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Tanzania Safaris > Tanzania Safari Lodges & Camps Oliver's Camp Tarangire National Park, Tanzania - Adventure 3

This charming little camp with wonderful vistas is located in a remote area of Tarangire containing well-preserved wilderness where nature walks, walking expeditions and game drives in open 4x4 vehicles, bush picnics and meals, sundowners, night game drives and off-road driving are conducted on a daily basis in virtual exclusivity. Such an array of activities is not readily available in most camps and lodges of northern Tanzania and such exclusivity is extremely rare, which makes Oliver's Camp a special place to be. Game activities are conducted by exceptional professional guides with excellent local knowledge and each activity is a real learning experience. Wildlife here is prolific in the dry season and includes great elephant, buffalo and wildebeest herds, lion, leopard, greater and lesser kudu, eland and over 400 species of birds!

Accommodation is under canvas in luxurious low-impact tents - only 5 guest tents are available which makes the camp very exclusive and personalized. Each tent is a work of art and contains solid wooden beds and furniture, beautiful decor and classical and practical safari en suite facilities, such as bucket showers, which date back to the golden era of true Roosevelt-type safaris. The 5 sleeping tents comprise two twin bedded tents, one three bedded tent and two containing a large double bed plus an additional single bed (the remotest of these larger tents is perfect for honeymooners). Three of the tents are sited well apart from each other, while two are closer to each other for families and groups of friends. This configuration allows flexibility to cater for families, couples and mixed groups comfortably and discreetly. Mobile and fly camps are also available (at extra cost) which create further opportunities for wildlife-mad enthusiasts to explore distant waterholes.

One of the joys of this camp is that almost all your activities including dining are conducted outdoors, thus ensuring that you spend maximum amount of time close to nature. However, comfort is not overlooked, as there is a most delightful library tent where cold drinks and wildlife books are at your disposal throughout the day. Creative meals are served with much enthusiasm and style and are accompanied by excellent wines, mainly from South Africa.

The focal point of the camp each evening is the stone fireplace which is set close to the library and the occasional dining tent. The views from the fireplace are superb but it is for the safari tales, conversations and romances that this fireplace is fondly remembered. There is perhaps no better forum than this particular fireplace at the end of an exhilarating safari day in Tanzania. Camp lighting is subtle, electric 12 volt inside and hurricane lamps outside, so you can rest assured that you will see the galaxy of stars above.

In a nutshell, Oliver's Camp provides an exceptional off the beaten path adventure in an area of Tarangire which sees impressive concentrations of migrating wildlife at waterholes for five to six months between July and December. Together with its outstanding guiding, food and ambience, Oliver Camp must be the ultimate Tarangire adventure outpost and a perfect African Bush Camp.

The Dry Season:

• June-July - June is the beginning of the dry season and the landscape is decked out in wonderful wild flowers. Migrant birds have left for the north and wildlife is dispersed. The days are bright with some cloud cover and the mornings and evenings are quite cool. The baobab trees are loosing their leaves slowly, and after the serious growing season of April and May plantlife is at it's most beautiful. But the signs of the dry season are starting to show. Some grasses are drying out, and, viewed from a high point, the land is a complex mosaic of greens, browns and straw coloured grass, with every colour of wildflowers imaginable (particularly in June) decorating the landscape. It is very picturesque. Wildlife viewing is unpredictable, but the resident animals such as elephants, giraffe, lions and leopards, dik dik, impala and other smaller antelopes are usually easy to find. The large herds of zebra and wildebeest are making their way into the park, (May 23rd saw the first zebra in this, 2001, season) and, depending on the rainfall over the previous two months, by July many are within then park boundaries. All in all, a beautiful time to visit, perhaps as the start to your safari to the Serengeti or elsewhere. Later July is an excellent time for long walks.
• August - September - The dry season is having its effect. The landscape becomes straw coloured dotted with green topped fig and acacia trees. The days are getting hotter and the mornings and evenings less cool. We expect no rain at all during this period. Wildlife returns in numbers and this is a very busy time of year. Mobile and fly camps (optional) are out and guests stay longer to enjoy the extraordinary variety of wildlife. Water sources for wildlife are shrinking and the grasses are being trampled down by thousands of hooves. Bird life is also concentrated. Exploring the wilderness areas is easier, and we do just that. Lion prides are more sedentary and easier to find, and elephants are more concentrated. An excellent time to visit and enjoy all our activities around Oliver's Camp, out walking, or with our Mobile Camps and Fly Camping near waterholes.
• October - December - Early October is very dry and wildlife viewing is excellent. Great herds of buffalo, zebra, wildebeest and elephant are close to the last surface water, and the landscape is bleached. There's a slight humidity in the air, and this indicates that the rains are coming. By mid to late October we expect some light showers, and this is a real delight. Fresh new grasses sprout in days and wildlife thinks about moving. But it takes a few good downpours to disperse the herds. This state of flux can extend into November, and even December. We all wait for the rain. It is a time of change, and as the land is refreshed by light rain a wonderful transformation takes place. Migrant bird species arrive and, as the grass is short, walking in this period is a pleasure. The flowers are back.

Conservation Overview by Paul Oliver:

Oliver's Camp is a bold conservation experiment. A low impact facility that has, since the late eighties, worked with local leaders, development professionals, wildlife authorities and wildlife researchers.

The aim is to create a sustainable non intrusive future for protected areas by generating revenue for conservation authorities throughout Tanzania, these authorites and the local communites surrounding protected areas are then encouraged to protect migration routes and wildlife dispersal areas, vital to the future of national parks such as Tarangire.

The Tarangire Park is a fully protected area where the activities of people are controlled.The Park is 2600 sq.kms. in size and is the dry-season refuge for tens of thousands of wild animals.

The 'bad old days' of elephant poaching are thankfully over and those of us involved in the future of this wildlife area keep a serious watch on events and trends.

The surrounding village people have received development income and advice from Tanzania National Parks, many NGO's and operators like ourselves, and this has promoted the better understanding of conservation issues. This has set a trend and from these initial steps towards a sustainable usage, land destined to fall under the plough is being set aside as "Village Conservation Areas" with no loss of grazing to Maasai herders.Today hunting companies and a number of photographic camps are sharing revenues with surrounding communities and this is helping the park to survive and spread the 'tourism dollar'.

The fortunes of Maasai peoples around the Park have been declining in recent years as they have lost good grazing land to newcomers. As this happened the Maasai themselves resorted to crude farming practices on low quality soils to supplement their incomes. This further loss to grazing land just makes the cattle economy worsen. This desperate situation is being worked on and protecting grazing land is seen as the main objective to stabilize the needs of people living off this land. Any farming must be planned. The soils are just too poor to support agriculture only. The Maasai people have been catapulted into the present by these issues and much work and understanding is needed to create the sustainable land-use practices needed to ensure a healthy land for people and wildlife. We should all take an interest in these issues.

To camp in Africa's wildlife areas is a privilege. To stay in a lodge surrounded by glass and cement seems inappropriate, its presence out of keeping with the environment. Oliver's Camp firmly believes that features such as solar lighting and water conservation should be part of any wilderness facility. Contribute to the future of Tanzania's wild lands, seek out those with commitment and a proven long term involvement.