Kleins Camp in the Serengeti
Kleins Camp is situated in a 10 000 hectare (almost 25 000 acre) private wildlife concession in a remote corner of the northern Serengeti. Right off the beaten track, Klein’s Campoffers both the opportunity to explore the Serengeti, as well as the unique opportunity for night drives and bush walks in the private concession. Klein’s Camp is perched just below the Kuka Hills, and overlooks wooded hillsides, rolling grasslands, marshes and forested river banks. Most large mammals, including elephant and lion, can be encountered moving up and down the gently sloping Kuka Hills.
With just ten thatched stone cottages, Kleins Camp provides an experience that is both personal and intimate. Whitewashed walls and rich wooden floors, combined with soft cream furnishings, create a calm and soothing refuge from the adventures of the day. Inspired by the breathtaking natural backdrop, relax on your private veranda with a pair of binoculars, or indulge your inner artist with a sketch book or watercolours. When night falls, snuggle down in your canopied bed and listen to the sounds of Africa unfold around you.
The Grumeti River starts its life as a small stream in the hills of southern Kenya just across the border from Kleins Camp. A thin strip of dense riverine forest is home to the reclusive bushbuck and the rarely seen bushpig, as well as the more frequently encountered elephant and buffalo. Although the huge crocodiles for which the Grumeti is famous do not occur this far up the river, small numbers of hippo inhabit the nearby pools. The woodlands are good areas for browsing animals such as giraffe, impala, elephant and dik-dik. The acacias attract Grant’s gazelle, olive baboon, vervet monkey, and bushbabies. Birds are especially abundant in woodlands, which offer a wide choice of safe nesting sites.
During the wet season, the Grumeti River is prone to flood its banks in the western corridor. Numerous oxbow lakes form, becoming seasonal wetlands once the floodwaters recede. Elephant and buffalo can be seen in these marshes, while warthog enjoy refreshing mud baths. Reedbuck, with their specially adapted hooves, enjoy the marshy terrain, although they are difficult to spot during the day. Pools of open water often form on the perimeter of the wetlands, creating attractive watering holes for many species. These wetlands are a birdwatcher’s paradise, attracting a variety of species from the dazzling malachite kingfisher to the majestic yellow-billed stork.