Songa Migrational Camp
Songa Migrational Camp is a seasonal camp moving between two locations in the north and south of the Serengeti ecosystem.
Songa Tented Camp is a seasonal tented camp, and while it offers a similar experience to sister camps Mila and Nyasi, unlike its sisters, it moves twice a year to roughly shadow the movements of the migration. The tents themselves are very comfortable and luxuriously furnished, whilst maintaining the feel of an authentic tented experience. The central areas offer a similarly simple but elegant set up, with sophisticated lounge and dining tents leading out to camp fire areas with views out over the surrounding plains. The food and service are superb, and their guides are very good too. A key factor to consider with all Legendary Expeditions camps is that they focus very hard on providing an exclusive safari environment for each group of guests. A private guide and vehicle are included as standard, but Songa also provide private dining and private sunset drinks for all bookings. Songa is not the right camp if you are seeking communal dining and a vibrant bar in the evening, but is perfect for any couple, family or group seeking a very sophisticated and private tented camp experience.
Rooms
The camp accommodates up to 20 guests in 10 tents and is split into two separate “mini camps”, each operating independently from the other (however, they may be combined for a large group) – they face in different directions and use the natural bush habitat to create seclusion between the two sections. Between December and early January the camp has the addition of a family tent which has two interconnecting en suite tents with a shared lounge. During these dates there is the option to book the smaller side of the camp (which includes two standard tents and the family tent) on an exclusive use basis. All the tents are built on the ground with a landscape orientation to maximise the views. The tents are very comfortably furnished with a large bed, writing desk, standing fan and en suite facilities including a flush toilet and plumbed shower.
Central Areas
There is a separate central area with a lounge and dining tent and campfire for each section of the camp.
Facilities
Wi-Fi – Yes
Power for Charging – Yes
Swimming Pool – No
Habitat & Wildlife
With an area of some 14,000 sq. km, Serengeti is probably the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world. The ecosystem includes the National Park itself, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Maswa Game Reserve and Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve, together forming one of the most complex and least disturbed ecosystems on earth. The landscape was originally formed by volcanic activity in the Ngorongoro highlands and it varies from the open short grass plains in the south, to savannah and scattered acacia woodlands in the centre, to extensive woodland and black clay plains in the west, to hilly wooded grassland in the north. Most of the permanent water is found towards the northern and western areas, the lack of permanent water and food in the south being the main reason for the annual migration.
The park is home to approaching 2,000,000 wildebeest, 500,000 Thomson’s gazelle and 250,000 zebra: the largest concentration of plains game in Africa. More than 30 species of herbivores are found here, as well as all the major predators and nearly 500 species of birds.
The southern reaches of the park consist of endless ‘short-grass’ open plains. In the heart of these plains on the border of the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is an area known as Ndutu, where a series of partial soda lakes and marsh areas are surrounded by woodland. Many of the camps and camp sites in the southern Serengeti are located in this area. To the west the open plains are bordered by the woodlands of the Maswa Game Reserve which looks out over the vast plains of the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area.
The hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, gazelles and zebra congregate on these southern short grass plains from December to April, usually calving around the end of January when the nutritious grass is at its best. During this time the ‘migration’ is restricted to local movements according to rainfall and grazing, though even within the southern Serengeti region the distances are vast. This southern region is exceptional for lion, cheetah and spotted hyaena sightings, all of which thrive on the open plains, whilst leopard, serval, African wild cat, elephant, buffalo, giraffe, eland, topi, jackal, ostrich and impala can also be seen. Wild dogs are making a comeback in the region and are occasionally encountered to the south of Ndutu in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Depending on grazing conditions and water supply, the start of the Serengeti annual migration begins at the end of this period, and the herds begin to march north/westwards, ‘lowing’ incessantly so that the air hums like a dynamo (zebra first, then the wildebeest and gazelles). Lion, cheetah, hyaena and wild dog follow, ensuring that only the fittest survive, while jackals trail behind and vultures circle overhead.
Songa Migrational Camp is located in the Maswa Game Reserve between December and March and moves to the northern Serengeti near Kogatende, from mid June to early October. Each location is designed to loosely mirror the movements of the migration and to be within reach of the herds.
Activities
Activities focus around game drives by day with a private vehicle and guide included for each booking which gives complete flexibility. When in the south, night drives, guided walks and cultural activities are included. Hot air balloon flights can be arranged when the camp is in northern Serengeti. There is no set schedule at Songa, you can plan your day to suit with the benefit of a private vehicle and guide.
Seasons
Songa Tented Camp is open from mid December to March and from mid June until early October, and game viewing is generally good year round with the movements of camp shadowing the migration.
Children are welcome from the age of four years, however the family tent is only available between mid December and early January so families wanting to be all under one roof would be better suited to other camps outside these months. When the family tent is available, it makes a good option for families with a range of activities and the flexibility of a private guide and vehicle. The camp makes an excellent choice for families wanting an exclusive and adventurous Serengeti experience. The exclusive camp option with the family tent would also offer a wonderfully exclusive stay for a larger family.
Every guest staying in a Legendary Expeditions safari camp contributes a voluntary contribution that goes towards the community projects supported by the Friedkin Conservation Fund (Legendary Expedition’s philanthropic and conservation arm) including education, health and income generation activities for the rural communities in the areas the camps are located.
These community projects are part of a wider, multi-faceted approach to the conservation of the areas in which Legendary Expeditions operates. Much of the Fund’s work focuses on measures to ease human-wildlife conflict. Operating in the buffer zones between the Serengeti National Park and local settlements (Legendary Expeditions manages Mwiba and Maswa Wildlife Reserves which together comprise eight percent of the entire protected Greater Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater ecosystems) means Legendary Expeditions are well placed to make significant impact in resolving human-wildlife conflict and helping communities to benefit from wildlife and habitat conservation.
2024 will see the role out of the Economic Empowerment Project which has identified income-generating opportunities to sustainably support communities in the southern Serengeti ecosystem centering around honey, poultry and sunflowers. In partnership with Hand in Hand Tanzania, entrepreneurial training will be given in these areas to equip community members with the skills needed to start small businesses and create income streams and further job opportunities.
Efforts also focus on education and the Fund has succeeded in reducing low school attendance through an engaging environmental education initiative, a school nutrition program and the construction of new school infrastructure.
Conservation work includes wildlife monitoring, specifically the collaring of elephants (to address human-wildlife conflict problems) and supporting the Serengeti Rhino Repatriation Project’s rhino monitoring program. Anti-poaching measures are also key and the Fund supports the Tanzanian authorities with anti-poaching teams and aerial surveillance.
