Kudu bull
“To view the animals you don’t have to live like them”
unique styles and designs that blend nicely with their wild surroundings. They harvest truckloads of awards and special citations in magazines such as Condé Nast, Travel and Leisure and Tatler.
Prospective safarigoers have a wide choice, ranging from “basic” movable tents, replete with chandeliers, to super luxury tents and chalets that can best be described as Hemingway on Steroids or Roosevelt for Royalty.
These wise words were spoken in the seventies by Mike Rattray, who pioneered upscale accommoda-tions in safari country, when criticized by others for spoiling it all with too much luxury.
Rattray’s Mala Mala soon became the brand associated with comfort and style in the African bush. It won numerous awards abroad for Best Small Hotel in the World. Others caught on to the idea and today there are many of them, combining comfort with
Sabora Camp, Tanzania
Linkwasha Camp, Zimbabwe
Both President Teddy Roosevelt and author Ernest Hemingway feature prominently among those who brought the joys of camping in the midst of Africa’s wildlife to the attention of the outside world.
Today there is a wide range in bush chic for discerning clients: Chalets and permanent structures, luxury tents on wooden platforms and mobile tents. While the latter may have drop toilets and bucket showers (invented years ago by George Eastman of Kodak fame and improved since) you also might be
Teddy Roosevelt circa 1909
looking up at a solar-powered chandelier from your comfortable bed.
Elevated tents on wooden platforms equal any luxury suite in the best city hotel in the world with an added feature called “a loo with a view.” Instead of reading dog-eared magazines “when nature calls” you can look out over the African plains and even see animals passing by.
These safari lodges and camps are more than mere overnight accommodations. Food is outstanding and the wines excellent. The middle of the day, between morning and afternoon game drives, is siesta time in the animal world. Back at the camp guests have
Ernest Hemingway circa 1954
Singita
Serengeti under Canvas
Hemingway “basic” circa 2016Hemingway on Steroids
Abu Camp, Botswana
Little Kulala, NamibiaLittle Ongava, Namibia
Lagoon, Botswana
Blending with the environment
Ulusaba, South Africa
Lilongwe
Beira
Blantyre
ATLANTIC OCEAN
INDIAN OCEAN
Nacala
TANZANIA
BURRUNDIR
UGANDAKENYA
ZAMBIA
ZIMBABWE
MBIQUEMOZAMM
SOUTH AFRICABOTTSWANATSWANA
DSWAZILANDD
NAMIBIA
BOTSWANA
Zanzibar Island
LakeMalawi
LakeVictoria
LakeTanganyika
Dodoma
Mombasa
Dar Es Salaam
Arusha
KampalaEntebbe
Zanzibar
Pemba
UNNNNNNNNN
MbarikaMts
LakeSagara
SELOUSGR
KATAVIPLAINS
NP
MAHALEMTS NP
GOMBESTREAM NP
UWANDAGR
KIGOSIGR
BURIGI GR
RUMANYIKAGR
RUNGWEGR
KISIGOGR
MUHESIGR
ARUSHA NP
MIKUMINP
LakeManyara
RUAHA NP
LakeNatron
TARANGIRENP
SERENGETINP
NGORONGOCRATER
PANDEGR
MKOMAZIGR
L. MANYARANP
UGALLARIVER GR
MOYOWOSIGR
BIHARAMULOGR
LakeRukwa
0 500 1,000 1,500 km
Polokwane
Harare
Lusaka
Buluwayo
Johannesburg
Bloemfontein
East London
Port ElizabethGeorge
Cape Agulhas
Cape Point
Cape Town
DRAKENSBERGNP
Pretoria
Gaberone
KasaneVictoria Falls
Sossusvlei
Windhoek
Nelspruit SkukuzaMaputo
MbabaneST.LUCIA
WETLAND
KRUGER NP
UMFOLOZIGR
HLUHLUWEGR
Kimberley
Durban
AUGRABIES FALLS
NP
KAROONP
VAALBOSNP
BONTEBOKNP
MT ZEBRANP
ADDO ELEPHANT
NP
TANKWA KAROO
NP
RICHTERSVELDNP
KGALAGADI TRANS-FRONTIER PARK
WILDERNESSNP
Swakopmund
Luderitz
Walvis Bay
Groo�ontein
Rundu
Oranjemund
NAM
IB DESERT
NAMIB
W CAPRIVIGR
NAMIBNAUKLUFT
NP
FISH RIVERCANYON
NP
ETOSHANP KHAUDOM
GR
MAHANGO GR MAMILI NPMUDUMU NP
DAAN VILJOENGP CENTRAL
KALAHARIGR
MOREMIRESERVE
OKAVANGODELTA
MAKGADIKGADI& NXAI PAN
NPMakgadikgadi
Pans SowaPanLake
Xau
CHOBENP
Maun
Lake Kyoga
Lake Edward
Lake Bisina
Lake Albert
BWINDI NPMGAHINGA
NP
QUEENELIZABETH
NP
MT. RWENZORINP
KIDEPO VALLEY
NP
MT ELGINNP
KIBALE FOREST NP
MURCHISON FALLS
NP
Mt.Stanley
LAKEMBURO
NP
Zimbabwe Ruins
HWANGENP
MATOPOSNP
ZAMBEZINP
GONAREZHOUNP
CHIMANIMANINP
MANA POOLSNP
MATUSADONANP
NYANGANP
CHIZARIRANP
Lake Kariba
Lake Cahora Basa
Kafue Dam
LakeBangweulu
KAFUENP LOCHINVAR
NP
SOUTH LUANGA
NP
NTH LUANGA
NP
NSUMBUNP
KASANKANP
LIUWAPLAIN
NP
SIOMANGWEZI
NP MOSI-OA-TUNYA
NP
WESTLUNGA
NP
LOWERZAMBEZI
NP
Livingstone
TSAVONP
TsavoEast
TsavoWest
LakeTurkana
LakeBaringo
AMBOSELINP
KIUNGA MARINE NP
MASAI MARAGR
SIBILOINP
CENTRAL ISLAND NP
STH. KITUINP
N. KITUINP
BONI NRARAWALERESERVE
TANA RIVERPRIMATE RES
KARANR
RAHOLINR
MT. ELGONNP
STH. TURKANANP
MARSABITNR
MARALALG SANCT.
LOSAINR
Mt. Kenya
MT KENYANP
ABERDARENP
MERUPARK
SAMBURUGR
SHABAGR
LAKE NAKURU
NP
NAIROBINP
RUMANP
Mt. Kilimanjaro
Nairobi
Kilimanjaro Intl.
LakeChilwa
LAKE MALAWIMARINE PARK
MWABVUGR
LakeChiuta
KASUNGUNP
NKHOTAKOTANP
LIWONDENP
MAJETEGR
VWAZAMARSH
GR
NYIKANP
LENGWENP
VOLCANOES NPAKAGERA
NP
NYUNGWEFOREST NP
Lake Kivu
AAARWANDADADA
Parks/Game Reserves
Major Airports
Towns
Capital ci�es
Africa’s premier safari countries are situated in Southern and East Africa. Between ten of them—Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe—there are more than a hundred national parks and game reserves. They not only differ in size but in animal and birdlife.
In the words of the song, Lion King: “There’s more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than can ever be done; There’s far too much to take in here. More to find than can ever be found.”
AFRICA’S GAME PARKS
© www.theultimatesafari.com
Outdoor bath. Eagle Island, Botswana
Massage, Little Kulala, Namibia
Plunge Pool, Lion Sands, South Africa
Private deck, Kings Pool, Botswana
Dining and relaxing at the camp
Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, Tanzania
Earth Lodge, South Africa
Singita dishes
a choice of activities. Some camps may offer fitness facilities, pools and nature walks. A few provide WFi connections and fewer are within cellphone reach. Air conditioners are not always present and hair dryers may be absent. No television or radios.
Keep in mind that most of these camps are in remote areas and rely on solar power. They are eco-friendly in every sense of the word. The main purpose is to escape from the hustle and bustle of our busy world with its cacophony and immerse oneself in the tranquil domain of God’s wonderful wild creatures.
What better way to end a day than to eat out in the open in a boma, sitting next to a campfire with fellow guests and recap the splendid sightings of the day?
And afterwards turning into bed lying awake for a while, listening to the sounds of Nature —the snorting of hippos, the plaintiff call of prowling hyenas, the chatter of baboons, the trumpeting of elephants and, ultimately, the roaring of a male lion.
Hemingway said it best:“All I wanted to do now was get back to Africa. We had not left it yet, but when I would wake in the night, I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.”
President Roosevelt summed up as follows: “There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy, and its charm.”
Feel free to call me when you are ready to follow in the footsteps of Roosevelt and Hemingway. I will be happy to assist you in picking a destination where the accommodation suits your taste and your budget.
But rest assured that no camp, regardless of its luxury and comfort, makes up for a mediocre wildlife experience. The animals don’t live like us but in safari country they take center stage.
Dr. Les de [email protected]
www.theultimatesafari.comPlease feel free to contact me directly or visit my website
at www.theultimatesafari.com for further information and assistance in arranging your trip of a lifetime.
Lions, BotswanaPicture: Les de Villiers