Nyikani Camp Tarangire (formerly Kichuguu)
Nyikani Camp is a permanent tented camp located in the Tarangire River Valley in the heart of Tarangire National Park.
Nyikani is a lovely tented camp with a great position in Tarangire National Park. It is perhaps best suited as a ‘drive-in’ camp, where you explore the park with a private guide, but can also offer fly-in safaris hosted by resident guides. The tents and central mess areas are very comfortable and the camp maintains the atmosphere of a genuine tented camp. The management and staff are friendly and keen to provide a good service, and whilst we would never suggest Nyikani is a luxury option, it does maintain a reasonable level of sophistication. Ultimately Nyikani is a very practical and good quality option if some of the more exclusive/ upmarket tented lodges in Tarangire are either not your preference or are just out of range price wise.
Rooms
Accommodation at Nyikani is provided in eleven comfortable guest tents with en suite bathroom facilities including a flush toilet and a traditional safari bucket shower. The carpeted rooms have either twin or double beds, bedside tables and lights, a writing desk and chest of drawers. To the fore of each tent is a furnished verandah. One of the tents is designed for families, with two interconnecting en suite tents and a shared lounge.
Central Areas
The central areas are split into two; a lounge tent with comfortable seating, a small bar and library with a selection of books and board games, and a dining tent where all meals are served at individual tables. There is also a small camp fire area.
Facilities
Wi-Fi – Yes
Power for Charging – Yes
Swimming Pool – No
Habitat & Wildlife
Tarangire is one of the more recently established wildlife sanctuaries, a 4,160 sq. km National Park which is often overlooked by travellers in their quest to see the Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti. In the dry season (July to October), the Tarangire River is the main water source in the region and it attracts large concentrations of animals. The nine distinct vegetational zones within the park include savannah, woodland, riverine grasslands and the swamps in the south-eastern section. In the northern section, great baobabs dominate the undulating countryside – very picturesque.
The area supports a wide diversity of animals including elephant, buffalo, giraffe, lesser kudu, lion, leopard, wild dog, Grant’s gazelle, wildebeest, Coke’s hartebeest (kongoni), zebra, eland, waterbuck, dik dik and reedbuck. On rocky outcrops, keep a special lookout for rock hyrax and klipspringer. Tarangire is also one of the few places in Tanzania where oryx can be seen. The park has long been associated with the Tanzania Bird Atlas and a phenomenal 550 plus species have been recorded with a good cross-section of species found in the various habitats. Tsetse fly do occur in Tarangire and can be particularly bad during the wetter periods (November to March).
Activities
Game drives by day and night are taken in an open four-wheel drive vehicle (unless you drive in with a private guide in which case a closed vehicle is used).
Seasons
Nyikani is open all year round, though game viewing in Tarangire is best from late June to October. Birding is however best from October to March.
Children over the age of 12 years are permitted at Nyikani. There is a family unit which comprises of two en suite tents connected via a shared lounge. It is possible for standard tents to be made into triples or quads on request.
All staff at Nyikani are Tanzanian and mostly from the Northern Tanzania area and so tourism is benefiting the local community. The camp has an eco-friendly philosophy by using solar power and recycling their steel and plastic waste. The main area decking is made from recycled plastic and furniture in the camp is sourced from Arusha rather than further afield and causing a larger carbon footprint. Organically grown produce is used in the camp kitchen whenever possible.
