I stayed at one of the most expensive lodges next to the Serengeti National Park, where I fell asleep to lions roaring by my $2,585-a-night tent

17.12.2024 - 11:47 / insider.com

The moment the bush plane touched the runway at the Sasakwa Airstrip in Tanzania, I knew the safari experience at Singita Sabora Tented Camp would be different.

Just 20 minutes earlier, I was at the Seronera Airstrip in Central Serengeti. I joined dozens of safari vacationers waiting for flights out of the national park. I met airport staff at plastic tables, where my name was crossed off a sheet of paper and I was handed a ticket with my flight number written in pen. Among the groups of tourists and safari guides, porters bustled about carting off luggage.

As my plane barreled down a dirt runway, I waved goodbye to a parking lot of 20 safari vehicles and guides waiting for the next batch of tourists.

When I landed at Sasakwa, things were quiet. A serene tent sat empty. Plastic chairs were swapped for cushioned couches. Restrooms were not only stocked with toilet paper but also perfumes and bug spray.

If this was the airstrip, I wondered what Singita's accommodations were like. I quickly discovered the answer.

Singita owns some of the most expensive lodges in the region — a night at Sabora, for example, starts at $2,045. Business Insider received a media rate for a three-night stay. Along with that cost came a safari vacation filled with endless animal sightings, delicious food, and more.

After disembarking the plane, my guide for the morning, Yusef, heaved my 30-pound backpack into our open-air Toyota Land Cruiser, and we were off to Sabora Tented Camp — one of Singita's three lodges in the area.

Yusef gave me a quick rundown: Singita has exclusive use of the Grumeti Reserve, a 350,000-acre private concession on the northwestern border of the Serengeti National Park. The reserve is managed by the nonprofit Grumeti Fund in partnership with Singita. Within the concession, Singita operates three lodges and four private villas and camps.

Minutes later, our conversation was interrupted by a herd of giraffes. As we turned another curve, Yusef pointed to a buffalo carcass. Less than two miles down the road, we spotted another.

It was my fifth day in the Serengeti, but it was my first time seeing a dead animal without swarms of vultures or hyenas. Yusef read my mind.

"Welcome to Grumeti," he said. "There's such an abundance that predators don't even need to finish their kill."

For the next four days, I saw that abundance firsthand. I spent the rest of my time with guide Peterlis Kibwana. With so much land and so few people, we rarely encountered other visitors during our game drives.

We checked in on hyena puppies one evening and sipped sunset drinks near a herd of zebras the next. We observed countless elephants and giraffes, spotted lions, and tracked down hippos.

The animals were incredible, but so was