Who They Are

Singita Grumeti Reserves offers an unparalleled safari experience teeming with magnificent wildlife encounters on the western corridor of the Serengeti. This vast private concession comprises an exclusive trio of luxury lodges positioned ideally on the epic migratory route traversed annually by more than a million wildebeest. Each of the lodges offers a unique experience:

One of the Lounges at Sasakwa

Located on top of a hill, Sasakwa Lodge delivers dramatic, elevated views across the endless plains. The lodge is built in the grand style of an English manor home and comprises nine luxurious cottages and one villa, which are among the most deluxe accommodations ever built in East Africa. The long elegant hallways and inviting sitting rooms are faithful to the architecture and furnishings of the most splendid colonial-era homes.

The Unbeatable Sabora Tented Camp

Sabora Tented Camp celebrates flat open space as far as the eye can see. It is a lavish tented camp on the Serengeti plains, decorated in 1920’s grand campaign style. The nine lavish tents are air-conditioned and feature a bedroom and reading area, bathroom with bath and outdoor shower, viewing deck with Swarovski spotting scope, and a library lounge tent. Each tented suite is a swath of pale cloth, light as desert sand. Curtains of gauze and silk billow like the clouds that blow across the savanna each afternoon.

Faru Faru Lodge is built on a gently sloping hill above a beautiful waterhole and the Grumeti River. The suites and the main lodge, modern interpretations of the traditional Maasai home, blend unobtrusively into the undisturbed landscape. The lodge consists of nine suites.  There is a dedicated family suite ideal for a family of four.

Faru Faru Lodge

What Are They Doing

The Grumeti Community and Wildlife Conservation Fund, a not-for-profit organization, manages and conserves the 350,000-acre concession (that’s as big as the Maasai Mara in Kenya).

Riding in Singita Grumeti

Conservation

The Singita Grumeti Reserves are an integral part of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. The tourism operation exists solely to sustain these unique areas of land and their resident wildlife. The long-term intention is to guarantee the sustainability of these strategically important conservation areas. Controlling the poaching in the area was the first priority facing Singita Grumeti Reserves in 2002. Today, 120 game scouts, mostly ex-poachers, form Singita Game Reserves’ anti-poaching units. After five years in action, anti-poaching initiatives have had an unprecedented impact, and poaching has become virtually unknown in the reserves.

The scouts are also responsible for documenting wildlife presence and movement as well as any other data of biological importance within the concession areas. Ongoing data collection, coordinated and analyzed by the organization’s research biologist, has revealed a rapid and steady increase in resident game as a direct result of increased security and improved habitats. For example, the number of buffalo increased from 600 in 2003 to over 3,800 in 2008, while the number of giraffes went from 331 in 2003 to 803 in 2008.

Buffalo on the Serengeti

Another project being undertaken, this time in collaboration with the Tanzanian government, is to reintroduce the East African sub-species of black rhinoceros. The program involves the introduction of two captive-bred rhino as well as the repatriation of a wild population of 34 others.

A new Environment Education Center has also been launched. It offers children from 51 local schools an intensive five-day program on the Serengeti ecosystem. They are taught about environmental issues, whether it’s local or global, and given an understanding of  the meaning of ‘protected areas’. The program aims to focus on explaining the link between creating a better place for wildlife, the environment, and the community, and tries to give them the tools to take action in conserving the wild spaces of Grumeti. This initiative also focuses on promoting the wise use of land, so that it can be used for many generations to come. The thinking is that if the youth are encouraged to understand the place in which they live, a spirit of conservation will be created.

Community

For the past six years, the Grumeti Fund has invested money, energy and the expertise of its Community Outreach Program team into supporting community projects in the Serengeti and Bunda districts, which share a reserve border with Singita Grumeti Reserves. The Grumeti Fund supports an Access to Fresh water program, small agricultural businesses, bee-keeping and fish farming initiatives, as well as chicken breeding and egg production. Singita Grumeti Reserves also continues to invest strongly in the education of local youth through its scholarship fund, support of local schools and the newly established Environment Education Center for Youth.

Natta Secondary School