Situated near the famous Olduvai Gorge, also known as the Cradle of Mankind, in the heart of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Olduvai Camp is a comfortable safari camp that offers a quiet, off-the-beaten-track Tanzanian experience. This particular camp holds a special place in my heart as I worked for many years on the logistics, management, and improvement of the camp into what it has become today. Built on the shady edges of a ‘kopje’ (granite outcrops), Olduvai Camp exudes an old-world safari ambiance. The camp features 17 tents which tucked in between massive granite boulders and the thick acacia trees and bushes typical of the savannah. Each tent boasts breathtaking views across the plains to Mount Lemagrut from private decks and is simply decorated with safari-style décor. The camp has a central boma where guests can gather around the fire in the evening, an open-sided restaurant and bar, and a viewing platform at the top of the kopje with 360-degree panoramic views of the surrounding savannah.
Olduvai Camp is an excellent place to interact with the local Maasai people, a Nilotic ethnic tribe that inhabits southern Kenya and northern Tanzania and are famous for their tall, statuesque figures and their distinctive customs, traditions, and dress, which have changed little since the dawn of history. The Maasai tribe are semi-nomadic pastoralists with livestock being their livelihood, and their way of life is still very close to that of their ancestors.
