The Wanderer's Camp
Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
- 24 guests
- 12 bedrooms
- 12+ beds
- 12 bathrooms
Some camps stay still and wait. The Wanderer's Camp does the opposite. Just like the roaming herds that define this corner of the world, the camp itself is nomadic, moving three times each year to keep pace with the Great Migration as it sweeps through the Serengeti. It is a thoroughly considered piece of theatre, designed so that guests are never far from the most arresting moments of the year: the calving on the southern plains, the herds amassing along the Grumeti, the dramatic river crossings in the north.
The camp's three annual settings reveal the depth of this choreography. From mid-December to mid-March, it lies in Ndutu, on the southern plains of the greater Serengeti, where over a million wildebeest gather to give birth in the short-grass calving grounds. In the green season of mid-May to the end of June, the camp moves west to the Grumeti–Seronera corridor, where the herds amass before their journey north. From early July to mid-November, it stands in Kogatende, the dramatic northernmost reach of the Serengeti, where the wildebeest and zebra cross and recross the Mara River en route to the Masai Mara and back again. Each location offers a different chapter of the same vast story, and each is reached by a different airstrip, allowing The Grand Key concierge to design a journey that lines up precisely with the season of travel.
The camp itself is a study in considered nostalgia. The tents are arranged along a single graceful line, around sixty metres apart, each oriented to enjoy uninterrupted views over the surrounding plains. At the centre lie the camp's gathering spaces: a lounge area with a library and bar, a dining tent some twelve metres long with its own outdoor veranda, and an outdoor lounge and restaurant where dinner is taken beneath the southern stars, preceded and followed by drinks around the campfire. A small but well-appointed gym, equipped by Technogym, stands a short distance from the main area. The lounge is home to the camp's celebrated Cabinet of Curiosities, a collection of exceptional pieces that immerse guests in the elegant, learned atmosphere of yesteryear, a tribute to nature and to the great age of exploration.
The tents themselves are quietly extraordinary. Each of the ten guest tents measures twelve by four metres inside, with a further two by four metres of outdoor seating, an inner seating area set with two armchairs and a hand-basin, and a sleeping couch that can be converted into a bed for a child. The open-air bathroom is a particular pleasure, with a shower, a double vanity with running water, and a free-standing brass mini bathtub. Because water is precious here, baths are taken on request, with around forty-five minutes to an hour's notice, while the water is heated and transported to the tent. It is a rare ritual, and one that takes guests back to the days of the great explorations, or, perhaps, to the lingering nostalgia of Out of Africa.
Two further family units connect two tents via a covered walkway, with the parents' tent at twelve by four metres and the children's tent at ten by four metres, each with their own outdoor seating area, dressing room and bathroom. Throughout the camp, every tent is appointed with hairdryers (available on request), organic Healing Earth toiletries, two-way radios, freestanding fans, international plug points and USB sockets, and a separate isolated porcelain WC. Safety deposit boxes are available in the manager's office.
Dining follows the Laba Laba Signature philosophy of tasty, healthy cooking, served full-board with premium-brand alcohol (Champagne the only exception). Special dietary requirements are warmly accommodated, with advance notice.
The Wanderer's Camp is best suited to travellers who enjoy the romance of safari at its most authentic: the bucket bath under canvas, the lantern light, the sound of lion at the edge of camp, and the knowledge that the wildebeest are passing by in their hundreds of thousands just beyond the threshold.
Amenities
Living Spaces
The Wanderer's Camp gathers itself elegantly around its central lounge and bar, which houses the celebrated Cabinet of Curiosities — a considered collection of exceptional pieces evoking the elegant, learned atmosphere of yesteryear and the great age of African exploration. A library is set within the lounge for quieter hours of reading, while the dining tent, some twelve metres by six and a half metres, opens onto an outdoor veranda for daytime meals. In the cool of the evening, an outdoor lounge and restaurant beneath the stars becomes the camp's heart, with pre- and post-dinner drinks taken around the campfire. Within each tent, a generous inner seating area furnished with two armchairs offers a private living room of one's own, complemented by an outdoor seating area framed by views over the plains.
Bedrooms & Laundry
Ten guest tents and two family units make up the camp, all of which may be configured as double or twin. Each guest tent measures twelve by four metres internally, with an additional outdoor seating area of two by four metres and a sleeping couch that can be converted into a bed for a child. The family units, conceived as two connecting tents linked by a covered walkway, comprise a parents' tent of twelve by four metres and a children's tent of ten by four metres, each with their own seating area. A dressing room sits between the two. Beds are dressed with care, and every tent is appointed with freestanding fans, two-way radios, international plug points and USB sockets, and a safety deposit box available at the manager's office. A complimentary laundry service is offered throughout the stay.
Kitchen & Dining
Dining follows the Laba Laba Signature philosophy of tasty, healthy cooking, served full-board and accompanied by premium-brand alcohol, with the sole exception of Champagne. Meals may be taken within the elegant inner dining tent, on the outdoor veranda overlooking the plains, or, most memorably, beneath the southern stars at the outdoor lounge and restaurant, where dinner is served by lantern light. Pre- and post-dinner drinks are enjoyed around the campfire. Bush breakfasts and sundowner cocktails are included with private game drives, as guests wish, while a picnic lunch is provided on full-day game drives. Special dietary requirements are warmly accommodated when arranged in advance.
Bathrooms
Each tent enjoys its own open-air bathroom, designed in the spirit of the great safaris of old. A shower, a double vanity with running water and a free-standing brass mini bathtub form the heart of the room, with a separate isolated flushing porcelain WC adjoining. Because water is precious here, baths are taken on request, with around forty-five minutes to an hour's notice, while the water is heated and brought to the tent — a rare and rather wonderful ritual that recalls the days of the great expeditions. Hairdryers are available on request, and organic Healing Earth toiletries, including shower gel and shampoo, are provided in every tent.
Entertainment
The camp's days are composed around the safari itself, with private game drives, walking safaris and the seasonal Olduvai Gorge expedition all included in the Game Package. For quieter moments, the lounge offers a library, a bar and the renowned Cabinet of Curiosities; a Technogym-equipped gym of seven by four metres sits a short distance from the main area, and the campfire becomes the camp's natural gathering point at dusk. Wi-Fi is available throughout the tents and the main areas.
Heating & Cooling
Each tent is equipped with freestanding fans. The camp is one hundred per cent solar-powered, and fleece blankets and lined rain ponchos are provided in the safari vehicles for cooler early mornings and the occasional rains.
Internet & Office
Wi-Fi is available throughout the tents and the main areas of the camp. Each tent is also equipped with international plug points, USB sockets, and a two-way radio for communication across the property. A safety deposit box is available in the manager's office.
Location Features
The Wanderer's Camp moves three times each year to follow the Great Migration through the Serengeti. From mid-December to mid-March it lies in Ndutu, on the southern plains within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, accessed via Ndutu Airstrip (around thirty to forty-five minutes by road). From mid-May to the end of June it stands in the Grumeti–Seronera corridor in the western Serengeti, accessed via Kirawira or Seronera airstrips (around one hour and thirty minutes by road). From early July to mid-November it sits in the Kogatende region of the northern Serengeti, where the herds cross the Mara River, accessed via Kogatende Airstrip (around thirty-five minutes by road). The camp closes for repositioning between sites: 15 March to 14 May, 1 to 9 July, and 20 November to 9 December.
Outdoor Spaces
Every tent enjoys its own outdoor seating area of two by four metres, framed by views over the plains. The camp's central outdoor lounge and restaurant offers dining beneath the southern stars, while the campfire becomes the natural setting for pre- and post-dinner drinks. The Technogym-equipped gym sits within its own tented structure a short distance from the main area, and the entire camp is laid out along a single line, with tents around sixty metres apart, to give guests both privacy and an unbroken sense of the surrounding wilderness.
Parking
Parking is not applicable at The Wanderer's Camp. Access is by scheduled or chartered light aircraft to the relevant seasonal airstrip (Ndutu, Kirawira, Seronera or Kogatende, depending on the time of year), and road transfers between the airstrip and the camp are included in the Game Package.
Gallery
Location
Essential Information
Home Policies
Reservations at The Wanderer's Camp are confirmed upon receipt of written confirmation and payment of a twenty per cent non-refundable deposit, with the balance due no later than thirty days prior to arrival. Bookings made within forty-five days of arrival require full payment at the point of confirmation, and group bookings of three or more tents require full payment sixty days in advance.
Cancellations must be made in writing and are charged according to the following schedule: more than sixty days before arrival, twenty per cent; between thirty and fifty-nine days, fifty per cent; and within twenty-nine days of arrival, one hundred per cent. For group bookings, these thresholds extend to one hundred and twenty days, one hundred and nineteen to sixty days, and fifty-nine days or fewer respectively.
No refunds are given for unused services, lost travel time, amendments made after travel has commenced, no-shows or late arrivals, early departures, or any circumstances beyond the property's control which may affect the itinerary. Any change of travel dates or postponement is treated as a cancellation and is subject to the charges above.
Extras at the property may be settled by cash, Visa or Mastercard. All bank charges and transfer fees on the principal booking are for the account of the client. The property reserves the right to amend or cancel arrangements in the event of force majeure, including acts of God, weather conditions, civil unrest, pandemics, government actions or any other event beyond its reasonable control. Travel to remote wilderness involves inherent risks, and guests are reminded that personal travel and medical insurance is required throughout the stay.
The camp closes for repositioning between sites three times each year, with the principal annual closure running from 15 March to 14 May, and shorter closures from 1 to 9 July and from 20 November to 9 December.
Location & Getting Around
The Wanderer's Camp moves three times each year to follow the Great Migration through the Serengeti. Between mid-December and mid-March it sits in Ndutu, in the southern reaches of the greater Serengeti within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, accessed via Ndutu Airstrip with a thirty to forty-five-minute road transfer. From mid-May to the end of June it relocates to the Grumeti–Seronera corridor in the western Serengeti, where it is reached via the Kirawira or Seronera airstrips, with a road transfer of around one hour and thirty minutes. From early July to mid-November it stands in the Kogatende region of the far northern Serengeti, beside the Mara River, accessed via Kogatende Airstrip with a thirty-five-minute road transfer.
Road transfers between the relevant airstrip and the camp are included in the Game Package. Charter flights can be arranged on request from any major Tanzanian hub, and a VIP lounge is available at Dar es Salaam domestic airport. Our concierge team is on hand to coordinate every leg of the journey, with the timing of any visit considered against the precise position of the camp.
For longer journeys through Tanzania, your Grand Key concierge can pair The Wanderer's Camp with stays at Simba House (Arusha), The Crater Lodge (Ngorongoro), The Art Lodge (Grumeti), Karen's Camp (Out of Africa, Serengeti), Jongomero Bush Manor (Ruaha), The Selous Camp (Nyerere) or Fanjove Island (Songo Songo Archipelago).
Luggage allowance is typically fifteen kilograms or twenty kilograms per guest, including carry-on, depending on the airline, with soft bags recommended. Laundry is complimentary throughout your stay.
House Rules
The minimum age at The Wanderer's Camp is five years. The minimum age for walking safari is sixteen years, as walking safaris are conducted on a shared basis with an armed specialist walking guide and an armed TANAPA ranger, subject to TANAPA recommendations on visibility in the bush. Walking safaris accommodate a minimum of two and a maximum of six guests.
Smoking and naked flames are restricted to designated areas in keeping with bush-fire safety. Guests must be in good general health and reasonably mobile in order to enjoy the camp and its activities to the full, given the nature of bush travel, the use of safari vehicles and light aircraft, and the layout of the camp itself, where tents are spaced around sixty metres apart and walked between (with an escort after dark).
All activities take place at the discretion of camp management, who reserve the right to make on-the-spot decisions based on weather conditions, wildlife behaviour and guest safety. Wildlife sightings on excursions cannot be guaranteed, as nature remains unpredictable.
All international guests are automatically issued with a Flying Doctors medical insurance policy (USD 15 per person for stays of up to fourteen days, with a two-month policy available at USD 50). All guests are required to hold personal travel and medical insurance for the duration of their stay.
Experiences Nearby
The Game Package, in addition to full-board accommodation, includes two activities each day from a generous choice. Guests may take two private game drives (morning and afternoon), a full-day private game drive with picnic lunch, a combination of a private game drive and a walking safari, or two walking safaris (the latter for guests aged sixteen and over, conducted with an armed specialist walking guide and an armed TANAPA ranger). Private game drives include bush breakfasts and sundowner cocktails as guests wish, and the safari vehicles themselves are equipped with a cool box of refreshments, binoculars, international and USB chargers, fleece blankets and lined rain ponchos.
When the camp is in its southern position at Ndutu (December to March), a complimentary expedition is included to the Olduvai Gorge, one of the most important palaeoanthropological sites on the planet, paired with a visit to the Shifting Sands — a volcanic ash dune that drifts approximately seventeen metres each year across the desert floor. Park site fees for this excursion are payable separately.
A wider menu of experiences may be arranged at supplement. The Hot Air Balloon Safari over the Serengeti, with a Champagne celebration, bush breakfast and the traditional flight certificate, is available from each of the camp's three sites in its respective season (USD 599 per person, including children aged seven to fifteen). For honeymooners and those marking a particular moment, an intimate tête-à-tête with a bottle of Champagne can be arranged in an exceptional setting carefully chosen by the team.
For longer journeys through Tanzania, your Grand Key concierge can pair The Wanderer's Camp with stays at Simba House (Arusha), The Crater Lodge (Ngorongoro), The Art Lodge (Grumeti), Karen's Camp (Out of Africa, Serengeti), Jongomero Bush Manor (Ruaha), The Selous Camp (Nyerere) or Fanjove Island (Songo Songo Archipelago).
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