Introducing: Thomson’s New Waterhole at the Eastern Serengeti Camp
Thirsty? Now, when you visit your Nyumba camp in the Eastern Serengeti Nature Refuge, you can grab a drink with the wildlife!
…sort of.
You can at least sip a sundowner while wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, impala and more whet their whistles at the new campsite waterhole. This features offers an exciting way to spot animals on safari–and you don’t have to move a muscle!
Waterholes Are Vital Ecological Resources
Wildlife at Eastern Serengeti Nature Refuge
We’re not watering it down: waterholes like these are lifesaving resources for the Serengeti ecology.
Not only do they provide critical sources of water, they attract vulnerable wildlife to the Eastern Serengeti, a safe haven from predators.
The Eastern Serengeti is a 10,000-acre natural refuge exclusively available to Thomson guests. It’s one of the only places in northern Tanzania where you can get level with the wildlife on a walking safari or rove the plains on a night wildlife drive.
Building the Waterhole
Thomson staffer John in front of the waterhole.
John, a Thomson staffer and stone mason, only needed one week to transform the previous, humbler waterhole into a beautiful flagstone dish, girded by steel mesh and concrete.
Rick and Judi, co-founders of Thomson Safaris, visited the project during their recent family safari in Tanzania. They caught up with John and were thrilled by his work.
How do you build a waterhole? Scroll through construction photos below!
“It’s all about enticing wildlife to come close to camp, so you can sit at your veranda or the dining lounge, watching them drink,” Rick said. “It’s a really wonderful feature.”
Case in point: Rick’s grandsons loved watching the wildlife quench their thirsts. Some animals visited so often that the boys named the regulars–two male warthogs became the “Rufus Brothers,” for example.
“It was really fun to have your morning coffee or evening sundowner, and oh, there’s the Rufus Brothers coming for a drink too,” Judi said.
Who will drink at the waterhole?
Giraffes coming for a drink!
In addition to giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and warthogs (Rufus Brothers included), feathered avian friends are welcome, too! Barbets, shrikes and starlings are abundant in the Eastern Serengeti, and they can drink to their hearts’ desire from a rocky perch in the waterhole’s center–all while you enjoy a drink of your own from the lounge tent!
In short, the wildlife of the Eastern Serengeti now have a reliable source of nourishment that’ll help them and their ecosystem thrive.
