Many of them are very intelligent and speak good English. They (the birds) manage the distance: if you come too close, they gently move over, maintaining this 50m-very-agreeable-distance :) - this is the place to go if you want to see the REAL MASAI. It is 'off the beaten paths' and was absolutely empty when we came, just us with Masai guide having very private time with the FLAMINGOs. It's not dead though! Lots of animals (many-many zebra, ostriches, jackal, wild cat, and so many birds!) The tents are spread out on the camp's territory so that you have your PRIVACY, and there are so many-many birds around, and combined with amazing sunrises glittering the volcano nearby - it was my favourite place to wake up to! Some things are important to know about the Lake Natron area: - if you want to see flamingo CLOSE ( not like in Ngorongoro or Manyara, a kilometre away from some wobbly platform, but 50m close) - you have to go to lake Natron, their breeding site. Dominated by the volcano, Ol Doinyo Lengai, the land is all made of ash and lava rocks. Food is very good - we booked directly through website and the management asked of our dietary preferences and were trying very hard to stick with our choices! The place itself, Ngare Sero village, is un-earthly. They even spotted my weakness towards mangos, and they were making my lunch boxes specially equipped with a heavenly tasty mango stoned out and wrapped for convenient eating!) The camp is outside the core village, Ngare Sero, so is very quiet and very clean. We were the only guests at the camp, and the staff were jumping out of their shoes to make us comfortable. It's a fairly new camp, with great food and modern and simple tents, manual showers (you order the time and the temperature, and a man carries water buckets, and it works perfectly). Overall an unforgettable part of our trip to Tanzania.… The "new normal" seems to be something they have risen to. We visiting at coronavirus first started to ease and were very impressed with the safety measures the camp had in place ensuring guests and staff work masks throughout as well as regular hand sanitisation. Steep doesnt quite do it justice as a descriptor. For those who like their hiking this is a strenuous challenge but hugely rewarding. Halisi Camp also helped us organise a guide to take us down to the lake to see the famous flamingos that that congregate there and for a sunrise trek up the Ol Doinyo Lengai mountain, Tanzanias only active volcano. Lake Natron is off the regular safari route but well worth the detour for the stunning desolation of the Rift Valley. There is also a strong eco focus with them providing filtered water rather than bottled and natural soap products etc to minimise the footprint on the environment. Hearing Hyenas as you drift off is certainly novel. The accommodation is tented and you really feel like you are surrounded by nature. We felt honoured to get such a perspective and to know that our stay was directly supporting local people's livelihoods. Daniel and his team made us feel very at home while also providing insights on their traditional way of life. Since coronavirus the camp has changed management entirely and the whole staff are Maasi from the local village. The heritage food was all based around traditional ingredients but with a modern twist such as the delicious local nut ice cream or Baobab juice. We stayed at Halisi Camp in July 2020 and found the experience to be an unforgettable introduction to Tanzania and Maasi culture.
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