Mwagusi Camp

Our pick of the bunch in Ruaha

Five hearts from 32 votes

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Review

Without doubt our favourite camp in Ruaha, Mwagusi Camp is a rare occurrence these days...a camp where the owner is to be found almost year round, where the game is spectacular, where the food and service are impeccable and where you can truly feel at home. This balance of elements means that Mwagusi Camp is one of those camps that people keep coming back to and staying longer and longer. To spend a week in Mwagusi Camp is like spending a month somewhere else! All in all, we can't talk more highly.

Overview

The history and pedigree of Mwagusi Camp has, like many of the greatest camps in Africa, become somewhat of a legend. Similarly, like many of Africa's greatest guides, Chris Fox, the owner and manager, is one of those people that you need to meet to believe. Originally a hunting guide in the area, long before it was a national park, Chris spent many years wandering on foot through the region. When the government decided to protect the land they asked him if he would like to establish a camp and, choosing the best location for game and habitat, Chris chose Mwagusi.

Rooms

The rooms themselves are airy and spacious, with comfortable bedrooms and relaxing areas out the front in which to lounge and watch the many elephants that wander in between the bandas, looking for palm nuts to munch on....there really is nothing like an afternoon of watching and listening as an elephant snuffles his way around your banda only a foot away!

Service

The service and home cooked food that Mwagusi Camp offers is unlike other top end lodges in that it is wholesome and very good, rather than fancy...it suits the camp and the feel of the place. All in all, in case you hadn't realised, if clients can afford it, then Mwagusi really does offer a once in a lifetime chance to stay in one of the most authentic camps in Africa.

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We have a price match guarantee on this property that means, as preferred suppliers, we can guarantee you the best rate available for the property.

Feedback

Food was great especially at Mwagusi. Enjoyed chatting to Chris during our meals – very interesting man and he runs a really great homely camp. Loved it!

- Susanne, July 2023
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I would say that we absolutely loved loved loved Mwagusi. Chris was so interesting and he holds you in high regard (always nice to know!). Definitely 6 days of safari with children would have been enough but it was good to go to 2 different camps. And on the last 2 days we still saw amazing animals so arguably we would have missed that and we did feel quite adventureous doing so much safariing.
- Emma, July 2023 Rating:

The trip went exceedingly well. I really enjoyed Mwagusi camp and Ruaha in general.
The area was beautiful and the guiding was excellent. My highlights was the many leopard sightings which I did not expect.

- Sebastien, October 2019
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Mwagusi:

-On leaving Siwandu we were a bit worried that the bar had been set too high and that we'd be a bit disappointed with Mwagusi. We needn't have worried!
- Banda at Mwagusi was out of this world. Bonkers. Even had a family of bats living inside the banda with us. Akuna matata - we didn't scare them once :)
- Game was a bit sparse compared to Selous, but they had an abundance of elephant and lions that were, at the time of our visit, in short supply in the Siwandu area (including Lake Manze and beyond). So the two safaris balanced each other.
- Banda at Mwagusi better than banda at Siwandu, food at Siwandu better than Mwagusi, Guide at Siwandu better than Mwagusi, dinner locations (different each night) better at Mwagusi than Siwandu. Treat 'better' as a relative term - I mean better than exceptional compared to exceptional.
- Had difficulty getting back to our banda on our final night because of an elephant infestation in the camp. They blocked all the normal ways to our banda and we had to scramble up the big rocks and go around the back. Then two adults and a baby woke us up eating directly at the side of our banda at 00:30. We got up and watched them for an hour until they tootled off. Missed the lion that came in around 03:00. Slept through it!!!!
-Spent quite a bit of time with Chris Fox. Had lunch in his banda and a dinner with him (and 3 more guests) on another night.

- David and Lorraine, September 2019
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We had a great time, thanks, and both camps very good (Manze and Mwagusi) One comment – I think it might be useful if you added on your site that credit cards not accepted when settling the bill – cash only.

- Roger, July 2019
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Great hosts at both camps but Trudie, in particular, at Mwaguse is a star and good fun. Mwaguse bandas are a bit more luxurious but you pay for that.

- Alastair, Mary Ann & our boys, June 2019
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Safaris exceeded our expectations! Wildlife fantastic, guides excellent and very knowledgeable, food good and accommodated the dietary requirements very well.

Mwagusi now do night safaris. We did one and it was well worth the extra $85/person. Amongst other things, we saw bushbabies and a large python. I would recommend having breakfast out in the bush rather than at camp as you get out earlier and also have the opportunity to get to know your driver and guide better. Also definitely worth having a driver and a guide (which Mwagusi do) as I am sure could miss out on a lot otherwise.

- David and group, October 2018
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Mwagusi is quite different to Siwandu and perhaps has a more homely vibe to it. The accommodation and facilities are slightly more basic but still comfortable. The bandas have views over the river bed (dried up at this time of year) and you could spend time watching a variety of animals come to drink from the few remaining pools.

The camp was well managed by Trudy and the service was very attentive and the food very good. Although the camp was very quiet, they made a point of serving dinner at different location within the camp every evening. Dinner in the river bed was shared with a couple of hyenas watching from the bushes!

- Gurth, June 2018
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A perfect and exhilarating start to our honeymoon. From the incredible riverbed view from our banda, to the top-notch safari guide, to the incredible game drives, we were completely wowed by this place. The service was outstanding and very personalized (a common theme for all places we stayed) and the game viewing was better than we could have possibly expected.

- Kent and Tara, August 2015
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Thanks Nick. We had an excellent time in Tanzania (!). My dad had some problems with the travel and change of routine, but he still enjoyed the animals and time to relax in Zanzibar.

Mwagusi camp was excellent - I highly recommend it (and Ruaha in general) to anyone who is interested in a more "remote" safari experience. The accommodations were very comfortable and we had no problem finding diverse wildlife on drives or just sitting in our banda.

I have several great photos, so I will upload a few to the gallery ASAP.

Thanks again for your help arranging this trip. I will pass your name along to anyone who is interested to follow our footsteps to Ruaha...

Cheers,
Mark

- Mark and family, June 2014
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The accommodation was fantastic but the food and guiding cannot be compared to Kwihala. Location of the camp is fantastic right by the Mwagusi River, with dinner being served there as well !

- Samir and Sheila, October 2013
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Definitely to be done before Beho Beho to avoid being overshadowed. We saw better game here than in the Selous as the lack of water meant the large herds had moved North. We liked the fact that on game drives you had both a driver and guide. The rooms were very comfortable albeit we found the verandah unusable due to Mosquitos. The host managers Connie and Sylvie were delightful and nothing was too much trouble. We did one walking safari which we loved and set the scene for the Selous well. Food was excellent with more fresh fruit and veg that I serve at home (a pleasant surprise). They did a wonderful private dinner for us on the last night in the riverbed which is one of many special memories from the trip.

- Leonie and Mark, October, 2012
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Mwagusi was magical ( so glad we were there for our anniversary)

- Joanne and Colin, September 2012
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