards Namiri during that period, given the high number of wildebeests calves. 

[Zubbie15]

I'm late to this discussion, but I've read multiple articles (of course I can't find any now) about how the Tanzanian government wants to double the amount of tourists by 2025, compared to pre-pandemic levels. Unfortunately they seem to be driving this by increasing the number of camps in the Serengeti, rather than expanding and promoting parks that aren't as well known. To me it would make more sense to promote somewhere like Katavi, or maybe the new parks in the west, but that doesn't seem to be the plan. 

[offshorebirder]

Thank you for this trip report @ricmiles.    I appreciate the details on camps and guiding.  And I enjoyed your photos.    I stayed in Asilia camps before and they are pretty good in my opinion.  

 

You have put Gol on my bucket list for sure. 

 

[ricmiles]

@Zubbie15Thank you for your contribution. That really is bad news. After my experience in the Mara where I had included a few nights stay in the national reserve following some private conservancies, I was hoping for the Serengeti not to be as bad crowds wise. Clearly, some areas already are and the few safe heavens are bound to be in the future. Hopefully, more private conservancies will be set up on the boarder of the park for photographic use.

 

I have not visited the Southern or Western parks. After hearing so many great things they both are on my to go list. 

 

 

Edited November 8, 2023 by ricmiles

[ricmiles]

@offshorebirderThank you for your comment. Come back for my next TP in March and I promise some improvements in my photographic skills!

 

Asilia seems to care about their mission and the impact they have on wildlife and their employees as a company. When possible, I will support them. I also find their products to be really good value for money. I am somewhat surprised they don't charge more. 

Edited November 8, 2023 by ricmiles

[SdW]

On 11/2/2023 at 6:13 AM, madaboutcheetah said:

I only go to Namiri in April .... Fewer vehicles and amazing game with the possibility of many cheetah kills especially when the young wildbeest calves move in from Ndutu.  I seldom go towards Semetu area because that's usually where the vehicles from Seronera push down to.  In any case, I never go beyond Semetu towards Sero except to the airstrip.

 

My go to areas are - Gol and Barafu and there's likely next to no one there except very ocassionally late in the morning.  You also need a permit to visit Gol (which we get for all days of our visit) - TANAPA come down there mid morning to check if you have the valid paper work.  The vehicles from Sero seldom book this permit ( although very inexpensive) .....  and oh ... with even a bit of a drizzle, the vehicles from Sero are afraid to push down towards the Namiri area for fear of getting stuck  

Hi Hari, we would like to go to Namiri for 5 nights in April. My friends will join me but like diversity. Is it better to do 4 nights Namiri and ad 2 nights Ubunte?

Steve

[madaboutcheetah]

@SdWubuntu will be closed in April ...... you need at least 5 nights in namiri.  A lot happening there....

[SdW]

6 hours ago, madaboutcheetah said:

@SdWubuntu will be closed in April ...... you need at least 5 nights in namiri.  A lot happening there....

 

[SdW]

O my mistake. I meant Dunia to go to Moru kopjes. Can you go there (and to Seronera) from Namiri as well?

[ricmiles]

@SdWI asked my guide at Namiri this same question and he replied the following. Namiri is not far from Seronera, it's only a 1.5hr drive. By staying there, you will keep your options open and can decide on a daily basis whether to stay around camp where you will have more privacy or go to Seronera if you so wish. 

 

Basically, there is little added value at staying at Dunia, but it comes with a significant opportunity cost.